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Cotonou, Benin, October 22, 2013 -
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will reinforce its partnership with banks in Benin in order to increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises, announced Jean-Philippe Prosper, IFC Vice-President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. During his first visit to Cotonou as Vice-President, Mr. Prosper also pledged an increase in the support provided by IFC and the World Bank to the government of Benin to help improve the country’s business climate, especially to attract investments to the country’s infrastructures, including the port, and electricity and telecommunications sectors.
During his two-day visit to Cotonou, Mr. Prosper met with various government officials, including the President of the Republic, the Minister of Economic Analysis, Development and Prospect, the Minister of Economy and Finance, and representatives of the private sector and funders.
“IFC is committed to assisting Benin in the development of its private sector by fostering better dialogue between public and private sectors, and by supporting regulatory reform on public-private partnerships. We will be assisting Benin at the next Advisory Group meeting”, said Mr. Prosper. In 2009, IFC helped the government of Benin with the South Wharf Container Terminal concession at the port of Cotonou. IFC is also currently providing advisory services for the structuring of a public-private partnership for the construction of a high-quality hospital and to provide rural areas with drinking water, while planning interventions in infrastructure, agro-business and integrated support programs for small and medium enterprises.
In the last month, IFC organised an open day where public and private sectors could converse. This opportunity led to new discussions with other private actors, especially in the finance and agribusiness sectors.
In FY2013, IFC committed 5.3 billion dollars in new investments and provided advisory services to a value of 65 million dollars in Sub-Saharan Africa (30% of the institution’s total amount of advisory services). In Benin, IFC is focused on access to finance, business climate reforms, public-private partnerships and infrastructure development. As IFC increases its presence in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is increasing its activities in the smallest countries of the region.
About d'IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. Working with private enterprises in more than 100 countries, we use our capital, expertise, and influence to help eliminate extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. In FY13, our investments climbed to an all-time high of nearly $25 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
In Cotonou:
Nadiath Dende
Telephone: +229 31 36 39 00
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