Washington, DC, February 27, 2013
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the appointment of Jean Philippe Prosper to Vice President of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. He will be based in Johannesburg after a short transition.
In his new position, Prosper will oversee IFC’s Investment and Advisory Services operations in 79 countries, where IFC has a combined investment portfolio of $17 billion and Advisory Services programs worth $286 million across the two regions.
Prosper said, “Our activities in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean are critical to IFC’s global business and we will build on our success in these regions to have a more significant impact on poverty elimination through private sector development.”
Prosper said: “In Africa IFC is a major regional investor. We will further grow our Investment and Advisory Services, especially in fragile and conflict affected states and through regional and national projects that have potential to positively transform development in Africa.” During its 2012 fiscal year, IFC’s investments grew 44 percent to $4 billion and saw major inroads in its priority sectors of infrastructure and agribusiness. Nearly all of IFC’s 123 Advisory Services programs worth $204 million in Sub-Saharan Africa were carried out in the region’s poorest countries and more than a quarter of it in fragile and conflict-affected states. IFC executes its business in Sub-Saharan Africa from 21 offices.
“Our focus in Latin America and the Caribbean is to promote inclusive economic growth, regional integration, innovation to improve competitiveness and climate change mitigation," Prosper said. The LAC region accounts for the largest share of IFC global commitments—24 percent in fiscal year 2012, with $5 billion in financing for 134 new private sector projects. Through its Advisory Services IFC executed 79 projects worth $82 million at the end of the last fiscal year. IFC carries out its business in LAC from 16 offices.
Until his appointment, Prosper was IFC’s Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. From July 2008 to August 2012, he was the Director for Eastern and Southern Africa and a co-director of the Africa department. During his tenure with the Africa department, IFC’s investment grew from $140 million in fiscal year 2003 to $4 billion in fiscal year 2012.
Prosper has been recognized for his leadership skills at IFC. He received the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award in 2010 and the Good Manager Award in 2011, two of the most prestigious awards of the World Bank Group.
Before joining IFC, Prosper was the Regional Coordinator for Mexico, the Andean Countries, Central America, and Panama for the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) of the Inter-American Development Bank. Between 1986 and 1990, he worked at SOFIHDES, a private development finance company in Haiti, where he became Managing Director. During this period, Prosper was also a professor of mathematics, statistics, and managerial and corporate finance at the State University of Haiti. In the early 1980's, he worked as Advisor to the Minister of Haiti on Financial, Economic, and Industrial Affairs.
Prosper holds a degree in Mathematics and Civil Engineering and an MBA. A Haitian national, he is fluent in Creole, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish and has a working knowledge of Kiswahili.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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