The DfL Group is unique in the Caribbean.Two decades of performance and profitability proved that the model is sustainable and well-suited to the circumstances in which Group operates.Today 45% of the Group’s employees work and reside outside of Trinidad and Tobago, including 30% of senior management staff.

We believe that the DFL Group offers an excellent vehicle for MSME development in the Southern and Eastern Caribbean. MSME develop where there is a large supply of entrepreneurs, especially if the pool is widely diversified, and where fixed costs are low enough to allow start-up enterprises a reasonable opportunity.They need a dedicated financier, specialised in meeting their needs on a long term basis.

The Group has successfully carried out SME private equity activities since 1988. We work closely with international agencies to facilitate technical assistance to SME. The Microfinance group was the first commercial MFI to start from the ground up, operating across national borders in three different countries.  It has struggled with small market size, weak credit cultures and natural disasters. The Microfinance group is innovative, technology-driven and highly motivated.

DFL started operations in 1970 with 95% of its shareholding owned by the Government, although the Government had intended that it be owned by the private sector, international agencies and the Government. In 1988, the company was structured in that way.The year 2009 will mark the 21st anniversary of its conversion into a viable, private development bank. In 2006, it became a group of companies, with each major subsidiary carrying out a specific development finance mandate, virtually starting a new era. There are four licensed, regulated financial institutions within the Group, operating in four countries, reporting to four Central Banks in the region. The private equity subsidiary is registered with the Trinidad and Tobago Securities Exchange Commission as an Investment Adviser.Development Finance Limited (a Reporting Issuer) and DFL Caribbean Holdings Limited each has an international credit rating of BB from FITCH Ratings.

Strategic Partnerships are long-term associations formed with international, regional and local financial institutions and business development agencies with the purpose of promoting the long-term development of the Mission and Objectives of each partner,all centered on the development of the private sector in the Caribbean. These partnerships form an integral and essential element of the DFL Caribbean model.These are many and varied, including the EIB, the members of the IDB Group, the CDE in Brussels and commercial banks in the region.

The 2008 Annual Report is available as a downloadable Adobe Acrobat PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF file. For a printed copy please contact: dfl@dflcaribbean.com