EDFI

PROPARCO operates in a particularly risky environment. Given the scale of the financing instruments that it offers, the Company recognises the need to reinforce its partnerships with other institutions which specialise in private-sector development.  This collaborative approach should begin to bear the fruit when PROPARCO’s geographic sphere of activity is extended to cover new territories in the Middle East and Asia.

Key cooperation milestones among European Development Finance Institutions

    *1992 : Creation of EDFI (Association of European Development Finance Institutions).
   

      1998 : Following the same rationale as ECFI I, implementation of ECFI II with a total loan facility of €20 millions

      2000 : Signing of the ECFI III Agreement between EFI’s the EDFI members and the EIB.
    *

      2002 : Signing of a financial cooperation and service exchange agreement between the EIB and the EDFI members.
    *

      2003 : Signing by the EIB and the EDFI members of the memorandum and articles of association of a company incorporated in Luxembourg, European Financing Partners (EFP). EFP was set up with two objectives: 1) to facilitate joint financing deals and step up European cooperation and 2) to make use of Cotonou facility funds.
    *

      2004 :
      - EFP becomes operational. FMO launches the first transactions co-financed with EFP,
      - First Annual General Meeting of EFP (“European Financing Partners”) in Paris.
    *
      2005 :
      - The EFP instruments are extended to equity at the annual General Meeting in Edinburgh.  The first EFP envelope was entirely committed in 2005 and the implementation of a second envelope is contemplated for 2006,
      - The number of EDFI members increases with the arrival of Corvinus and Sifem.

 
EDFI and EFP (European Financing Partners) 


Members :

AWS – Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft m.b.H.
BIO – Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries
CDC – CDC Group plc
COFIDES – Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarollo
CORVINUS – Corvinus International Investment Ltd
DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft m.b.H.
FINNFUND – Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd
FMO – Netherlands Development Finance Company
IFU , IØ, IFV – Danish International Investment Funds
NORFUND – Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries
PROPARCO – Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique
SBI-BMI – Belgian Corporation for International Investment
SIFEM – Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets
SIMEST – Società Italiana per le Imprese all'Estero
SWEDFUND – Swedfund International AB

  

Contacts:
Jan RIXEN, General Secretary
European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI) A.S.B.L.
Rue de la Loi, 81A
B-1040 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 230 2369
Fax: +32 2 230 0405
Email: edfi@edfi.be
Website: www.edfi.be

 

EDFI, the Association of European Development Finance Institutions, is a group of fifteen European bilateral financial institutions, which make long-term resources available to private sector companies which operate in developing economies.  Since its founding in Brussels in 1992, EDFI’s mission has consisted of promoting cooperation between its members and reinforcing their relationships with European institutions, principally with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.  The consolidated portfolio of EDFI members is expected to reach €10 million by the end of 2005.

In 2004, ten of its members joined forces to create EFP (European Financing Partners).  EFP is a joint financing vehicle with an initial commitment of €140 million, completely committed in 2005 to 12 projects.  Its mission is to facilitate financing for private sector projects in the ACP zone (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific), using part of the Cotonou Investment Facility fund.  With an approval and financing procedure formalised in the Master Investment Agreement which spans the entire project cycle, the vehicle was designed to generate maximum project financing efficiency.  This represents a significant step forward, providing concrete benefits for private sector development in the ACP countries, and contributing to the promotion of co-financing arrangements between the EIB and EDFI members based on a spirit of mutual trust, expertise and professionalism, allowing participating institutions to manage risks more effectively.  At the end of 2005, discussions started to set up a second financing phase.  Capital and EFP funds should be extended to new members at the same time.


EDFI seeks to consolidate its partnerships in order to play an increasingly pivotal role in international development.  Ten states joined the European Union in May 2004, some of which have their own development financial institutions, which may in due course become members of EDFI.  The EDFI members welcomed in 2005 Corvinus, from Hungary, and Sifem, from Switzerland.