BERLIN — One of the clearest signals of Germany's emergence as a leader in global development is the growth of the country's development finance institutions, which are setting clearer priorities, while also drawing new scrutiny.
The country's flagship development bank, housed within the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau Group, or Credit Institute for Reconstruction, has seen its new annual investments grow from €6.6 billion in 2015 ($7.21 billion) to €8.7 billion ($9.98 billion) last year. The amount of government grant funds contributing to those totals has increased from €2.1 billion to €2.9 billion, with the remainder coming from funds the institution raises on the capital market.
While the development bank focuses primarily on public sector investments, it has a colleague — the Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, or DEG, the German Investment and Development Company — that finances private sector development. Also housed within the KfW Group, DEG’s new investments in private enterprises in developing countries and emerging economies have increased from €1.06 billion to €1.86 billion in the same period.