SPOTLIGHT
“In development finance, there is room for cooperation but also competition” Sabine Gaber, the head of the Austrian Development Bank (OeEB), explains her institution’s mandate and mission and sets out how the development community will succeed in moving “from billions to trillions“ By Axel Reiserer, OPEC Fund
OPEC Fund Quarterly : The Austrian Development Bank (OeEB) was set up in 2008. How was Austrian development assistance organized before and what changed with the establishment of your institution? Sabine Gaber: Traditional development aid remains an important pillar of Austrian Development Cooperation in the fight against poverty. The Austrian Development Cooperation Act lays down the country’s strategy and goals in development, which are delivered by several agencies. In 2008, Austria implemented its long-cherished plan to establish a bilateral development bank after recognizing the rapidly growing, significant investment gap in developing countries globally. There was an urgent need to finance long-term, sustainable investments in the private sector to reduce poverty, achieve developmental effects and support environmental and social sustainability and the green transition.
With its financing instruments, OeEB is leveraging capital from private investors beyond its own commitments to close the enormous financing gap in developing countries especially in Least Developed Countries and Low- and Middle-Income Countries. OeEB’s mandate complements the Austrian Development Cooperation services, but the methods and instruments involved vary significantly. OFQ : OeEB is a subsidiary of Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) and you are also a member of the European Development Finance Institutions Association. You are presenting yourselves as a business. Do you also have a political mandate? SG: In 2008, the Federal Ministry of Finance appointed OeEB AG, a public limited company, as the official development bank of the Republic of Austria based on a statutory mandate. OeEB is a specialized financial institution
committed to the goals and principles of our country’s development policy in accordance with the Austrian Development Cooperation Act. As such, OeEB is subject to the applicable regulatory framework and acts on behalf of the Republic of Austria and has no political mandate. Within its mandate OeEB aims to contribute to sustainable private sector development in line with our strategy by financing private projects in developing countries where access to finance is not or only rarely available on the local market. OeEB’s investments comply with
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