This story is part of a series of exit interviews Devex is conducting with the leaders of Obama administration aid agencies.
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation went through a reorganization process during the Barack Obama administration — putting in place stronger systems, targeting more vulnerable areas and doubling its annual portfolio, former President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield told Devex in a recent interview.
OPIC also played a role in shifting the conversation about the role of the private sector in development, she said. Created by Richard Nixon in 1971, OPIC launched at a time when official development assistance dwarfed foreign direct investment. But in the intervening years, those trends have reversed. Now development finance institutions globally are growing.