Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise

Speeches Shim

The Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise engages financial, donor and public sector partners and USAID Missions around
The Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise engages financial, donor and public sector partners and USAID Missions around opportunities for private finance within development priorities.

Private investment flowing to developing countries far exceeds official development assistance. This trend will only continue to increase as global demand for investment and opportunities for business grow. Sustained private investment has the ability to increase economic opportunity, enhance access to and quality of services – from financial and energy to health and education – and ultimately, reduce poverty.

Mobilizing Private Capital To Maximize Development Results

USAID established the Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise (PCM) within the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment (E3) to increase its capacity to mobilize private resources and expertise in support of development priorities.

PCM’s establishment demonstrates USAID’s commitment to develop a more strategic relationship with private investors focused at the nexus of business opportunities and development priorities. PCM engages investors and reduces business risks primarily through:

  1. Supporting direct transactions, and
  2. Facilitating investment partnerships.

This approach complements traditional development programming by drawing in private investment that is capable of addressing development needs sustainably and at greater scale.

Service Offering

The Office and its staff of technical experts develop and support tools, approaches, and intermediaries that can mobilize private finance at scale in the developing world.

For Investors and Financiers: For USAID Missions and Bureaus:
  • Develop risk mitigation tools
  • Provide transaction structuring support for blended finance models
  • Support intermediaries linking capital supply and demand
  • Coordinate across USAID offices with other USG agencies to support and/or accelerate transactions
  • Convene financial, donor and public sector partners around opportunities for private finance within development priorities
  • Offer strategic planning and programming assistance to catalyze investment into priority sectors
  • Provide transaction structuring support
  • Deliver training and knowledge management tools for engaging private investors
  • Partner with investors that provide access to capital and expertise
  • Identify and screen new investment partners

USAID Partners Forum

PCM established the Partners Forum to bring greater private capital expertise to USAID's development priorities. The group is composed of business leaders and industry experts from both the United States and developing countries. Members of the Partners Forum meet quarterly with USAID senior leadership, sharing insights and highlighting emerging opportunities in sectors that are of interest to the private sector and align with USAID priorities. Read More (PDF 118KB)

Example Tools

Mobilizing Private Finance for Development: A Comprehensive Introduction

This Guide is intended to serve as an overview for development professionals at USAID and elsewhere who wish to learn more about how to mobilize private capital and engage with private enterprise to accomplish development objectives. It has been written to accompany the “Mobilizing Financing for Development” course offered by USAID’s Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise (PCM) and Deloitte5, but can equally serve as a stand-alone introduction to this timely topic.

Unlocking Capital for Development: An Introduction to Engaging with Finance Providers to Address Development Challenges

The rapid growth of private capital in emerging economies has created an unprecedented opportunity for USAID to use its resources to enable investors to become a primary driver of inclusive growth, reform, and poverty alleviation. This document provides an introduction on how USAID staff can meet development objectives through engaging investors that can deploy essential capital. Please contact Matthew Austin if you have questions about the primer.

Pay-for-Results

PCM in partnership with Palladium developed a primer on Pay-for-Results in Development. Pay-for-Results is an approach that pays partners upon accomplishment of results rather than efforts to accomplish those results. The primer is intended to provide a 101 understanding of pay-for-results approaches, provide examples of how they are being used, and address some of the issues pertaining to this approach including its use in catalyzing private/commercial funds for development. Please contact Lawrence Camp, if you have questions on the primer.

Financial Vignettes (PDF 946KB)

The Setting, Pricing, and Administering Performance Metrics in Pay- for-Results Programming Step-by-Step Guide is designed to give development implementers simple and actionable steps on how to apply the Pay-for Results in U.S. assistance programs that address some of the world’s most complex development challenges.

USAID INVEST

The INVEST initiative unlocks the power of private capital to drive inclusive growth in countries where USAID works. It reduces barriers for investors and channels private capital for better development results. Learn more about INVEST here.

Contact Us

globalpartnerships@usaid.gov