Senior DFC official details agency's plans, new vision

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation is emerging from a turbulent year marked by slowed investments, staff departures, and a dragged-out reauthorization battle in Congress. But DFC is now hitting the ground running with a clear direction, new priorities, and a revamped investment thesis, Conor Coleman, the head of investments at DFC, told Devex. “Historically, maybe this agency has looked through the lens of trying to just deploy capital to reach certain volume numbers, we're going to be much more strategic with our investment standpoint,” he said. “We're not deploying dollars just for the sake of deploying capital. We're really deploying capital to drive the president's foreign policy objectives, promote economic growth in the host countries that we are investing in, all while delivering a return for the U.S. taxpayer.” A central goal is speed. Coleman and CEO Ben Black want the agency to move faster to better align with private sector timelines and are revamping policies and procedures that may be slowing the investment process. DFC is also placing foreign policy at the center of its strategy, expanding the Office of Foreign Policy to serve “as the umbrella that drives our dual mandate investment thesis of development investment and strategic investment,” Coleman said. Black and Coleman have described the agency as the United States’ investment arm, but Coleman stressed that it will retain a development mandate. DFC will no longer operate as “solely a development finance institution.” Instead, it will pursue multiple investment strategies: a “transformational,” more development-focused catalytic portfolio alongside a more commercially oriented portfolio intended to drive private capital mobilization. The goal, Coleman said, is to deliver a development or strategic impact while making a return for U.S. taxpayers. A look back Last year, DFC committed just over $3.5 billion — down sharply from nearly $12 billion the year before, which had been a record. One of the roughly 30 transactions — insurance for an Amazon biocorridor debt swap in Ecuador — accounted for $1 billion. Upper-middle-income countries received most of the funding, driven largely by about nine transactions in Ukraine. The foreign aid freeze slowed operations nearly to a halt as transactions were reviewed and reassessed. While some deals moved forward, processes were repeatedly disrupted — including during the government shutdown, which coincided with DFC’s lapse in authorization in October. Staffing also shrank significantly, from more than 700 employees to around 500 by September, as personnel departed due to policy shifts or voluntary resignation programs. And while President Donald Trump appointed Ben Black early last year, Congress took about eight months to confirm him as CEO. “There was some cleanup that needed to be done, but this agency is very ripe for the kind of growth to effectuating the president’s mission after the events of last year,” Coleman said. After a drawn-out process, including a temporary lapse in authorization during the October government shutdown, Congress passed the DFC Modernization and Reauthorization Act as part of its 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. That bill extends DFC’s mandate through 2031, increases its investment cap to $205 billion from $60 billion, and expands its geographical scope to include high-income countries. Investments in wealthy and high-income countries are capped at 10% of total exposure. The bill also created a $5 billion equity revolving fund at DFC, which will retain and reinvest earnings — though Congress has yet to appropriate most of those funds. Coleman said implementation is proceeding smoothly and that the board will soon set the policies and procedures needed to implement the reauthorization. What to expect Expect fewer transactions each year, but bigger ones. Think $500 million for infrastructure projects. Black said at an event last month that the agency would focus on large-scale investments. Coleman noted that sizable investments will be possible even in lower-income countries, particularly in large infrastructure, critical minerals, and energy, all priorities for the Trump administration. He cited the Lobito Corridor infrastructure project as an example. Other sectors, such as agriculture, health care, or financial institutions, will likely continue to see smaller check sizes. “We are absolutely going to still be playing in those sectors and looking at those check sizes, but we view those as a package investment,” paired with larger projects to “create a full ecosystem and market for the emerging economies,” Coleman said. With new authority to invest in high-income countries, DFC will do so for “a targeted, strategic reason” that will “connect the dots between the developing world and the high-income world and secure these critical supply chains.” That could include supporting critical mineral processing in a high-income country using inputs sourced from emerging economies, he said. DFC also wants to bring in significantly more private capital, aiming to mobilize two to four times more private dollars than its own investment in each transaction, he said. To get there, DFC may take more subordinated risk while offering more senior, less risky positions to the private sector. DFC may also explore tools such as syndication and securitization, he said. “I think there's a lot of creative financial tools we have not utilized previously in this agency that we're going to,” Coleman said. Historically more reactive, DFC now aims to be more proactive, helping structure deals from the start rather than waiting for proposals. To source opportunities, the agency is expanding its footprint, deepening coordination with other U.S. government agencies and the White House, and leaning into partnerships. DFC is growing its footprint both domestically and internationally. Last year, it opened an office in New York and expects about 50 employees to be based there, tapping underwriting, legal, and operational expertise while strengthening relationships with banks, development institutions, and sovereign wealth funds, Coleman said. Earlier this year, the agency sent new regional managing directors to Kenya and Indonesia and is likely to open more small offices within U.S. embassies, Coleman said. Coleman highlighted a recently announced partnership with the International Holding Company, the large Abu Dhabi-based investment fund, citing both the United Arab Emirates' strategic importance as an ally to the U.S., but also IHC’s operational reach. “I think you're going to see more strategic partnerships like that identified with a very specific purpose,” Coleman said. “I'm not big for announcing things with no actual tangible outcome. I’m not a big fan of MOUs or anything like that. I want to see actual tangible wins. And I know everyone in this agency feels the same way, so that's kind of the mold we're going to be driving towards.”