Our firm advises international development institutions working in developing, emerging and transition economies, including post-conflict and fragile states. With an emphasis on microfinance and small and medium enterprise development, we assist our clients on matters such as legal and regulatory reforms, structuring operations in host countries, general corporate matters, and complex cross-border financing transactions.

Representative matters include: 

• Advising a U.S. based international development organization working in conflict-affected and developing countries, in connection with the transformation of its financial services programs in Iraq, Jordan and Palestine into locally regulated financial institutions. Our work included the establishment of a management company in Lebanon for operations in Iraq and with preparing the related inter-company agreements. 

• Representing a Washington, DC based international microfinance organization that provides financial services to the world’s lowest-income entrepreneurs in 23 countries, in connection with the transformation of its non-profit affiliates in Armenia, Georgia and Nicaragua into locally regulated commercial financial institutions. The projects included structuring the strategic transfer and assignment of assets and liabilities to the new entity, and documentation of the related financing facilities and inter-company agreements. The RW team also assisted with the review of remittances agreements with major U.S. and regional payment service providers. 

• Advising a U.S. based international microfinance organization regarding opportunities for political risk insurance (PRI) coverage and appropriate approaches to the PRI marketplace.

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