DFC

                                                                            Main navigation

      
      Who We Are
                            About Us
                      Overview
                      Careers
                            Hiring Paths
                      Career Paths
                      Events
                      DEIA
                      Contact
                      Our People
                            Executive Staff
                      Board of Directors
                      Development Advisory Council
                      What We Do
                            Our Work
                            Regions
                      Sectors
                      Initiatives
                      Active Projects
                      Investment Stories
                      What We Offer
                            Our Products
                            Debt Financing
                      Equity Investments
                      Investment Funds
                      Feasibility Studies
                      Political Risk Insurance
                      Technical Assistance
                      Work With Us
                            Where We Work
                      Investment Policies
                      Eligibility Checklist
                      Apply
                      Our Impact
                            Approach to Impact
                      Transaction Data
                      Reports
                      Transparency
                            Overview
                      Office of Accountability
                      Office of Inspector General
                      Media
                            Newsroom
                      In the News
                      Speeches & Testimony

                                Search...
                Keywords
Apply  Our Work
2X Women’s Initiative 2X Women’s InitiativeThe world’s largest emerging market isn’t a country or region; it’s the world’s women.
 DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative is committed to addressing the unique challenges women face globally and unlocking the multi-trillion dollar opportunity they represent. Through 2X, DFC has catalyzed billions of investment in projects that are owned by women, led by women, or provide a product or service that empowers women. In Fiscal Year 2022, 49 percent of DFC’s commitments advanced 2X, demonstrating the agency’s commitment to bolstering women’s economic empowerment across its portfolio. DFC also applies a gender lens to every project it considers to help ensure that women will benefit.

DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative has also inspired peer development finance institutions around the globe to collaborate through the **2X Challenge**, which has recently announced a new $15 billion target for gender-lens investment after surpassing its original goal by 100 percent.

DFC's investments are helping advance **DFI collaboration on infrastructure development** to bolster private sector investment in shared priority sectors including climate, health, gender equality, and digital connectivity.
 Investment Stories
      
      Revitalizing Kenya’s organic pesticide industry and improving livelihoods for smallholder farmers
    A new model for investing in women
    Sourcing critical minerals to support the global clean energy transition
    Fueling equitable transportation and entrepreneurship in South Africa
    Helping rural Kenyans and Ugandans purchase essential household goods
    Strengthening digital logistics and shipping in Pakistan and Egypt
    Protecting Pakistan’s female farmers from climate-related losses
    Increasing access to hygiene products for women in India
    Tackling water scarcity in Sub-Saharan Africa through local entrepreneurship
    Improving farm productivity in India with digital solutions
    Helping women in Brazil access affordable healthcare
    Expanding COVID vaccine manufacturing capacity in Southeast Asia
    Advancing accessible healthcare in India
    Advancing access to affordable housing finance for women in India
    Leveraging technology to improve access to capital for small businesses in Africa and Asia
    Expanding access to clean water and sanitation
    Supporting refugees and host populations in Jordan and Lebanon
    Expanding a leading university in Vietnam
    Mobilizing growth capital in Nepal
    Strengthening treatment of chronic disease in Sub-Saharan Africa
    Helping small businesses in Liberia access long-term lending
    Supporting Jordan’s economic recovery from COVID-19
    Supporting small business growth in Guatemala
    Helping women-owned businesses in East Africa weather the disruptions of COVID-19
    Helping a women-owned business expand access to women’s health and sanitation products
    Preserving the livelihoods of rural farmers confronting COVID-19
    Providing critical services to women in Latin America
    Expanding women’s access to affordable mortgages in India
    Supporting loans to female borrowers
    Bringing electricity to Chad
    Expanding access to clean water in El Salvador
    Supporting a female entrepreneur in Mongolia Woman standing in pyrethrum field
A DFC loan is helping Kentegra, a Kenyan and U.S. biotechnology company, build a new pyrethrum processing facility in Nakuru County, Kenya, to meet growing demand.
Learn More
    woman in red and orange outfit smiling
A DFC loan of $10 million provided first loss capital to the Impact Investment Exchange Women’s Catalyst Fund to help launch Women’s Livelihood BondTM 5: the world’s first Orange Bond.
Learn More
    TechMet's mining facility in Brazil
A DFC equity investment in TechMet Limited will support the development of a critical mineral mining facility in Piaui, Brazil that will produce nickel and cobalt suitable for lithium-ion batteries. DFC’s investment will also support the development of new technology and designs in processes that will advance more efficient and environmentally sensitive mining practices.
Learn More
    SA Taxi minibuses undergoing maintenance
DFC loans are helping SA Taxi Impact Fund expand lending to black-owned and -led SMEs that operate minibus taxis across South Africa. These small buses provide affordable door-to-door transportation along fixed routes. SA Taxi’s business model integrates services such as repairs and refurbishments, insurance, and data analytics to help bolster the success of its borrowers.
Learn More
    Copia sales agent with customer
DFC has invested $10 million in equity in Copia Global, Inc., a nine-year-old e-commerce startup, to help it expand its online retail model with an emphasis on reaching the mass market consumer in Africa. DFC’s equity investment helped mobilize over $40 million of additional third-party capital to support Copia’s growth.
Learn More
    Cargo ship in ocean
A DFC partial loan guaranty with Almavest Ltd. (ALMA), in collaboration with USAID Pakistan and USAID Egypt, will help Trella Holdings BV strengthen its fast-growing digital logistics business in Egypt and Pakistan to map more efficient routes and connect more shippers and truckers.
Learn More
    Pakistani farmer in a field
A DFC loan is helping the InsuResilience Investment Fund work with financial institutions to develop and expand insurance to protect smallholder farmers and other climate-vulnerable populations against extreme weather and other natural disasters.
Learn More
    Two Indian schoolgirls looking at their schoolwork
Former banker and leadership coach turned-entrepreneur Sahil Dharia founded India-based Soothe Healthcare in 2012 after considering the negative effects of girls missing school due to menstruation and the benefits of expanding access to hygiene products. DFC financing will help Soothe support the expanded manufacturing of affordable menstrual products and grow its distribution network to better reach under-served women in non-urban areas.
Learn More
    Two Jibu employees smiling in front of a van
DFC financing supports the expansion of Jibu, an award-winning business that helps local entrepreneurs establish franchises selling packaged drinking water. Jibu provides access to drinking water to underserved African communities in Rwanda and Uganda, as well as other markets across the continent. Jibu currently operates in seven African countries with over 195 franchises.
Learn More
    Indian farmer using mobile phone
A DFC investment in Chiratae Ventures International Fund IV LLC is supporting investments in multiple technology companies, including Agrostar, which offers an agri-tech platform to help millions of farmers access information and expert advice and purchase the seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs to help them increase yields and reach larger markets.
Learn More
    Female doctor measuring heartbeat of female patient
A DFC loan is helping GIP Medicina Diagnóstica S.A. expand its chain of women’s health diagnostic centers that provide diagnostic testing, imaging, blood work, and pathology testing services. The company, which is known as Femme in the local market, currently operates 14 centers in São Paulo and will use the DFC financing to expand, adding more than 27 centers over the next six years, serving low and middle-income women. With the additional diagnostic centers, the company projects its annual patient consultations will increase from approximately 300,000 currently to more than 4.5 million. Femme plans to place new locations in underserved areas to help increase access for low-income households.
Learn More
    COVID-19 vaccine dose in front of a masked woman
DFC financing is helping Indian vaccine manufacturer, Biological E Limited, expand production capacity for at least one billion additional COVID vaccine doses.
Learn More
    Indian man on a video call with a doctor
DFC-guaranteed loans to Portea Medical, an India-based home healthcare company founded in 2013, will help provide targeted healthcare services at a fraction of the cost of traditional care. While hospital ICU care can cost approximately $400 per day, Portea’s comparable home-based services are available at only $133 per day.
Learn More
    Indian woman standing in the doorway of a home
DFC financing to ManiBhavnam Home Finance India Private Limited (ManiBhavnam) is helping support mortgage and home equity loans to low-income borrowers in cities across northern and central India, with 100% of the loans to be provided to women borrowers, co-borrowers, or guarantors.
Learn More
    Woman smiling and holding basket
A loan to Lendable Inc. is supporting the creation of the Lendable Fintech Credit Fund I, which will provide loans to fin-tech companies across Africa and Asia. These fin-tech companies will use innovative technologies such as digital banks and mobile investment accounts to provide credit, working capital, remittances, and payment solutions to underserved customers and MSMEs in target countries.
Learn More
    Woman holding a cup of water
DFC financing is helping WaterEquity, a nonprofit impact investor, provide loans to microfinance lenders to help communities in Asia, Latin America, and Africa invest in water and sanitation solutions. By mobilizing significant private investment, WaterEquity has financed more than 543,000 loans that have helped nearly three million people across nine developing countries access safe water or sanitation in their homes and communities by installing toilets, septic tanks, or connections to piped water. DFC’s financing will support additional lending through 2026 aiming to bring access to water or sanitation solutions to millions more low-income families around the world.
Learn More
    Woman smiling in store
A DFC loan to the Near East Foundation (NEF) UK is supporting the creation of a Development Impact Bond (DIB), an innovative form of financing which is repaid by donors seeking specific measurable social impacts. The DIB—DFC’s first development impact bond focused on refugees—will finance a training and grant program to help refugees and vulnerable Jordanians, primarily women and youth, launch microenterprises as a sustainable source of household income.
Learn More
    Student holding a pencil and taking an exam
DFC financing is supporting the expansion of Fulbright University Vietnam with a new campus in Ho Chi Minh City that will serve up to 1,300 students. Fulbright, Vietnam’s first independent nonprofit university, offers degrees in engineering, liberal arts, and public policy and partners with multiple American universities including Harvard and the University of Texas to bring a high-quality undergraduate and graduate education to Vietnam. As the first college in Vietnam to offer needs-based tuition assistance, the university is also expanding access to affordable education.
Learn More
    Nepalese woman using tablet
A DFC equity investment in Dolma Impact Fund II will support investments in healthcare, renewable energy, and technology. Dolma Fund Management, the first private equity fund manager dedicated to investing in Nepal, will target investments that reduce dependence on imported energy, help mitigate the impacts of flood, landslide, and drought on its largely agrarian economy, while promoting the introduction of technology that promotes financial inclusion.
Learn More
    Interior view of a dialysis centerPhoto Credit: Africa Healthcare Network
A DFC loan is supporting the expansion of Africa Healthcare Network, the first dialysis chain in Sub-Saharan Africa focused on expanding access to affordable and quality care. Africa Healthcare Network will use the loan to improve dialysis care in existing hospitals in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, while establishing clinics to screen for kidney disease as well as registries for patients who are at risk.
Learn More
    Women members of the International Bank of Liberia's senior management team
DFC financing is helping Liberia’s oldest bank, International Bank of Liberia Ltd., increase lending to its growing base of SME clients. DFC’s commitment of $20 million in financing extends an existing partnership with the bank, which previously used $20 million in financing from DFC’s predecessor, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, to provide loans ranging from $500,000 to $3 million with tenors of up to three years to a group of SME borrowers in key industries including food value chains, logistics, and manufacturing.
Learn More
    A smiling female Vitas Jordan client
DFC has committed a $50 million loan portfolio guaranty to help Vitas Jordan, a Jordanian microfinance institution, expand its lending to “missing middle” small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), businesses in need of financing too large for microfinance loans yet often considered too small or risky for commercial lenders.
Learn More
    Guatemalan woman smiling in a store
DFC committed $200 million in financing to Guatemala’s Banco Industrial to expand lending to small and medium enterprises and businesses that are owned by or led by women. The financing has enabled Banco Industrial to support businesses across the country in a range of sectors.
Learn More
    Ugandan woman on the street
DFC is providing financing to the SEAF COVID-19 Global Gender Lens Emergency Loan Finance LLC, which is managed by the global private equity impact firm SEAF (Small Enterprise Assistance Funds). The facility is supporting Financial Access Commerce and Trade Services (FACTS), a company that specializes in providing short-term working capital to small and medium-sized businesses, agribusinesses, and emerging entrepreneurs in Kenya and Uganda.
Learn More
    kasha delivery driver on motor bike
Equity financing is helping the women-owned and women-led e-commerce business Kasha, expand its business selling personal care products to women in Kenya and Rwanda. Kasha offers an online store accessible through basic mobile phones, where consumers can browse, order, make payment and arrange for delivery. The company also works with a network of agents, most of them community health workers, who reach out to women in more remote areas to assist them with their purchases. To date, the company has served 70,000 customers, most of them low-income women.
Learn More
    photo, woman smiling and checking on crops
A DFC loan guaranty facility is helping Root Capital sustain livelihoods of more than one million farmers—more than half of them women—in 21 countries in Africa and Latin America.
Learn More
    photo, woman creating jewelry and smiling
Financing to Global Partnerships supports lending to microenterprises and other organizations in Latin America that are working to expand opportunity for people living in poverty by expanding access to paid work, education, energy, healthcare, housing, sanitation, and clean water. Most of DFC’s financing targets women, who are more likely to work in the informal economy and be vulnerable to poverty.
Learn More
    photo, Indian woman standing in front of building and smiling
Local currency financing of 350 million Indian rupee is helping mortgage lender Aviom provide approximately 1,200 home loans to women in India. Aviom, which serves women borrowers in predominately rural areas, provides loans in an average amount of $4,000. Many of the women served by Aviom work in the informal economy, have undocumented income, and would otherwise not be able to access home financing. Affordable mortgages enable women to build homes they could otherwise not afford and establish a credit history.
Learn More
    Supporting loans to female borrowers
A $10 million loan has helped Kiva Microfunds support almost 100,000 microloans to developing country borrowers across 30 countries. With women comprising more than three quarters of borrowers, the project advances DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative to support projects that economically empower women.
Learn More
    Bringing electricity to Chad
A $10 million loan will help FinLux Ellen Sarl distribute solar kits and appliances to individuals, schools, health clinics and small businesses in Chad, providing a reliable source of power to communities not connected to an electricity grid. FinLux solar equipment is based on a battery produced in the United States, and adapted for use in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Because women comprise more than half the company’s workforce, the project also promotes women’s economic empowerment.
Learn More
    Expanding access to clean water in El SalvadorPhoto Credit: Catholic Relief Services
Financing to Azure Source Capital, a special lending vehicle, is supporting loans to small cities and rural communities for investment in new and rehabilitated water pumps, pipelines, and storage tanks. Azure aims to improve water supply for 300,000 people, and is combining financial support with training so local residents can operate their own water systems.
Learn More
    Supporting a female entrepreneur in Mongolia
DFC's $5 million loan is helping Goyol Cashmere, a local producer of wool and cashmere knitwear, construct a new factory and purchase additional equipment in order to expand production. Cashmere is the third largest export in Mongolia, where cashmere goats are well suited for the harsh climate. The country's cashmere industry, which represents 28 percent of the world's cashmere market, provides stable incomes to over 100,000 people across the country. Goyol Cashmere sources 50 percent of its raw cashmere materials from rural herders to produce high-quality knitwear that is exported to bolster Mongolia's economy.
Learn More
 Follow UsStay connected with DFC news and updates!
Sign Up
      
        U.S. International Development Finance Corporation1100 New York Ave NW, Washington, DC 20527Info@dfc.gov | +1 (202) 336-8400
                            
                                                Footer - Quick Links 1
  

        
      White House
                      usa.gov
                      Office of Inspector General
                      Archived Reports
                      Privacy
                      Accessibility
                      Vulnerability Disclosure Form
                      Information Quality Guidelines
                      FOIA
                      EEO Office ×
 Keywords
Apply