The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment into emerging economies to improve people's lives and reduce poverty. MIGA fulfills this mandate and contributes to development by offering political risk insurance (guarantees) to investors and lenders, and by helping developing countries attract and retain private investment.

Our principles

MIGA is led in its mission by four guiding principles: focusing on clients, serving investors, lenders, and host country governments by supporting private enterprise and promoting foreign investment; engaging in partnerships, working with other insurers, government agencies, and international organizations to ensure complementary services and approach; promoting developmental impact, striving to improve the lives of people in emerging economies, consistent with the goals of host countries and sound business, environmental, and social principles; ensuring financial soundness, balancing developmental goals and financial objectives through prudent underwriting and sound risk management.

Our members

MIGA membership, which currently stands at 154, is open to all World Bank members. The agency has a capital stock of SDR1 billion. In March 1999, MIGA's Council of Governors adopted a resolution for a capital increase of approximately $850 million. The agency received another $150 million in operating capital from the World Bank.

Our development impact

Projects supported by MIGA have widespread benefits: local jobs are created, tax revenue is generated, skills and technological know-how are transferred. Local communities often receive significant secondary benefits through improved infrastructure, including roads, electricity, hospitals, schools, and clean water. Foreign direct investment supported by MIGA also encourages similar local investments and spurs the growth of local businesses that supply related goods and services. As a result, developing countries have a greater chance to break the cycle of poverty.

MIGA's guarantee coverage requires investors to adhere to social and environmental standards that are considered to be the world's best. Without World Bank Group involvement, projects often go ahead without adequate safeguards.

Our unique strengths

MIGA both supports and draws on the extensive resources of the World Bank Group, applying unparalleled knowledge of emerging economies to the projects it guarantees. MIGA's unique strengths also derive from its structure as an international organization that acts as an umbrella of deterrence against government actions that could disrupt investments, and allows it to influence the resolution of potential disputes. MIGA's capacity to serve as an objective intermediary enhances investor confidence that an investment going into an emerging economy will be protected against non-commercial risks.

Our record

Concerns about uncertain political environments and perceptions of political risk often inhibit investment, with foreign direct investment (FDI) often going to a handful of countries and leaving the world's poorest economies largely ignored. MIGA is an important catalyst, increasingly promoting FDI a key driver of growth into developing countries through its guarantees, technical assistance, and legal services.

Since its inception, MIGA has issued more than 500 guarantees for projects in 78 developing countries. As of June 2001, total coverage issued exceeded $9 billion, bringing the estimated amount of foreign direct investment facilitated since inception to more than $41 billion. The agency mobilized an additional $153 million in investment coverage in fiscal 2001 through its Cooperative Underwriting Program (CUP), encouraging private sector insurers into transactions they would not have otherwise undertaken, and helping the agency serve more clients.

MIGA's technical assistance services also play an integral role in catalyzing foreign direct investment by helping developing countries around the world define and implement strategies to promote investment. MIGA develops and deploys tools and technologies to support the spread of information on investment opportunities. Thousands of users of take advantage of MIGA's suite of online investment information services, which complement country-based capacity-building work.

The agency uses its legal services to further smooth possible impediments to investment. Through its dispute mediation program, MIGA helps governments and investors resolve their differences, and ultimately improve the country's investment climate.

MIGA complements the activities of other investment insurers and works with partners through its coinsurance and reinsurance programs to expand the capacity of the political risk insurance industry's income. To date, MIGA has officially established 18 such partnerships.

Find out more about MIGA by clicking HERE

Return to the Foreign Aid/Affairs/Defense budget by clicking HERE