The DFC: Unlocking Growth in Africa

The Development Finance Corporation is key for Americans winning around the world, especially in Africa.

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is a key component of U.S. efforts to catalyze economic development in the world’s poorest countries – especially those in Africa.

The DFC supports private sector investments in developing countries by providing loans and other support – through a competitive selection process – that allow businesses to start projects that traditional banks wouldn’t back up. Through its rigorous application process, the DFC selects projects that support partner priorities in key sectors (especially in low- and lower-middle income countries) as well as U.S. interests. These include: Infrastructure and Critical Minerals; Energy; Food Security and Agriculture; Health; and Small Business and Financial Services. 

In America’s Interests. By mobilizing private capital, DFC committed a record $12 billion last year to projects driving economic growth and advancing U.S. strategic interests. With a $50 billion portfolio of active investments in 114 countries (with Africa being its largest market), the DFC is competing with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), whose predatory lending practices are seeking to expand China’s influence around the world.

Congress must reauthorize. To prevent this critical program from sunsetting on October 6, 2025, ONE urges Congress to pass a multi-year DFC reauthorization that strengthens the agency’s development mandate, increases transparency in its operations, expands its maximum contingent liability cap, and unlocks the potential of the agency’s equity investments.

Key components that ONE urges Congress to include in reauthorization legislation are outlined below: 

•  Strengthened development mandate: The DFC should remain focused on the world’s least developed economies. The DFC has a dual mandate to 1) advance development and 2) advance U.S. foreign policy interests. While the DFC should be allowed sufficient flexibility to adequately address both components, the DFC should first and foremost consider how it can make the biggest impact in the world’s poorest countries, which are in the most desperate need of investment. 
• Increased Transparency: We want to understand how much the DFC is investing in developing countries versus stronger economies, how much private capital it is mobilizing, and how much development impact it is having. Adding additional reporting requirements that target these areas will improve congressional oversight of the DFC and help ensure that it is fulfilling its development mandate.  
• Increased Maximum Contingent Liability Cap: We want the DFC to have room to grow. As the DFC has expanded its portfolio over the past five years, it has moved closer to reaching its exposure limit of $60 billion. Increasing this cap will give the DFC the necessary space to expand throughout the course of a multi-year reauthorization. 
• Equity fix: We want to see the DFC reach its full potential. The DFC’s equity investments have been constrained by being counted as grants instead of loans, when in reality they are repaid, and are expected to return funding to the Treasury. When reauthorizing the DFC, Congress should ensure that these funds are correctly categorized so that the DFC can operate as originally intended – with an increased capacity to make equity investments.