New DFC GM offers insights into the agency’s vision

Henry Anderson, the incoming General Manager of the DFC, says he has several ideas to transformatively change the organisation so it can respond to the ever-changing needs of Belize and Belizeans. Support for education, home ownership, and business development remains an important part of the DFC’s work. Anderson adds that while the DFC has been able to do its part to uplift Belizeans, it still has a lot of work today. Here’s how he outlined some of that work when asked about the DFC’s vision. 

Henry Anderson, Incoming General Manager, DFC: “DFC as you touched on is a catalyst for the development of the Belizean economy and the organization has been through a lot because I will say this that if you go back since 09 when DFC had started its on lending and we’re proud as a board and as DFC to say that in 2022 we actually turned a profit which I will say this that the impression I got when I joined in 2021 February was that that was not possible. Certainly from the perspective of the shareholders is that we have a development plan, we have to grow it as a development plan and it has to be able to create value. Obviously the use of that value will be to go right back in to grow the economy. You’re asking me about me I mean I have worked in the different areas that you’ve mentioned in terms of I’ve been an educator, my first job was in education. Having worked in the private sector in the various industries you understand what the needs are to be able to grow the economy and so we have the work to collaborate. You know we have ATLIB on the board so to work with them to ensure that where we put the DFC funds it’s to ensure that we’re doing it in sync with what the Ministry of Economic Development is doing, what the Chamber is doing, what investors require. And we can do that different ways. So you have carrots that you could offer. So if you’re going to pick a STEM profession let’s say then the interest rate can be a little bit lower because we’re enticing you or giving you courage to be able to go that path, those are some things that the DFC is doing now. What we want to ensure over the coming few years is to grow the DFC portfolio to allow it to take on the bigger projects that require the type of development funding, that requires over a longer time that will not necessarily fall in the space of lets say the commercial bank. So those are the things we have to work towards. To be able to do that we have to strengthen the DFC’s financial standing and resilience financially, it has a negative retained earning of about $12 million dollars right now we have to clean that up. That may take longer than me but that’s the kind of work we have to do now to ensure that the DFC can attract the funding that is required because the partners we work with look at those things.”