Overseas Private Investment Corporation
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | January 19, 1971 |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Website | www.opic.gov |
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is the United States government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and, in doing so, advances the foreign policy of the United States and national security objectives.
Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets, catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds, when commercial funding cannot be obtained elsewhere. Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers.
All OPIC projects adhere to high environmental and social standards and respect human rights, including worker's rights. By mandating high standards, OPIC aims to raise the industry and regional standards in countries where it funds projects. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 160 countries worldwide.
Medium- to long-term funding through direct loans and loan guarantees to eligible investment projects in developing countries and emerging markets. By complementing the private sector, OPIC can provide financing in countries where commercial financial institutions often are reluctant or unable to lend.
OPIC recognizes that businesses both large and small can play an important role in developing nations. In recent years, OPIC has made it a priority to work with American small businesses, which comprise, on average, 80 percent of projects supported by the agency. OPIC’s Department of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Finance offers qualified small businesses a streamlined approval process and direct loans from $100,000 to $10 million with terms from three to 15 years. While the eligible U.S. small business must own at least 25 percent of the overseas project, OPIC may be able to finance up to 65 percent of the total project cost. OPIC has conducted more than a dozen small business workshops around the United States since 2006, educating nearly 1,600 business owners about OPIC products and services.
OPIC’s political risk insurance enables U.S. businesses to take advantage of commercially attractive opportunities in emerging markets, mitigating risk and helping them compete in a global marketplace. OPIC helps U.S. investors protect their investments in a variety of situations, including political violence, expropriation or other government interference, and currency inconvertibility.
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