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Niamey, Niger, March 5, 2018
– Sérgio Pimenta, IFC’s Vice President for the Middle-East and Africa, completed a working visit to Niger on Friday, March 2, 2018, committing IFC to further engagement to support increased private investment and create new markets. IFC aims to build on its past work in financial markets, infrastructure, agribusiness and investment climate and irrigation, to increase its activities in Niger.
Leading a delegation representing IFC, the World Bank and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Pimenta met with Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou. He also met Prime Minister
Brigi Rafini
and several members of Cabinet, notably the ministers of Planning, Mining, Energy, Industry, Livestock, Trade and Private sector investment, Tourism and Crafts and Budget. The vice president met with bankers, the private sector and development partners, and visited several private businesses. In his meetings, Pimenta discussed the opportunities in Niger and the challenges of increasing private investment.
Pimenta said “Increasing our intervention in Niger is part of a strategic decision by management to focus on some of the smaller markets where IFC has historically not been as present. Working in collaboration with the World Bank and MIGA, IFC plans to focus on energy, agribusiness, SME development (including entrepreneurship) and ICT”.
IFC’s past activities in Niger include advising the Government of Niger on the concession of the Dosso Dry Port and mobilizing $74 million for the project. Through the Niger Irrigation Program, IFC is introducing affordable efficient irrigation equipment to 1,200 smallholder farmers. IFC also provided a $1 million trade line to Ecobank Niger and is supporting programs to introduce a credit bureau and leasing to Niger. In addition, IFC supported investment climate reforms which contributed to the country’s recent improvements in the World Bank Group’s Doing Business rankings. In the latest edition of the report, Niger implemented four reforms making it easier to do business in the country, and improved its ranking in the ease of doing business from 150th to 144th. Niger has ranked amongst the most reforming economies globally over the past three years.
IFC’s planned interventions will support Niger’s 2017-2021 Economic and Social Development Plan (PDES); the World Bank Group committed $2.5 billion to support the PDES during the Consultative Group Meeting for Niger in December 2017. IFC’s activities will also support the Alliance for the Sahel, a joint initiative of the EU, France and Germany to improve the coordination of development cooperation particularly in the G-5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger).
About IFC
IFC - a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In FY17, we delivered a record $19.3 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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