US development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) has established its first permanent, dedicated regional office in Côte d’Ivoire, in an effort to stimulate investment into development projects in the critically strategic West and Central Africa.
To mark the occasion, Opic president and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield was heading to Abidjan, in Côte d’Ivoire, and Dakar, in Senegal, with a number of international CEOs, to explore opportunities for private sector investment in the region.
“Opic’s Côte d’Ivoire regional office is the start of an important chapter for this agency and for lasting development throughout West Africa,” she said in a statement.
The region was home to a host of growing economies in need of investment in power, infrastructure, water and agriculture, besides others, and Opic stimulated investment interest by providing investors with financing, political risk insurance and support for private equity investment funds, when commercial funding could not be obtained elsewhere.
“As a recognition of mounting investment momentum and rich development impact opportunity across the region, this Opic office builds a bridge for a strong US business presence in a dynamic investing environment,” she said.
Opic promoted investment into development projects throughout Africa, the most recent of which included agricultural modernisation in Senegal, water infrastructure in Ghana and coffee production in Rwanda.