(OTTAWA) – January 16, 2014

Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s leading provider of trade financing and insurance, today announced that it has renewed its community investment partnership with CARE Canada for another three years. The announcement was made on the fifth anniversary of the partnership.

Since 2009, CARE and EDC have worked together on several economic development projects in emerging markets. As part of the partnership, EDC assigns employees to CARE’s small business and micro-finance projects in the developing world. As an example, four EDC employees left Canada last fall to travel to Zambia, Peru and India where they worked with CARE.

Over the five-year partnership, 18 EDC employees have been seconded to support CARE’s work. They bring their wide range of specialized knowledge to four-month stints in the field, from business development and risk assessment to communications and information management systems.

“Our relationship with EDC has been very much a win-win experience,” said Gillian Barth, President and CEO of CARE Canada. “It has been valuable and mutually beneficial to bring the expertise and mentorship of their staff into the field with us. It offers a fresh perspective on how to help the communities in which we work reach their potential and EDC personnel also receive on-the-ground experience of the challenges faced by other global economies.”

“The Beyond Exports Program is a great example of our corporate social responsibility commitment in action,” said Pierre Gignac, EDC’s Acting President and CEO. “We’re delighted to continue contributing to CARE’s efforts to alleviate poverty around the world. Sending our top talent for up to four months to help small business development initiatives around the world gives them a greater ability to connect with all facets of these markets where we do business.”

EDC selected CARE Canada as a partner because of its extensive experience with small business development in emerging markets and its reputation for professionalism and excellence.

If you are interested in an interview with the participating EDC employees, please contact:

Suzanne Charest
Director of Communications, CARE Canada
Tel: 613-228-5641 Cell: 613-790-2134
Email: media@care.ca

Phil Taylor
Export Development Canada
Tel: 613-598-2904
Email: ptaylor@edc.ca

The following EDC employees worked with CARE in 2013:

• Bruce Dunlop, Vice-president of Risk Management, used his extensive background in banking to evaluate the impact of cash transfers within CARE’s village saving and loans association groups for CARE Zambia.
• Katarzyna Pipin, Communications Advisor, supported communications and knowledge management at CARE Zambia. Her responsibilities included documenting stories, writing project reports and helping write CARE Zambia’s annual report.
• Andrea Rodriguez, Account Manager, Small Businesses for the Quebec region, was selected to aid CARE Peru as a small business development advisor and provided technical assistance on the “Technical Assistance Providers” project.
• Claudia Verno, Senior Economist, Corporate Research department, acted as an advisor on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation in Delhi, India and provided technical assistance to CARE’s “Where the Rain Falls” project.

About EDC

EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC’s knowledge and partnerships are used by more than 7,400 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining and a recognized leader in financial reporting and economic analysis. For more information on the EDC-CARE partnership, including notes from the field by participating employees visit EDC's CARE page.

About CARE

Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. In over 80 countries, CARE works with the poorest communities to improve basic health and education, enhance rural livelihoods and food security, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity, help vulnerable people adapt to climate change and provide lifesaving assistance during emergencies. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls living in poverty because, equipped with the proper resources, women and girls have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. To learn more, visit: www.care.ca

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