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The OPIC Blog
Meeting the global unemployment challengeJanuary 31, 2013A report earlier this month from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) offered some staggering measures of worldwide unemployment. IFC said there are currently 200 million people unemployed around the world – a number roughly equivalent to the population of Brazil — and that the developing world will need to create some 600 million new jobs by the year 2020, just 
Small loan, big impactJanuary 22, 2013In 2012, OPIC committed a $3.5 million loan to Healthpoint Services Global India Ltd., an affiliate of the U.S. company Healthpoint Global Services Inc., to support the construction of small water treatment facilities to some 400 communities in India’s Punjab state that have limited access to safe drinking water. The project, which is expected to prevent waterborne diseases and other 
Featured photo: A modern oasis in IndiaJanuary 11, 2013A villager in a remote region of India picks up his daily supply of clean drinking water that has been purified by Healthpoint Services Global India Ltd. to prevent waterborne diseases. OPIC last year committed a $3.5 million loan to the company, which is an affiliate of the U.S.-based Healthpoint Global Services Inc., to support the construction of small water 
OPIC has another record-setting year for renewable resourcesOctober 17, 2012This week, OPIC announced that its commitments to renewable resources projects rose 41 percent in Fiscal Year 2012, which ended September 30, to set a new record of $1.55 billion. The news follows last year’s record setting pace, and as the graphic shows, marks a sharp and steady increase in OPIC’s support for projects in clean energy and sustainable agriculture 
In India, living off the grid has its benefitsAugust 02, 2012As large swaths of India were in the dark this week after a massive power outage hit half the population, some of the country’s more remote communities had light. Those communities, once restricted by their locations far from central electric utility grids, have in more recent years benefited from innovation that has enabled them to generate their own power. Shortly before this week’s devastating power outage, The 
Six questions about impact investingJune 05, 2012By: Mitchell L. Strauss, Special Advisor Socially Responsible Finance Investors are increasingly talking about “Impact Investing,” but the practice is not new to OPIC, which has a 40-year history of transforming private capital into solutions for common social and environmental challenges around the world. This Q&A explains the concept of Impact Investing, and why it offers the potential for such strong Q & A with Jay Koh, OPIC’s Head of Investment Funds and Chief Investment StrategistMay 14, 2012We sat down recently with the very busy Jay Koh, OPIC’s Head of Investment Funds and Chief Investment Strategist, to hear more about how investment funds support critical development challenges. Jay is preparing to be a featured speaker this month at the IFC and Emerging Markets Private Equity Association’s 14thAnnual Global Private Equity Conference. He also just wrapped up OPIC’s most recent Addressing the lack of long-term lending for renewable energyApril 10, 2012“Despite significant growth over the past few years, India’s renewable energy sector remains underserved, primarily due to the inability of financial institutions to offer long-term lending,” OPIC recently explained in a blog post for the U.S. Commerce Department. The post discusses OPIC’s recent approval of $250 million in financing to help India’s Infrastructure Development Finance Corp. (IDFC) expand lending for A new way to promote renewable energyMarch 01, 2012Leasing solar energy equipment is becoming increasingly popular in southern California, and a similar model could make sense in the developing world. In a recent piece in Renewable Energy World, Lynn Tabernacki, Managing Director of OPIC’s Renewable and Clean Energy Programs, outlines how leased equipment could accelerate use of renewable energy technology in emerging markets and encurage economic growth. The full text 
“We must do both:” Littlefield says development must focus on people and the planetDecember 12, 2011OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield spoke at the U.N. Climate Change Conference earlier this month, where she addressed the particular challenges of promoting sustainability in the developing world. She stressed that expanded access to natural resources and more efficient use of those resources must be twin priorities. Littlefield’s comments challenged a common perception that rapid, so-called “dirty” development was |
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