Project assistance completion report : USAID project no. 532-0091

The PACR was prepared by TDB at USAID/J's request because due to the age of the project no one in the Mission was familiar enough with the project to write a PACR. TDB has been successful in achieving project goals and objectives. It has: (1) contributed to the mobilization of capital and the financing of businesses, resulting in economic development and employment generation, the creation of value added, earnings and savings of foreign exchange, and technology transfer; (2) played a pioneering role in long-term foreign exchange loans and contributed to export promotion, resulting in a diversification of the economy's product base; (3) promoted high-risk sectors (agriculture, information processing) and the nontraditional sector (including agroprocessing and the mining of nonmetallic minerals); and (4) demonstrated ability to effectively channel funds that might be available for development purposes under an appropriate interest rate policy. In terms of quantitative achievements, TDB successfully mobilized U.S.$30.1 million and J$64.6 million in long-term funds from a variety of sources, and used USAID funds to finance 65 projects which have: directly created some 2,892 jobs; generated an average annual turnover level of $J31.5 million; and generated an estimated US$336.5 million in earnings and US$95.2 million in savings. Project experience indicates the importance of: (1) an appropriate portfolio mix; (2) astute risk management; (3) adequacy of security; (4) proper monitoring; (5) flexibility in financing and refinancing; (6) collaboration with other financial institutions locally and overseas; (6) and the need to respond quickly and appropriately to economic changes both local and international.