Delegation from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs visits CFC office
H.E. Mr. Paul van den IJssel, Ambassador for International Organisations, is seen with Managing Director Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal at the Secretariat of the CFC. H.E. Mr. van den Ijssel came to visit CFC, for the first time, to know more about the activities of the CFC and its impact on the ground.
Ambassador van den Ijssel was accompanied by Ms. Tessa Terpstra, Deputy Director of Protocol, and Ms. Joia Buning, Policy Officer (Protocol and Host Country Affairs Department). Ambassador Belal was accompanied by Mr. Nicolaus Cromme, Chief Operations Officer a.i., and Mr. Andrey Kuleshov, Strategy and Development Advisor of CFC.
Welcoming Ambassador van den IJssel, Ambassador Belal briefed him on the current as well as probable future initiatives of the CFC during the discussion. Few presentations were made to highlight how CFC has been of influence in making commodity value chain work more for the smallholders and SMEs. CFC is convinced that if we need to make the commodity value chain work for the poor and vulnerable, we must innovate our way forward with added granularity to take qualified risks. The delegation was shown how a Kenyan female led business of fortified vitamin rich food was made to grow with CFC funds and eventually thriving in their business, with no further funding except from their local bank. This is where CFC is so unique as it funds projects to those “missing middle” enterprises, where even the local banks keep their doors closed.
From right to left: Ms. Joia Buning (MFA); Ms. Tessa Terpstra (MFA); H.E. Mr. Paul van den Ijssel, Ambassador for International Organisations (MFA); Amb. Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of CFC; Mr. Andrey Kuleshov (CFC); Mr. Nicolaus Cromme (CFC)
Ambassador Belal also briefed Ambassador van den IJssel on the ongoing initiative on the formulation of a fund titled CIIF (Commodity Impact Investment Facility) and thereby enabling CFC to contribute more for alleviation of poverty. The fund, which is now undergoing the legal process, will be a public-private partnership fund to invest in commodity value chains in developing countries for advancing the sustainable development goals. Once formed, CIIF could also be an avenue for the Netherlands to join this impact investment fund as an anchor investor. With a fund like this, CFC is working to scale up its good work of the last 32 years to liberate more people from the pit of poverty.
Before taking leave, Ambassador van den IJssel expressed his country’s desire to do more with the CFC for alleviation of poverty globally.
Ambassador Belal assured to pursue more innovative outreaches in the days to come to make the services of CFC available to as many people as possible in the commodity dependent developing world, with a heightened sense of innovations and creativity.