INTERVIEW PRIVATE SECTOR STRATEGY AGILITY, INNOVATION AND MOBILIZATION “The focus is shifting from individual transactions to how projects contribute to broader systems and outcomes,” says Khalid Khadduri, Vice President, Private Sector, OPEC Fund By Howard Hudson and Axel Reiserer, OPEC Fund
OPEC Fund Quarterly : Can you give us a brief introduction to your background and career path? Khalid Khadduri: My career has long been at the crossroads of finance and development. Before joining the OPEC Fund, I spent several years in the banking sector with roles in trade finance, private wealth management and corporate banking. Here at the OPEC Fund I have the chance to apply that financial experience to a broader development purpose. This is both exciting and fulfilling. Early on, I visited a project supported by one of our loans to a financial institution in Asia and saw what it meant for a local community to build their first supermarket. Suddenly, people had direct and convenient access to fresh products and no longer had to travel long distances for basic goods. What struck me was how something that appeared relatively small from a financing perspective could have such a big impact on people’s daily lives. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to help expand our Private Sector operations, working in various roles with outstanding colleagues, clients and partners. This has shaped my thinking on development challenges and how financing needs continue to evolve – but also how we as an institution must
keep on evolving. In my new role I feel a strong sense of stewardship to build on what has been established and deliver further. OFQ : How has the OPEC Fund changed since you joined? KK: It has changed significantly. The current leadership and the Strategic Framework 2030 have given us a clear direction. Over the last few years, we’ve grown into a widely respected multilateral development bank (MDB), with the infrastructure in place to extend that evolution. Internally, this is reflected in best- practice structures, policies and tools that support sustainable growth. Externally, it is visible in our ability to bring together capital, expertise and partnerships to address increasingly complex development challenges. OFQ : How has our Private Sector Department evolved over the years – and what comes next? KK: Our Private Sector operations enjoy exceptionally strong foundations, but the global landscape is changing quickly. Financing needs are increasing, fiscal space is constrained and private capital is needed more than ever. One lesson that stands out is that institutions cannot rest on their laurels. To stay relevant,
we have to keep adapting our tools and business models. What distinguishes the OPEC Fund is our ability to adapt while remaining grounded in the experience and credibility that we have built up over our first five decades. That combination allows us to remain relevant in a rapidly changing environment while staying true to our development mandate. OFQ : What practical conclusions do you draw from that? KK: I have three priorities: i) to remain agile and a “partner of choice” for our clients; ii) to accelerate innovation, introducing the right instruments at the right time; and iii) to increase mobilization in response to growing development needs. In a nutshell: Building on our strengths while positioning ourselves for the future. OFQ : By agility, what do you mean in practice? KK: Agility is the ability to respond quickly to evolving needs, while protecting the institution’s position. We step in where markets are not functioning well, not where capital is already abundant. The challenge for MDBs today is not simply to do more of what has worked in the past, but to be where development needs are heading
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