SKYDIRECT a Digital Future

ABOUT SKYDIRECT INVESTMENT COMPANY(SIC) skydirect is a private company whose capital is held by the Belgian State (Ministry for Development Cooperation). Its early stage capital amounts to €5,000,000 and it makes investments using additional equity granted by the Ministry for Development Cooperation. BIC enjoys decisional and operational independence, which provides the autonomy and flexibility it needs when analysing and evaluating the financing applications. Various control levels and processes ensure the efficient and correct use of its investment resources and the smooth implementation of its mission. BIC operates according to a commercial logic inherent to its status and its development finance mission. The financial contributions made by BIO are not conditioned by the involvement of other Belgian players of any type (companies, banks, etc.), but do not exclude it either. BIC is careful to ensure the additionally of its investments to avoid entering into direct competition with the local established financial sector. BIO’s role is to provide long-term financial products that are generally unavailable or inaccessible on the local markets. All projects must demonstrate long term financial viability and have a lasting impact on the development of the country in question, whether in terms of employment, the environment or economic and social growth. BIC also sets out to provide added value, in particular by contributing to good governance, by backing pioneering concepts and/or new initiatives or by attracting other investors. MANAGEMENT BODIES The Belgian State has given BIC a clear and well-defined role and mission with strict criteria in terms of geographical targets, financing instruments and, above all, development impact. Various control levels and processes ensure the efficient and correct use of its investment resources and the smooth implementation of its mission. The management bodies are the Board of Directors, the Investment Committee, the Audit Committee, the Human Resource Committee and the Executive Committee. BOARD OF DIRECTORS The BIC Board of Directors includes ten (10)members, one observer (the Secretary General for Development Cooperation) and two Government Commissioners (one appointed by the Ministry of Budget and the other one by the Minister of Development Cooperation). The Board of Directors carries out a rigorous internal control based on regular reporting. It oversees the implementation of BIO’s mandate and has the final word on the investment projects. The Board’s chairman is a permanent invitee to all other committees. Chairman ad interim Xavier Godefroid Members Laurence Christians Françoise Demeuse Jean-Claude Fontinoy Jan Kerremans Carl Michiels Els Schelfhout Annuschka Vandewalle Pieter Verhelst Government Commissioners Nancy Van den Broeck Dirk Van der Maelen Observer Guy Rayée Board of Directors Mrs. Laurence Christians is Licentiate Political Sciences and International Relations. She is strategic advisor at the Benelux Union and attaché of the Export Agency of Wallonia (Awex). She has experience as deputy private secretary of the Minister-President of Wallonia and the French Community and as an advisor to the Minister President of the Brussels Capital Region. She gained experience as director of the National office Ducroire and as government commissioner for Foreign Trade. Since 2014, she is director for Credendo. Mrs. Françoise Demeuse is a graduate of the Gembloux Agro Biotech ULG and is chemical and agricultural engineer. She is Director Economy and Territorial Development at the Province of Brabant Wallon. She has experience as government commissioner for the Minister of Development Cooperation at BIO. She also gained experience as an advisor to the multilateral think tank on Development Cooperation in charge of the files agriculture, food security, fair and sustainable trade, private sector support in developing countries and strategies of aid in trade and gender. Mr. Jean-Claude Fontinoy is industrial engineer. He is currently president of the Board of Directors at NMBS/SNCB and advisor at the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He has also gained experience in public finance at the cabinet of the Minister of Finance and as a director at the companies Eurogare, Belgocontrol, SNCB and SBI. Mr. Xavier Godefroid holds a Master’s degree in Law and International Public Law. He is currently delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to NATO and the European armed forces. Previously, he was director of the “Centre permanent pour la Citoyenneté et la Participation ». He has extensive experience in humanitarian aid by coordinating functions at the ICRC in the context of several armed conflicts, mainly in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He has also worked in the public sector as a coordinator at the cabinet of the minister of Employment, as an attaché for Foreign Affairs and Defense to the Senate and as deputy private secretary of the mayor of Charleroi. Mr. Jan Kerremans is Licentiate Political Sciences and International Relations. He gained experience as government commissioner at the BRT and as director of the companies VRT, VAR, GIMV, PMV and Infrabel. He also worked as an advisor to different cabinets of Ministers. Mr. Carl Michiels is Licentiate in Modern History and holds a Postgraduate in Cultural and Social Anthropology. He has been president of the management committee of Enabel for 14 years. Since January 2019 he is Director of the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) in Maastricht. He has years of experience in development cooperation: he was responsible for projects in Central and South America, attaché, advisor and responsible for missions for different cabinets of Ministers, as well as head of the VLIR secretariat for university cooperation. Mrs. Els Schelfhout is Doctor in Social Sciences. She has gained experience as member of the Senate for the Commission of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Development Cooperation, as well as for the Commission of Social Affairs and as a president of the task force “Exploitation and trade in natural resources in DRC”. COMPANY ADDRESS Rue des Petits Carmes 24 A 1000 Brusse Belgium