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Press Release

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

OPIC Selects Khazana Capital Limited as Partner in Small Business Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has selected Khazana Capital Limited, a consulting company with expertise in Afghanistan, to serve as a loan originator for OPIC’s new alliance with the private sector designed to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expanding into emerging markets overseas.

The alliance, the Enterprise Development Network (EDN), will greatly expand OPIC’s ability to provide financing to SMEs doing business in developing countries.

Through the support of financial institutions, business consultants, associations, law firms and regional investment promotion agencies, EDN is designed to enhance SMEs’ access to OPIC products and services. By empowering such private sector service providers, the network will result in more efficient, cost-effective delivery of services to American businesses.

Khazana Capital Limited, established in 2007, is managed by Charles Skinner, managing director. It is a Kabul-based financial consulting firm that assists companies with the arrangement of financing for their domestic and export businesses, and is dedicated to providing high-quality financial consulting services to the Afghan marketplace.


OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

 

OPIC’s political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency's 38-year history, OPIC has supported $188 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over 830,000 host-country jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $72 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 273,000 American jobs.