The success of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) should encourage the US to set up similar funds as a tool of foreign policy, EAEF Chairman James Harmon writes for the Hill. The EAEF, which was established in 2013 under former US president Barack Obama, has invested in multiple companies in Egypt that have since flourished, including consumer- and structured-finance player Sarwa Capital and e-payments firm Fawry. “The results show an enterprise fund’s ability to deliver a healthy return while improving an ally’s economy and stabilizing the Arab Spring — in other words, how we can do well while doing good.” These early successes, Harmon says, should serve “as an example of how to promote long-term growth and prosperity. What is clear today … is that EAEF is a model for future enterprise funds in other countries like Jordan, but also potentially in other parts of the world like Africa and Asia as America tries to check China’s growing presence on those continents.”

Tags: