Development finance institutions in DRC to increase their collaboration on the ground

Following the global DFI Fragility Forum in Oxford, held in 2019, DFIs and agencies active in the DRC met and reiterated the importance of supporting the private sector in places where investments are considered high risk and where opportunities may be overlooked due to fragmented or nascent institutions.

Hosted by PROPARCO and IFC, the DFI Fragility Forum for the DRC convened representatives from DFIs, public sector officials and the members of the business community. They discussed:

•    The prospect of working together and with public institutions on reforms to improve the business environment, create bankable projects and de-risk investments.

•    Challenges and opportunities for the energy sector in DRC, with particular attention to renewable energy; 

•    The critical importance of advancing financial inclusion in DRC, and how to improve SMEs’ access to finance; 

•    Lessons learned from a number of countries where greater DFI collaboration has been piloted; and

•    Increasing collaboration among DFIs to get involved early in the project cycle and build stronger investment pipelines to create markets.

The organizing partners agreed to convene the DFI Fragility Forum for DRC on a regular basis.

Launched in 2019 with the support of the Oxford University, the annual global DFI Fragility forum promotes closer cooperation between DFIs in pursuit of greater development impact.