Worldwide—Development Credit Authority (DCA)

Client: U.S. Agency for International Development

Duration: 2004-2007

Country: Regional

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Development Credit Authority provides flexible credit enhancement tools to encourage sustainable private sector investment in creditworthy growth sectors currently underserved by formal financial institutions. The DCA allows USAID missions to partially guarantee loans or debt instruments issued by private sector lenders to sub-sovereign borrowers (private companies and municipalities). Successful DCA deals ensures sustainable credit relationships between local, underserved businesses and commercial financial institutions. The DCA—catalyzing finance and facilitating new financial institution relationships—promotes a sustainable private sector approach to economic development and growth.

Sample Activities

Work with USAID’s Office of Development Credit (ODC) to design and analyze new DCA deals.
Communicate clearly the DCA’s strengths and functions so that it becomes a regular component of mission programming.

Select Results

Addressed the ODC’s next generation of activities, expanded upon the office’s successes, and facilitated the increased use of the DCA abroad.
Provided technical staff with good understanding of DCA and relevant expertise.
Assisted ODC in thinking about larger organizational and performance issues.

Palestine—The Compete Project

We are helping key Palestinian sectors compete in regional and global markets. Targeted sectors in the West Bank and Gaza include agribusiness, tourism, information and communications technology, stone and marble, fishing, and garments.