news - Opening of joint office of DEG and FMO in Johannesburg

The joint office of the German DEG- Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and the FMO (Dutch Development Bank) became operational in Johannesburg on 18 April 2012. It was opened jointly by the Dutch and German ambassadors for South Africa, H.E. Mr. Andre Haspels and H.E. Mr. Horst Freitag.

The two European development finance institutions are seeking to further step up their cooperation. "We are convinced that this initiative will enable us to offer our customers in Southern Africa an even better service and an even more attractive finance and consultancy package," said Bruno Wenn, Chairman of DEG's Management Board on the occasion of the official opening which was attended by representatives from politics, industry and the press. Nanno Kleiterp, Chief Executive Officer of FMO said: "For the coming years, Africa is expected to continue to experience solid economic growth. We also see African banks and companies increasingly recognizing the business opportunity of implementing sustainability."

The joint office is the point of contact for companies investing in South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, enabling DEG and FMO to jointly attend to their clients and projects in these important markets. This has beneficial effects on the companies: They can approach just one office with a view to finding finance opportunities. What is more, both institutions offer interesting special programmes for enterprises in order to achieve sustainable success.

DEG and FMO are now pooling their skills on-site in Johannesburg. Over the past few years the two institutions have already intensified their cooperation, both at bilateral level and within the scope of the European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI), the association of 15 bilateral development finance institutions.

Promoting sustainable development brings important contributions to people and markets on the spot. Private sector promotion forms one important pillar of development cooperation. According to a study initiated by more than 30 international development finance institutions in 2011, financial commitments to the private sector in developing and emerging countries reach around 40 billion USD per year, with Africa remaining a focus area also in future.

Finance institutions promoting sustainable development not only provide capital for investments: they transmit knowledge and set standards in areas such as environmental and social topics or corporate governance. They are also strong in mobilising capital from additional sources through their financings. One US-dollar of capital can lead up to 12 US-dollars of investment from other investors.

Media contacts:

DEG: Christiane Rudolph (responsible). Email: presse@deginvest.de

FMO: Paul Hartogsveld. Email: p.hartogsveld@fmo.nl

Notes to the editor:

DEG

DEG is one of the largest European development finance institutions with a portfolio of EUR 5.6 billion. For 50 years, it has been financing the investments of private enterprises in developing and emerging market countries with long-term finance and risk capital. DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy: agribusiness, infrastructure, manufacturing and services. The financial sector is a further focus in order to facilitate reliable access to investment capital. DEG aims to establish and expand private enterprise structures, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic development and a lasting improvement of the people’s living conditions.

FMO

The Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) is the international development bank of the Netherlands. FMO invests risk capital in companies and financial institutions in developing countries. With an investment portfolio of EUR 5.9 billion, FMO is one of the largest bilateral private sector development banks worldwide. Thanks in part to its relationship with the Dutch government, FMO is able to take risks which commercial financiers are not - or not yet - prepared to take. FMO's mission: to create flourishing enterprises, which can serve as engines of sustainable growth in their countries.