Worldwide—Engaging Private Investment Partners for PEPFAR

Implemented by DAI and San Francisco, California-based Origo, this groundbreaking public-private partnership allied venture capital with public funds to mitigate the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Preventing HIV depends on a complex set of factors rooted in the personal security of individuals and communities, and central to security is economic stability. To promote economic stability, the project engaged external capital players and investors in joint ventures with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other public sector partners. The DAI/Origo team worked under USAID’s Global Development Alliance Strategic Services Program (GDA SSP). The work was closely aligned with the GDA, which develops complementary “pipelines” that match philanthropic, venture, and Overseas Private Investment Corporation capital to USAID-supported enterprises. GDA SSP PEPFAR also complemented our work with the Hewlett Foundation to develop investment and partnership opportunities via an Africa Development Corridors Platform, which uses geospatial analysis to visualize and identify investment opportunities along infrastructure corridors that include the PEPFAR target countries. Visual mapping informed decisions regarding corridor investments that leverage diverse resources.

Sample Activities

• Analyze PEPFAR’s budget and program funds, as well as those of potential partners.
• Develop a strategy for engaging venture capitalists, foundations, and nontraditional investors.
• Develop a Private Sector Advisory Network to consult with PEPFAR.
• Plan public-private partnerships.

Select Results

• Project created a new model of public-private partnership called the Impact Investment Model that leveraged PEPFAR’s spending to attract private investment into the local commercial infrastructure that serves PEPFAR programs. This proof of concept initiative generated one successful Impact Investment Public-Private Partnership, which catalyzed development of a rural pharmacy/clinic franchise network in South Africa.
• By 2010, the initiative had also generated one promising Impact Investment PPP in Kenya, and a pipeline of 11 opportunity areas that showed significant potential.