‘Reducing bureaucratic restrictions can be welcoming for impact investment’
March 01, 2021
Ajay Rao, Regional Managing Director for South Asia, US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)×
In an exclusive interview with BusinessLine, Ajay Rao, Regional Managing Director for South Asia, DFC shares his views on impact investment in India, challenges and opportunities.
US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the US government’s development finance institution, has been partnering with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world. In India, DFC has an outstanding portfolio of over $2.5 billion across 50 projects including commitments in renewable energy, financial services and impact investments in agribusiness and healthcare.
Counter-terrorism in Africa: resetting a result-based approach under President Biden?
Written by Murielle Delaporte -
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It is of course a bit early to predict the course of action the new US Administration is going to adopt regarding Africa in general, and regarding the fight against terror groups or what is being referred to nowadays as VEOs or Violent Extremist Organizations in that part of the world in particular.
Nonetheless, it is possible to highlight some potential trends based on the Biden-Harris team campaign and its first weeks in action, as well as the current geopolitical environment.
Something Old, Something New
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Launched in 2016, the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a valuable project for strengthening trade, infrastructure, energy, and political cooperation among countries bordering the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea. A strong, prosperous, and secure Eastern Europe is in America’s interest, and the 3SI plays an important role in making this happen.
The 3SI has received strong bipartisan support in the U.S. since its inception, and despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the initiative has continued to gain momentum over the past year. In 2021, the Biden Administration and Congress should continue to feature the 3SI as a central component of U.S. policy in Europe. The initiative is a force multiplier that bolsters security in Europe and strengthens transatlantic trade ties by marrying private capital with some of the most dynamic and growing economies in Europe, while also helping to stymie Chinese and Russian efforts to make inroads in the region.
By Chris Olaoluwa Ogunmodede
President Joe Biden will need to combine prudence with creativity to forge a more productive relationship with Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its largest economy. Notwithstanding Nigeria’s relative decline as a power within Africa, U.S.-Nigeria ties remain extensive by regional and continental standards. But they’ve been stymied in recent years by tensions over political corruption, Nigeria’s difficulties in managing the threat from the violent extremist group Boko Haram and the human rights record of Nigerian security forces.
Nigeria’s importance to U.S. policy considerations lies in its large population, geographic size and economic heft, all of which have historically provided some anchor of stability to the West African region. In addition to bilateral fora that include a U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission and a Commercial and Investment Dialogue, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development allocated ove