NAIROBI, KENYA, Feb. 12—The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will invest US$0.5 million in AAR Health Services Limited (AAR), Kenya, for a US$1.0 million expansion to outfit the company's medical clinics, purchase ambulances and communications equipment, and provide working capital to finance the rapid growth of its services throughout East Africa. IFC's equity investment will enable the Corporation to play a significant role in promoting health services in Kenya.
Mr. Jannik Lindbaek, Executive Vice President of IFC, who signed the agreement on behalf of IFC, said in Nairobi, "We are pleased to be associated with a project with such a strong developmental impact. It will introduce more competition leading to better and more affordable health services; uplift the quality of life of many people who will have medical coverage for the first time; and reduce the burden on the already over-stretched public health services sector. IFC's participation in the project will also facilitate AAR's entry into the larger East African market and may help to attract other institutional investors."
AAR, a managed health care organization, provides in-patient hospital and out-patient health services at six AAR-owned medical clinics in Kenya and Uganda. AAR is a key player in the health managed care sector in East Africa.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries. In Kenya, since 1967, IFC has invested US$263 million in 56 projects, of which US$211 million was for iits own account.
