Agility, innovation and mobilization

OPEC Fund Quarterly: Can you give us a brief introduction to your background and career path? 

Khalid Khadduri: My career has long been at the crossroads of finance and development. Before joining the OPEC Fund, I spent several years in the banking sector with roles in trade finance, private wealth management and corporate banking. Here at the OPEC Fund I have the chance to apply that financial experience to a broader development purpose. This is both exciting and fulfilling. 

Early on, I visited a project supported by one of our loans to a financial institution in Asia and saw what it meant for a local community to build their first supermarket. Suddenly, people had direct and convenient access to fresh products and no longer had to travel long distances for basic goods. What struck me was how something that appeared relatively small from a financing perspective could have such a big impact on people’s daily lives. 

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to help expand our Private Sector operations, working in various roles with outstanding colleagues, clients and partners. This has shaped my thinking on development challenges and how financing needs continue to evolve – but also how we as an institution must keep on evolving. In my new role I feel a strong sense of stewardship to build on what has been established and deliver further. 

OFQ: How has the OPEC Fund changed since you joined? 

KK: It has changed significantly. The current leadership and the Strategic Framework 2030 have given us a clear direction. Over the last few years, we’ve grown into a widely respected multilateral development bank (MDB), with the infrastructure in place to extend that evolution. 

Internally, this is reflected in best-practice structures, policies and tools that support sustainable growth. Externally, it is visible in our ability to bring together capital, expertise and partnerships to address increasingly complex development challenges. 

OFQ: How has our Private Sector Department evolved over the years – and what comes next? 

KK: Our Private Sector operations enjoy exceptionally strong foundations, but the global landscape is changing quickly. Financing needs are increasing, fiscal space is constrained and private capital is needed more than ever. One lesson that stands out is that institutions cannot rest on their laurels. To stay relevant, we have to keep adapting our tools and business models. 

What distinguishes the OPEC Fund is our ability to adapt while remaining grounded in the experience and credibility that we have built up over our first five decades. That combination allows us to remain relevant in a rapidly changing environment while staying true to our development mandate. 

OFQ: What practical conclusions do you draw from that? 

KK: I have three priorities: i) to remain agile and a “partner of choice” for our clients; ii) to accelerate innovation, introducing the right instruments at the right time; and iii) to increase mobilization in response to growing development needs. In a nutshell: Building on our strengths while positioning ourselves for the future. 

OFQ: By agility, what do you mean in practice? 

KK: Agility is the ability to respond quickly to evolving needs, while protecting the institution’s position. We step in where markets are not functioning well, not where capital is already abundant. The challenge for MDBs today is not simply to do more of what has worked in the past, but to be where development needs are heading and ensure that what we can offer evolves accordingly. 

Our responsibility is not only to provide capital, but also to create opportunities – gathering partners and guiding private investment into markets where it is needed most. 

We also demonstrate our agility in how we respond to crises and how quickly we implement solutions. The OPEC Fund has taken up this role through programs such as the Small Island Developing States initiative, along with crisis response tools such as the recently announced E-STAR (see p. 14). The latter is a great example of what agility means in practice: responding quickly to emerging challenges, while reinforcing economic resilience. 

OFQ: Innovation is next on your list, but what exactly does it mean for you? 

KK: Innovation is not about doing something new for its own sake. It is about targeted solutions that achieve impact or deepen markets. Here I would highlight the overall transformation of our Private Sector operations rather than any single tool per se. We have significantly broadened our product offering, scaled our mobilization capabilities, entered new sectors and strengthened our partnerships – from sustainability-linked financing, to local currency lending, to financial institution capital instruments. 

Ultimately, innovation is about creating opportunities that would not arise through standard approaches. Our Digital Transformation Action Plan is an excellent example of how we can deliver by financing the next generation of infrastructure. 

OFQ: And, thirdly, mobilization. Why is it challenging under current circumstances, while also considering longer-term trends in development finance? 

KK: There is no shortage of capital, but no single institution can meet global development needs alone – especially in the current geopolitical climate where uncertainty is pushing up the cost of capital and driving down investor appetite. However, it is exactly this kind of situation that increases the value of institutions like the OPEC Fund. 

Investors often view projects in emerging markets as riskier than they actually are. There is a big gap between perceived risk and actual risk, as shown by the data on default rates and recoveries across these markets. Institutions like ours can help bridge the “perception gap” by improving project preparation, sharing risk and, ultimately, building confidence. 

OFQ: What matters most when it comes to mobilization? 

KK: MDBs need to give commercial investors the confidence and comfort to enter into deals. But the bigger picture is more complex, and covers structuring transactions in ways that align risk and return expectations while maintaining strong development outcomes. That means being in the top tier in terms of market expertise, due diligence and risk mitigation. 

The OPEC Fund has set a good example with our first syndication, connecting a bank from one of our member countries, UAE, to our partner country Paraguay. Looking ahead, I believe our role as a catalyst will become even more important. Success will be measured not by the projects we finance directly, but by the ecosystems we help build and the investments we help unlock for future generations. 

OFQ: What gives you the greatest sense of optimism as you look ahead? 

KK: What gives me optimism is the extraordinary potential I see throughout our partner countries. Despite the challenges facing the global economy, I continue to see strong ambition, entrepreneurship and innovation across the markets in which we operate. I also see an OPEC Fund that is well-positioned to support those aspirations. Ultimately, the tools we use will continue to evolve – but our purpose remains constant: creating opportunities, strengthening resilience and improving lives.