CDC names Bangladeshi head, invests local bank

CDC will provide a $30 million loan to BRAC to increase its lending capacity to export-led businesses, with a view to accelerating growth in the local corporate sector, job market and overall economy. The deal coincides with CDC’s establishment of a permanent presence in Bangladesh and the nomination Rehan Rashid as country director.

Rashid has previously served as a Bangladesh country head for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and has held several positions at financial institutions including ICICI Bank, the Dubai Islamic Bank, and HSBC. He will be the first person to hold the position of Bangladesh country director at CDC and will be based in the capital of Dhaka.

It comes as CDC leadership including CEO Nick O’Donohoe, Chairman Graham Wrigley, and Head of Asia Srini Nagarajan convenes in Dhaka to explore further development opportunities across the country. “Bangladesh is a real area of interest for us, we have some exciting partnerships in the pipeline,” O’Donohoe, said in a statement.

BRAC focuses on commercial lending to small to medium-sized enterprises, with more than 1.2 million customers and 187 branches. The bank is also developing a retail program to provide personal finance and operates a women-focused financial services program known as Tara. IFC acquired a 19% stake in BRAC in 2004 for $1.6 million, according to AVCJ Research.

CDC is expected to invest $1.7 billion over the next three years in India and its neighboring South Asian countries. It has been active in Bangladesh since the early 1980s and claims to have committed more than $205 million to the country in the past 10 years. Previous Bangladeshi investments include communications equipment maker RFL Electronics and mobile phone operator Grameenphone.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Expansion
• Financials
• People
• Bangladesh
• CDC Group
• Financial Services
• Appointments
• Impact investment
• SME