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DEVELOPMENT NEWS


The OPEC Fund’s Young Professional Development Program (YPDP) exposes experienced member country hires to innovative and important projects at the earliest opportunity. Only those already demonstrating a dedication to development – as well as true promise and aptitude – are offered a place. Here, the OPEC Fund Quarterly catches up with the second YPDP intake – Nigerian Fatima Oyiza Ademoh and Ecuadorian Anton Josef Hagen Melo – nearly two years into the program...


FA S T DEVELOPING


Tell us about some of the development projects you’ve been involved with. Anton: It’s been exciting to be involved in an innovative public- private partnership to support an energy project in Mozambique (please see page 21). I’ve seen first-hand how all the financiers come together, what the criteria for lending are, what dynamics are at play. It’s been fascinating. If all goes according to plan, it will be the first time that our Public Sector Operations Department (my home department, in which I’ve worked for 18 months so far) will work directly with our PSTFOD (the department I’m currently doing my rotation in) to fund different elements of the same project. This is hopefully a sign of things to come.


Fatima: I have also engaged in the above project in Mozambique. It’s still at a very early stage and if the private sector work progresses at pace, it will present an excellent opportunity to be part of a project that highlights the importance of blended finance. Increasing private sector investments in emerging markets – especially in the context of complex project finance transactions – is an important goal. I have also been involved in processing a loan to support


international trade in Turkey, which was the first transaction I participated in at PSTFOD. The transaction aims to make a significant development impact since trade accounts for approximately 60 percent of GDP in Turkey. In addition, I have been involved in several power projects across Africa and Asia, which primarily aim at increasing electricity access and reliability. This has been an enriching experience from a learning and


development impact perspective, as access to reliable energy is critical to the sustainable development and growth of emerging countries. I’m now working on my first solo project in a central Asian country, aiming at supporting access to finance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often struggle to access affordable capital. We will be supporting the development of the private sector in the target country. This will be the first time the OPEC Fund’s PSTFOD has worked there.


What are your mid- to long-term career goals? Fatima: Mid-term, I am focused on enhancing the skill sets required to excel as an investment professional, gaining global exposure, improving my performance metrics, increasing my professional networks and enhancing my leadership skills. In the long-term, I aspire to use my skills to shape the growth and success of an organization.


Anton: My current goal is to continue to develop and use my knowledge of development cooperation – in particular development finance, project origination, client interfacing – and of course to complete the YPDP. However, eventually I’d like to use these skills in a management or leadership role. I will prepare myself for this goal by continuing to challenge myself, volunteering to take on additional responsibility whenever possible and by attending training workshops and courses both within and outside the OPEC Fund.


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