OPIC Supports U.S. Investment and Development Needs in Africa

Historically, OPIC has provided more than $4.7 billion in finance and insurance to support over 320 projects

in sub-Saharan Africa. OPIC’s current investments portfolio provides more than $1.7 billion to projects

ranging from housing and construction to tourism and financial services.

OPIC Highlights is published by Overseas Private Investment Corporation 1100 New York Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20527

Office of External Affairs

1100 New York Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20527

202-336-8400

www.opic.gov

OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION

OPIC Highlights

Bringing Potable Water

to Communities

OPIC is providing a $500,000 loan

to Living Water International

(LWI), a Texas-based nonprofit organization, to drill

potable water wells in

rural areas of Kenya, providing scores of communities access to clean

water. The loan will be

used to purchase equipment - a high-capacity

drilling rig, two supply

trucks, an air compressor

and two pumping service

trucks - that will enable

LWI to drill 70 more

wells per year in Kenya

and reduce a backlog of

500 requests.

As each borehole is being

drilled, LWI crews will

provide local stakeholders with

instruction on water hygiene; after

mately 150 wells in Kenya. In

2002, a $100,000 OPIC loan

enabled LWI to drill more than

200 wells in Ghana. Both loans

have been serviced as agreed.

Living Water International's wells

have provided thousands of people

in rural areas of Kenya - among

several countries - access to clean

drinking water, in the process promoting good health and reducing

the incidence of water-borne diseases such as

cholera and

typhoid. OPIC is

pleased to work

with LWI on a

project with so

many developmental benefits.

Since its inception

in 1991, LWI has

drilled more than

2,200 wells in various countries

worldwide.

drilling is completed, LWI will

train stakeholders in well operation and maintenance.

The loan is OPIC's third to LWI:

in 2001, OPIC

provided a

$200,000 loan

to enable LWI

to purchase

equipment and

supplies to

drill approxiU.S. Small Business Uses OPIC Loan to Establish Wireless Network

A U.S. small business will use a $7.6 million OPIC loan to establish a fixed wireless network in the populous

Rivers State of southern Nigeria.

OPIC will provide the loan to Sirius Wireless Limited, a subsidiary of Washington, D.C.-based telecommunications developer ThirdWave Networks Holding Inc., for the first phase of a project that will ultimately subscribe 24,000 Nigerians to the network.

The project will provide residential, small and medium-sized enterprises, and large corporation subscribers in

Rivers State with much-needed basic telephony, as well as internet service ranging from broadband, DSL,

and dial-up. The first phase of the project will establish a network with an initial capacity of 4,000 subscribers. 

Harris Corporation, a U.S. company, will build the network. ThirdWave Management, another subsidiary of

ThirdWave Networks Holding, will provide senior management and strategic direction to the project.
Helping HIV-positive Homeowners

HIV-positive homeowners in South Africa will

be able to keep their homes thanks to a $250

million OPIC loan that will facilitate funds for

appropriate treatment for people who default on

the their mortgage loans as a result of HIV and

Aids related illness.

The loan is being provided to Housing for HIV

Inc., an organization established as a joint venture between New York-based Shared Interest,

Inc. and South African-based Home Loan

Guaranty Company (HLGC). Housing for HIV

Inc. has raised an additional $50 million from

JP Morgan Securities, UK to form a $300 million pool of funds. Net proceeds from the

investment pool are being used to pay for voluntary counseling, testing, education and appropriate treatment for HIV-positive homeowners in

South Africa who hold mortgages from banks

that are guaranteed by HLGC. Treatment and

education for affected homeowners is being provided through additional agreements with South

African clinics.

The banks have finalized agreements with the

Home Loan Guarantee Company. This innovative project not only supports the banks, but also

conveys respect for the dignity of HIV-positive

homeowners and values them as productive

members of society.

The project addresses several objectives of the

Bush Administration's Emergency Plan for

AIDS Relief, which aims to prevent seven million new AIDS infections, treat at least two million people with life-extending drugs, and provide humane care for millions of people suffering from AIDS in Africa.

U.S. Business to Increase Poultry Production in Ghana

OPIC is providing over $5.6 million in political risk insurance support to George K. Amoah & Chicken George

Farms for the renovation and expansion of a commercial poultry farm outside of Accra, Ghana. The poultry

farm will incorporate ten poultry breeder houses, ancillary facilities for egg production, a feed mill for the processing of feed corn and a facility to process and package poultry meat products. 

The poultry farm is expected to generate employment while also helping to improve the amount and quality of

protein available in local diets. Additionally, the Ghanaian poultry industry is expected to benefit from planned

new product development, distribution systems and educational programs.

OPIC Loan Helps Establish Flour Mill in

Nigeria

OPIC is providing a $6.7 million loan to a small business subsidiary of Deamar Group, a New York-based

agribusiness company, for construction and operation of

the only flour mill in Akwa Ibom State in southeastern

Nigeria, providing a basic staple to an underserved segment of the country's population. The mill will produce

bread flour and wheat offal, a by-product used to feed

livestock. The flour will be sold to flour distributors and

commercial bakeries in Akwa Ibom's main towns, the

offal to farmers and owners of livestock. The mill will

produce 200 metric tons of flour per day.

The mill will source its wheat - principally hard red

wheat - for the flour from international markets but primarily from the United States. Nigeria is the United

States' third-largest export market for wheat and the

largest export market for hard red winter wheat.

Although demand for wheat flour in Nigeria has grown

significantly in the past ten years - since 1998, the volume of retail bread sales has risen over 80 percent -

only 60-to-65 percent of Akwa Ibom's population has

access to sufficient supplies of bread flour. 

This project is expected to have a profound impact on

the nutritional development of Akwa Ibom's population,

providing a basic staple to thousands of Nigerians on a

daily basis. Moreover, it is supported by the American

wheat industry, which will source the wheat for the

mill. OPIC is pleased to support a project with developmental and economic benefits for both the Nigerian and

American wheat industries.
OPIC Supports Regional

Transportation Network in

Malawi, Mozambique and

Zambia 

In December 2004, OPIC loaned $14 million to the private business consortium

managing the existing Nacala Corridor rail

and port system in Malawi, Mozambique

and Zambia. The financing was the first

tranche in a three-year financing plan for

the rehabilitation of the rail and port network intended to reduce the cost of

importing petroleum and much-needed

food assistance, as well as exports and

imports for small businesses.

The Consortium is also providing much

needed passenger services in both

Mozambique and Malawi, and is providing freight transport to remote locations in

both countries that otherwise would have

difficulty obtaining transport services.

In 2005, the Consortium commenced the

refurbishment of the deep-water port of

Nacala and the rehabilitation of the railway line in Mozambique and Malawi.

These efforts will continue over the next

two years until completion. After rehabilitation, the Consortium will continue to

operate the Nacala Corridor Project for 12

years.

The private consortium has become an

important contributor to the economic

growth and development of eastern

Zambia, Malawi and northern

Mozambique, and the successful completion of the project will help the efforts of

these countries to significantly enhance

their agricultural productivity and exports

through increased access to expanded rail

and port facilities, and provide a more

direct, and less costly, means of transporting essential food aid to famine-stricken

countries.

OPIC Provides Loan for Housing Project in

Zambia

OPIC is providing a $46.3 million loan for a housing development in Zambia that will leverage $80 million of new housing

construction, generate 5,000 new homes and serve as a model for

future housing projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

The project also represents significant progress toward fulfillment of the Bush Administration's African Mortgage Market

Initiative, established in July 2003 to encourage the development

of mortgage markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

OPIC will provide the loan to

Houses for Africa Mortgage

Finance Zambia, to facilitate

mortgage financing for 5,000

new homes to built in the

Lilayi Housing Estate near

Lusaka, the capital.

The company is a joint venture

between Nevada-based Houses

for Africa Inc.; Pangaea

Holdings LLC. of Wisconsin;

and City Investments Ltd, a

Lusaka, Zambia-based agricultural and real estate development company.

The Lilayi estate will provide electricity, water and sewage, telephone, trash removal and parking services, as well stations for

bus and taxi services. It will also feature a separate commercial

and retail area with banking services on site, a school, clinic,

green areas for recreation and a police post. The target buyers of

the houses will be salaried workers and self-employed persons.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will

provide technical assistance in the enhancement of the title deeds

registry system within the Zambian Ministry of Lands, which

will ensure the timely delivery of certificates of mortgage and

recording of mortgages.

The project will help Zambia address a critical housing shortage:

the country's population growth rate for 1990-2000 was 2.9 percent, but the rate of increase of housing was less than one percent

of the annual requirement of 600,000 units for urban areas. In

particular, the high population growth rate and migration have

resulted in the mushrooming of squatter settlements on Lusaka's

periphery. Moreover, a recent study by USAID found that

Zambia has virtually no retail mortgage market.

OPIC financing is helping Zambia

address its critical housing shortage.
April 2006

OPIC Helps Answer Botswana’s

Growing Demand for Electricity

OPIC is providing an $8.5 million investment

guaranty to U.S. small business Kalahari Gas

Corporation, owned in part by Covalent Energy

Corporation of Arlington, VA, to help Botswana

take advantage of its natural gas reserves,

answering a growing demand for electricity.

OPIC is helping to finance equipment purchase

and drilling of coal bed methane (CBM) wells

located approximately 500 meters underground

in eastern Botswana.

Unlike coal, CBM does not contain particulate

pollutants, and its production by-product, water,

can be used for irrigation or industrial process

water, thereby replacing scarce potable water that

is currently being used for that purpose.

Botswana currently has no infrastructure in place

for developing CBM, either for extraction or

end-use.

Only 22 percent of Botswana's population has

access to electricity. This project will provide a

vital step toward the country’s economic development by accelerating power generation in a

way that is both environmentally friendly and

efficient.

OPIC is a U.S. government agency that helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging

markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign

policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

Since 1971, OPIC has supported more than $164 billion worth of investments that have generated over $69 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 264,000 American jobs. For more information please go to www.opic.gov.

OPIC Supports Two Investment Funds in

Africa

OPIC is providing $250 million in financing for the 

establishment of two private equity investment funds

designed to support the growth of businesses in 

sub-Saharan Africa. Establishment of the funds fulfills an

important objective of the Africa Growth and Opportunity

Act.

Up to $100 million of support will go to the establishment

of the first fund, to be managed by Washington, D.C.-based

Emerging Market Partnership (EMP). EMP’s Africa Fund

II will target investments in infrastructure and related

industries in Africa, including telecommunications, oil and

gas, power, transportation and agribusiness. The fund may

also invest in the media, financial services and 

manufacturing sectors.

OPIC will provide up to $150 million toward the 

establishment of the second fund, to be managed by Ethos

Private Equity based in South Africa. The fund will 

promote the expansion of medium-sized enterprises in subSaharan Africa, with an emphasis on South Africa and the

manufacturing and services sectors. Called Ethos Fund V, it

will also support South Africa’s effort to encourage black

economic empowerment, as well as promote opportunities

for women and low-income individuals through an 

arrangement with an investment firm, Sphere, which 

supports rural development and women-owned businesses.

OPIC to Host International Conference on Housing Investment in Africa

Identifying new opportunities for U.S. investment in housing sectors throughout Africa is the goal of an international conference to be hosted by OPIC. Called HOUSING AFRICA,the conference will be held May 2-4 in Cape

Town, South Africa.

HOUSING AFRICA represents a unique opportunity to hear from leading housing experts, U.S. businesses

actively investing in the housing sector, legal experts, private equity fund managers, and U.S. and African senior

government officials about investment potential in the continent's many emerging markets. The conference will

also feature local businesses and banks engaged in the housing sector, and provide opportunities for facilitating

key private sector investment partnerships with U.S. businesses planning to invest in the sector.

Safe, affordable housing is not only a universal basic need, but it is also a cornerstone of economic growth worldwide. This conference will bring face-to-face leaders of America's housing industry -from homebuilders to mortgage financiers - with African business counterparts and government officials, in order to both identify new markets for their products, and establish opportunities for joint ventures.

For more information, and to register, visit www.trademeetings.com