LETTER FROM THE CEO

Dear Friends: September marked the end of yet another successful and busy quarter for DFC. DFC approved over $3.6 billion in investment, which will play a pivotal role in tackling pressing development challenges, advancing economic prosperity, and supporting the COVID-19 response. Additionally, in the weeks following the historic signing of the Abraham Accords and the Economic Normalization between Serbia and Kosovo, I led a U.S. Government delegation to the region as well as Greece, Israel, and Morocco. This delegation was comprised of representatives from the National Security Council, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Export Import Bank, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Commerce—a powerhouse interagency group that together offers the full spectrum of tools to support global development and U.S. foreign policy. There are more exciting things coming up for DFC, including our Investing in Africa's Future conference with the Atlantic Council and the launch of our first development strategy. Stay tuned this month for updates and be sure to read the highlights below to catch up on anything you may have missed. Adam Boehler (@AdamUSDFC) Chief Executive Officer U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

DFC APPROVES $3.6 BILLION OF NEW INVESTMENT Over the last quarter DFC's Board of Directors approved $3.6 billion of investment across 39 projects to advance development in Africa, Latin America, and emerging markets across the globe. LEARN MORE

DFC CEO LEADS U.S. DELEGATION TO ADVANCE ECONOMIC INVESTMENTS The delegation visited Greece, Kosovo, Serbia, Israel, and Morocco to advance recent economic agreements and private sector investment to support global development and U.S. foreign policy. LEARN MORE

SUPPORTING WOMEN IN RURAL UGANDA DURING COVID-19 DFC has provided a $5 million loan to help impact-driven jewelry brand Akola—particularly the women that it employs in rural Uganda—weather the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic. LEARN MORE

STRENGTHENING THE AGRICULTURAL SUPPLY CHAIN IN INDIA DFC has committed a $20 million loan to Samunnati in support of its efforts to make agriculture value chains more efficient, lower food waste, and provide higher and stable incomes for smallholder farmers in India. LEARN MORE

DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL HOSTS FIRST MEETING DFC's Development Advisory Council convened for its first official meeting to learn more about recent projects and listen to updates on the agency's work from the Chief Development Officer and other DFC staff. LEARN MORE

SMART WOMEN SMART POWER PODCAST Managing Director for Global Women’s Issues, Charity Wallace, discussed DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative and economically empowering the world's women on the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Smart Women, Smart Power podcast. LEARN MORE

DIA MARTIN ON PARTNERING WITH EARLY STAGE BUSINESSES

Dia Martin is Managing Director of Social Enterprise Finance and heads DFC’s Portfolio for Impact and Innovation (PI2) program which provides support for early-stage ventures that offer promise for significant development impact, but may be particularly challenged to access financing. How did you first become interested in development and working at DFC? I studied finance as an undergrad and in graduate school and I was interested in using finance to empower people who have been underserved. I remember when I was applying to graduate school, I had to write an essay about where I saw myself in the future. I wrote about flying to Africa to work to complete a financing transaction. It was always my goal to invest in a way that had a positive social impact. At DFC you’ve led efforts to launch and expand the PI2 program to support early-stage businesses. Why are young businesses so critical to advancing global development? Many of these projects focus on providing a service or a solution to underserved communities such as women, small businesses, youth, and rural populations and they have a vision for having a strong impact. They have great potential to grow but they are in a place in the market where there is not a strong financing structure in place. If we can connect with them earlier, we can reap the benefits developmentally and financially. Can you describe a PI2 project that’s achieved a strong impact? There are several. In Cameroon we supported a hospital that provides affordable cataract surgery, which is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness. I remember visiting the clinic on a due diligence trip and meeting a young child and family that was being served by the hospital. It is so gratifying to see the direct impact of our investments. It has been three years since we first supported that project and I am so proud that we have helped it perform thousands of cataract surgeries to people who otherwise would not have been able to afford the procedure. In India, we were one of the first institutional lenders to support Greenlight Planet, which provides off-grid solar lighting to rural communities. In addition to bringing electricity to these communities, our support has helped create jobs for local residents, and helped Greenlight Planet expand further. After repaying our loan, the company has gone on to raise $90 million from other lenders.

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