A New Wave of Enterprise Funds

This podcast features James A. Harmon, the Chairman of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF). Mr. Harmon shares his unique and insightful experiences as Chairman of the EAEF, including the obstacles he had to overcome to make enterprise funds successful in Egypt. In the early 1990s, enterprise funds were innovative because they were given the unique and dual mandate to “do development” and make money. Some enterprise funds were very successful and generated returns for the American taxpayer; however, other enterprise funds were not as successful. The blended results sent mixed signals to Washington, D.C. and ultimately, enterprise funds fell off of the global development agenda. Then, prompted by the Arab Spring—and nearly two decades after the first round of enterprise funds—the Obama Administration initiated two new enterprise funds in Egypt and Tunisia. Tune in to our podcast with Mr. Harmon to learn more about enterprise funds.