Foreign Affairs Committee on Jan. 27th, 2026

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

I'm coming from the private sector. Why are the Chinese here? Why are the Japanese here? Why are all the businesses and companies here and not the Canadian companies? Are we the only ones who can see the barriers? We have to wake up. The world is what it is. If someone doesn't want to do business in Africa, so be it, but a lot of companies do want to do business in Africa. We have to help the ones who want to do it. We have to do everything in our power to push them here.

For your information, my last count focused on over 1,000 companies that have done business at some point.

More than 1,000 companies and organizations have called for assistance from the trade commissioners. That's a lot of companies and organizations. That means we're already here. The thing that's missing is to make sure that, for those who want to be a champion here, we have money to push them. We already have a lot of companies on the continent, so we have to do something to help them.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Do you receive enough support, as an ambassador, to do the job—and I'm talking from the government side—to be able to organize those business trips and to take the Canadian delegations to the market? They're not going to be able to do it alone, and they're not going to volunteer to do it alone because they may have different markets. Do you believe you have enough resources to be able to do that, to enter the market, to be competitive and to have a presence in Africa for Canadian companies?

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

Yes, I need resources, and I need bandwidth. The department is doing whatever it can to help me do my job. I'm proud of where we are right now. I'm the only special envoy for the whole continent. We are the only country where there's a special envoy, and everybody's looking at Canada right now as a pioneer on this thing.

It means that with the 28 embassies we have, including myself, we have someone else to roam around the continent and do business. We have a bit of power. We have to be creative here, so yes, I need more means. I need more bandwidth. I'm doing my job with whatever the government gives me and the department. Right now, I can say that there will be mobilization to make this thing work.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Your story breaks my heart because I did business in the 1990s in the Middle East and North Africa, the MENA region, and I know what you're saying.

Do you think we are serious enough to tackle this market, to take on this market and to really do serious business in Africa, yes or no? Are we still living in the past, thinking that Africa just needs international development help, and that's good enough? Africa needs partnership with us, and I don't think we are doing enough to achieve that.

Do you believe that we are serious or not?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Give a very brief response, please. Thank you.

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

I'm serious, at least. I took three years of my life. I was in the private sector doing money. I left my world to come do this job.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

I'm not referring to you.

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

At least for me, it's very important to say that. The mobilization by myself, bringing myself on this with the department is very serious, but we still have to work on the “how to”, so this one is part of the next step of the strategy.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

Next, we go to MP Vandenbeld.

You have five minutes.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you.

Ambassador Diendéré, thank you so much for your testimony and for the work that you're doing. I really like what you said, that everybody is in Africa. Frankly, I think that should be the title of our report.

I did note some of the countries you mentioned. We know that right now, we're in a new period of geopolitical competition. In that competition, Africa is really the frontier. Some of the countries you mentioned are not as committed or even would be undermining some of the democracies in Africa.

When we look at security, when we look at economic partners and look to diversify our partners, it is much easier to work with democratic countries. I wonder what element of your work and how much of your work may be around that area and good governance. Is there an area where Canada could perhaps do more?

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

Thank you for your commitment to women, peace and security. I have been listening to you on the subject.

Good governance is everything. This continent has 54 countries. As I say to people, when you are Ethiopia, you have six neighbours. When you are a country like Burkina Faso, you have five neighbours. At least at one point somewhere, with migration, with the way the economies are working, you will be in trouble. That being said, the government is working quite well right now in Africa. We have a couple of places where there is a problem. Canada is still working very well with the countries.

We could have more partners. The Nordic countries could be partners with us. Let's be creative here. We could have a Nordic country and Canada—Norway, Canada and Burkina Faso—or we could choose another country—Norway, Canada and the Ivory Coast. We could have Qatar, Canada and another country. There is a way to work here and to make sure that we still have this Canadian value which is to protect people, to make sure we are not in a place where people are always in disarray, where there are a lot of resources, where there's a lot of....

You know, for instance, the moment money and mines enter the equation, people inevitably find themselves in serious trouble.

We need to protect our population with our investment partnerships and make sure that every time we have a partner, we are at least working with the same set of rules, so we can at least be part of a win-win situation between us and other countries.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you very much.

I appreciate your mentioning women, peace and security because we know that without women, particularly the economic empowerment of women and women involved in post-conflict reconstruction and prevention of conflict, we won't be able to achieve the goals that we have either as partnerships or in Africa.

Could you elaborate a little bit on what Canada's role could be in that regard?

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

Thank you, honourable member.

I am a son of my mother and I was born on this continent. I know the fate of women on this continent. I'm working very hard with the special envoy for women at the AU, Her Excellency Mulamula. We're working on Elsie initiative and peace and security. We want to make sure that everywhere—even in the next two weeks, there will be the African Union summit here—there is a high-level dialogue with agriculture, women and entrepreneurship.

I'm keeping the pace. I'm keeping women in the loop on the conversation. One of my best friends here is a woman, Maria, who has a [Technical difficulty—Editor] in Addis Ababa. Maria is having [Technical difficulty—Editor] working all the time to make sure they can get back into society after the hardships they have been through.

We're doing very well and [Technical difficulty—Editor]. I'm proud to say that Canada is front and centre, and we will stay there, because women are the backbone of this continent.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

I was actually at the Dakar 2 food summit, and there was a lot of excitement. This was just before your appointment. We had announced it but you weren't in place yet. That was three years ago.

I wonder what you would say the biggest accomplishments are of having a dedicated ambassador, a permanent observer at the African Union. What would be the biggest achievements in the last three years?

[Ben Marc Diendéré]

There are only five countries that have two ambassadors at Addis Ababa—the U.S., Canada, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. We have few countries that are really engaging every day with the African Union.

I cannot imagine the role of the last ambassador who had to do these two jobs because it's taken so much of my time. This is an organization of 54 countries. Imagine? There is a lot to do for them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you, You Excellency, and thank you, of course, to the officials as well for your appearance before the committee.

We will now briefly suspend this meeting to prepare for the next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

I call this meeting to order.

I would now like to welcome our witness for the second hour. From Development Finance Institute Canada, we have Lori Kerr, chief executive officer.

We were scheduled to hear also from Garreth Bloor, president of the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business, who tried really hard to join us but had unexpected flight issues. He was unable to travel to Ottawa. Despite that, he made the necessary arrangements with our clerk earlier today to participate by video conference but wasn't able to join us. He sends his regrets.

I now invite Lori Kerr to make her opening statement.

[Lori Kerr, Chief Executive Officer, Development Finance Institute Canada (DFIC) Inc.]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee, for the invitation to appear today.

Good afternoon.

On behalf of FinDev Canada, it's a privilege to share with you more about FinDev Canada and what we are accomplishing in Africa in alignment with Canada’s Africa strategy.

FinDev Canada is Canada’s bilateral development finance institution and was established in 2018 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Export Development Canada.

We support development through the private sector by providing financing, investment and blended finance solutions, as well as technical assistance, to support sustainable and inclusive growth in emerging markets and developing economies.

We were established to complement the range of tools that Canada has in place to address the significant development challenges these markets face, with a focus on supporting growth and prosperity through the private sector.

Since our inception, FinDev Canada has finalized over $2.9 billion in investments with over 59 clients.

Operating in Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and, more recently, the Indo-Pacific region, we have a dual mandate to achieve both development impact and financial sustainability.

We are guided by three development impact goals: climate and nature action, gender equality and market development, which means that we assess each transaction for its current and potential impact on these goals. Financial sustainability means generating sufficient returns to cover our costs.

This approach makes FinDev Canada an effective public policy tool for Canada’s development, economic and foreign policy priorities. We leverage private sector solutions to achieve development impact at scale, we support development and strengthening of key global relationships and we do so as a responsible financial steward growing the government’s capital.

We focus on three sectors: the financial industry; agribusiness, forestry and their value chains; and sustainable infrastructure, which I will explain through examples in our portfolio.

First is the financial industry. We support banks, financial co-operatives, investment funds and other financial intermediaries. The financial industry allows us to reach end-clients that we would not have the ability to reach directly: for example, micro, small and medium-sized businesses. One example is CRDB Bank in Tanzania, where we provided a loan to support on-lending to climate-smart companies, small and medium-sized enterprises and women-led businesses.

A strong, deep and resilient financial system is a bedrock of development, and supporting local financial institutions also helps us, as Canada, contribute to broader capital market development as a result.

The second is agribusiness, forestry and their value chains. This means that we support private sector opportunities across a range from production to distribution. In South Africa, for example, we invested in Phatisa Food Fund 2, a pan-African private equity fund investing in companies across the food value chain. FinDev Canada provided Phatisa with an equity investment that has helped to create 3,800 jobs and to support over 15,000 smallholder farmers, 50% of whom are women. This develops food production, distribution and markets for African people and the broader global economy.

Finally, there is sustainable infrastructure. This means building inclusive, low-carbon and climate-resilient economies through renewable energy, sustainable transport, water and sanitation, and digital inclusivity. One demonstration of our commitment to sustainable infrastructure in the region is through our equity investment in the energy entrepreneurs growth fund alongside the 2X Canada blended finance facility funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by us to promote gender equality.

The fund is seeking to close the energy gap in expanding access to clean affordable energy for off-grid households and businesses. Thus far, this investment has avoided 506,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and has delivered solar energy solutions to 1.37 million people, many in rural and low-income communities. This model is increasing inclusivity for African women and productivity and competitiveness for African people and small businesses.

Sub-Saharan Africa has always been one of our priority regions, currently representing close to 37% of our portfolio, which translates to more than $1 billion in funding and investment for 20 clients.

Our approach in Africa is anchored in partnerships, working closely with Global Affairs Canada, multilateral development banks, peer development finance institutions and private investors to deliver results.

At FinDev Canada, we say that our business moves at the speed of trust, and to continue to earn that trust, we're expanding our physical presence.

In the spring of this year, 2026, we'll open a regional office in Cape Town, deepening our engagement and partnership in South Africa and across the region, demonstrating that Canada is having an important impact on the continent.

Beyond this, investment in private sector-led growth in emerging markets is critical to Canada's priorities on shared economic prosperity, climate and supply chain resilience, global stability and deepening relationships in high-growth markets. FinDev Canada is an effective public policy instrument that is contributing to these goals.

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Thank you very much.

I will now open the floor for questions, beginning with MP Aboultaif.

You have six minutes.

[Ziad Aboultaif, Conservative, Edmonton Manning, AB]

Can I pass the time to MP Kramp-Neuman?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ahmed Hussen]

Absolutely.

Go ahead.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Thank you for being here with us today.

I'd like to start by speaking about a strategic priority for FinDev Canada, which is that of gender equality. Ensuring the safety and well-being of women, girls and gender-diverse people is a critical part of advancing gender equality.

Can you speak to the role that FinDev Canada plays in supporting the physical safety of these groups?

[Lori Kerr]

Absolutely.

Gender equality is, as I've mentioned, one of our key impact goals at FinDev Canada. Sixty per cent of investments in our overall portfolio are 2X Challenge-aligned. I can explain what that means later on, but essentially it's aligned with gender equality.

As we look at our transactions when we're making our investment decisions, we go through enhanced due diligence and make sure that we're looking particularly at vulnerable groups and how women are going to be benefiting from the investments that we make. We have clear parameters in different areas that we look at, such as contribution to women's employment, women in leadership, and products and services for women.

On the vulnerability side, according to the environmental and social standards that we implement, follow and expect our clients to follow, which are based on international best practices, we look at gender-based violence and the impact on vulnerable populations, including women and girls, as part of our due diligence process.

[Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Conservative, Hastings—Lennox and Addington—Tyendinaga, ON]

Thank you.

Does FinDev Canada collaborate with government or local authorities? In addition, does it offer funding, guidance or some other kind of operational support?