Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Commonwealth Development Corporation is taking to adapt its global investments to respond to the health and economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic.

CDC remains a long-term investor and is open for business. CDC and the Department for International Development are working together to deliver a targeted response that preserves, strengthens and helps rebuild economies across Africa and South Asia in response to the impact of COVID-19.

Firstly, CDC is supporting its existing portfolio of companies. CDC is assessing where it can provide additional capital to help firms and their workers weather the crisis. CDC has also launched an Emergency Technical Assistance Facility and published advice on its website (https://www.cdcgroup.com/covid-19) on measures that companies should take to protect the health and safety of employees and customers and protect jobs.

Secondly, CDC is focused on strengthening the response to the wider economic and health challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis. CDC is actively looking to make new investments that can provide more systemic liquidity to companies, especially Small Medium Enterprises, and at investments that can directly mitigate some of the adverse health impacts of COVID-19.

Finally, CDC will be there to support countries rebuild and will continue to invest for long-term sustainable development in its geographies.