OFID's Governing Board approves fresh financing to boost socio-economic development in Africa

(from left) Fuad Albassam, Assistant Director-General, Dept of Operations; OFID Director-General Mr Suleiman J Al-Herbish; HE Abdulwahab A. Al-Bader, Governing Board Chairman; and Saeid Niazi, Assistant Director-General, Dept of Financial Operations.

Doha, Qatar, June 10, 2014. Meeting in its 147th Session, the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved financing of over US$86m to boost socio-economic development in numerous partner countries in Africa.

The approved public sector loans are as follows:

Also approved at the meeting were two grants totaling US$2.1m in support of the following projects/programs:

In addition to the public sector loans and grants approved at the meeting, three financing facilities totaling US$40m were approved under OFID’s private sector lending window. One will support a financial institution in Kenya in expanding its lending activities to microfinance and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while another will involve participation in equity investments in key industries in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Support was also approved for agribusiness development in multiple sub-Saharan African countries.

Since its inception, OFID has committed nearly US$17bn in much-needed concessional development financing to 134 developing countries around the world, with priority given to the poorest amongst them.