August 31, 2012
It is fitting that the focus of this year’s World Water Week is the connection between water security and food security. It has been an unusually dry summer throughout much of the U.S., and a drought in even a single major food-producing country poses an additional threat to world food prices, which are already at an all-time high. Even before Read more…
August 30, 2012 How one appliance can saves lives, empower women, and reduce pollution in the developing world. By Mimi Alemayehou Nearly every mother’s daily routine includes making meals for her children no matter where on this planet she happens to live. In the U.S., we have a range of easy, efficient appliances to choose from when preparing a meal – stovetop, oven, Read more…
August 24, 2012
A field in Mexico uses a drip tape irrigation system provided by Wade Rain Inc., a small business based in Tualatin, Oregon. Wade Rain’s Mexican subsidiary sells irrigation equipment — most of it manufactured in the U.S. — to small farms in central Mexico and has helped introduce more efficient irrigation technologies such as drip tape, in which long lines Read more…
August 23, 2012
Last week, during a live webcast entitled Emerging Market Private Equity – Part 1: “A Growth Story,” OPIC’s Chief Investment Strategist Jay Koh highlighted ways to be successful in emerging market private equity. Koh and International Finance Corporation Chief Investment Officer and Manager David Wilton hosted the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) sponsored webcast, which attracted nearly 100 active participants. Read more…
August 20, 2012
In 2011, OPIC provided a $1.9 million loan to Broad Cove Ecohomes, Liberia, the U.S. developer of middle-income homes in Liberia, where years of civil war had resulted in a wave of migration to the capital city of Monrovia, and left a severe shortage of affordable housing. In addition to its plans to build 80 single-family homes and adjacent community Read more…
August 17, 2012
Housing construction at the site of Broad Cove Ecohomes, Liberia outside of Monrovia. Broad Cove is using an OPIC loan to build moderately-priced houses in a region where affordable housing is virtually nonexistent. Broad Cove is using renewable and locally-sourced materials including bricks made from compressed earth and cement which will keep the houses naturally cool.
August 15, 2012
When OPIC hosted some clients this spring for a discussion about private equity, we conducted a highly informal survey about the climate for fundraising today and the outlook for tomorrow. The results were realistic but sobering. On a scale of one to five with one being “great” and five being “dismal,” half of the 10 guests who completed the survey Read more…
August 13, 2012
Workers at the FAIM company in Rwanda begin planting new, virus-free banana plant seedlings. These seedling will help farmers boost their farm production, their incomes, and the local food supply. In Rwanda, deficient seed and plant stocks hinder food production and impair the health and nutrition of communities that depend on local food. For example, the use of diseased plants Read more…
August 09, 2012
Sunday, August 12 is International Youth Day, an annual observance supported by the United Nations (UN) calling attention to youth issues worldwide. In both developing and developed countries, young people face pressing global challenges, such as high levels of unemployment and subpar working conditions. They are seemingly left out while their leaders make decisions on their future. The UN provides Read more…
August 07, 2012
OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield at U.S.-South Africa Business Partnership Summit. OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield at U.S.-South Africa Business Partnership Summit with The Honorable Robert Hormats, Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy & the Environment, U.S. Department of State; The Honorable Fred Hochberg, Chairman and President, Export-Import Bank of the United States; Mr. Paul Talley, Chief Operating Read more…
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