Project assistance completion report : Private Investment Corporation (PIC)

The project also included a development banking strategy to ensure availability of medium- and long-term financing. With project-funded TA, the PIC was able to establish itself in both the Costa Rican and U.S. business environments. The level of TA provided enabled the PIC to rapidly focus on business opportunities, and to put together profitable and developmentally sound ventures. Even though one of the major elements of the project, investor search and identification, was eliminated, the PIC is now a well-organized, efficiently run development institution. The project teaches two lessons. (1) Grants should not be given to profitmaking financial intermediaries, such as the PIC, without a substantial cost contribution (50% in this project) from the recipient. (2) The grant should be automatically terminated once the institution reaches a profit level which allows it to pay dividends.