19 November 2014, Washington, D.C. – EMPEA announces the launch of its DFI Council, an advisory body comprised of and dedicated to development finance institutions (DFIs) whose institutional mandates support financial sector development and investment in emerging markets. Michael Barth, Senior Advisor at EMPEA, chairs the group.

The Council provides an effective venue for its members to connect with each other, identifying practical ways in which peer collaboration and coordination can increase the efficiency and impact of DFI investments in emerging markets. The Council also contributes to EMPEA’s research and programming to increase awareness amongst global stakeholders about private capital’s role in advancing economic growth, as well as the importance of DFIs’ role within this asset class.

Commenting on the Council’s launch, EMPEA President and CEO Robert van Zwieten said “DFIs play a hugely important role in our asset class, and we all share a deep interest in sustainable development and in catalyzing mainstream institutional capital, both local and international, flowing into the markets that we work in. We look forward to working with the DFIs on the Council to advance private capital in emerging markets and to capture new synergies from close collaboration and coordination.”

The DFI Council also announces today its first collaboration, a published directory of development finance institutions investing in private equity and structured debt in emerging markets. Compiled with the detailed contributions of Council members, the DFI Directory provides valuable information to the global industry about DFI activities, including investment priorities, fund manager criteria, and investment structures.

Council Chair Michael Barth elaborated on the Directory’s release and the launch of Council, “I am pleased to share this important, practical resource, and thank the Council members for their valuable contributions to EMPEA’s DFI Directory—a guide which will be updated on a regular basis. I look forward to continuing to work closely with my fellow Council members to share innovative practices and strategies to address common operational challenges; to help fund managers better understand DFI’s investment requirements and contributions; and, to generally provide a practical bridge to the broader emerging markets private capital community.”;

The Council is comprised of senior private equity practitioners from twelve leading development finance institutions headquartered around the world. EMPEA’s DFI Council held two inaugural meetings in May and October of this year. EMPEA will provide further updates on Council developments as they continue to execute on other specific initiatives introduced during their first meetings.

About EMPEA:

EMPEA is the global industry association for private capital in emerging markets. We are an independent non-profit organization. As EMPEA celebrates our 10th anniversary in 2014, we have over 300 member firms, comprising institutional investors, fund managers and industry advisors, who together manage more than US$1 trillion of assets and have offices in more than 100 countries across the globe. Our members share EMPEA’s belief that private capital is a highly suited investment strategy in emerging markets, delivering attractive long-term investment returns and promoting the sustainable growth of companies and economies. We support our members through global authoritative intelligence, conferences, networking, education and advocacy.

EMPEA DFI Council

Michael Barth, EMPEA (Chair)
Erik Bosman, FMO – Netherlands Development Finance Company
Laetitia Counye, Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO)
Anne Fossemalle, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Andrea Heinzer, Obviam (Manager of SIFEM)
Laurent Klein, PROPARCO
Alagappan Murugappan, CDC Group plc
Jesper Persson, European Investment Bank (EIB)
Brooks Preston, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
Gunnar Stork, DEG
Riikka Talvitie, FINNFUND
TBD, International Finance Corporation (IFC)