NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Friday, May 30, 2014

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is proud to release for the first time a detailed picture of its Fiscal Year 2013 commitments in the impact investing space. OPIC has long been a leader in defining impact investing, which leverages private capital to invest for positive social and environmental change.

“OPIC’s extensive impact portfolio defines our mission to support the very best of projects that seek both social and environmental returns,” said Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC’s President and CEO. “We have a long history of transforming private capital into solutions for common social and environmental challenges around the world, and today OPIC is the largest impact investor in the U.S. Government.”

In seeking to develop a more specific definition for what constitutes an impact investment, OPIC has applied three measures to its own 2013 portfolio:

Development Finance: $3.9 billion – All of OPIC’s annual financial commitments – in 2013 totaling $3.9 billion – aim to have a positive development impact, by achieving development, social, and financial returns while safeguarding against damage to the environment.

High-Impact Sectors: $2.7 billion- Last year, more than two-thirds of OPIC’s total commitments – $2.7 billion – were in high-impact sectors that are recognized for fostering positive social, environmental and economic development. These sectors include agriculture, education, access to finance, housing for the poor, small and medium enterprise finance, healthcare, renewable energy, water and sanitation.