Washington, D.C., July 8, 2002—
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector development arm of the World Bank Group, invested US$6.0 million in Qualita, Inc., a Mexico-based IT services company to support its growth and strategic development. This is IFC’s first investment in Mexico’s information technology sector.
Qualita offers information technology services and solutions to large and medium-size private companies and government agencies in Mexico.
IFC’s investment, along with related financing by Intel Capital, will help Qualita to increase its services and solutions offerings, as well as to expand its customer base, particularly in Mexico’s middle market. Intel Capital is the strategic investment program of Intel, the United States-based technology company.
Mohsen Khalil, the World Bank Group’s Director for Global Information and Communication Technologies (GICT), said: “Qualita will help bring world class solutions to Mexico, allowing both private companies and public agencies to improve their operations through the use of cutting edge information technology.”
Antonio Fajer, founder and CEO of Qualita, Inc., noted; “This investment will allow Qualita to hire 150 new consultants and further develop our new solutions offerings in security, customer relationship management (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM).”
Qualita (
www.qualita.com.mx
) was founded in 1983 and currently has 820 employees. The company is based in Mexico City and has three divisions, which offer systems integration, services such as technical support and training, and solutions such as software development and IT consulting.
IFC’s mission (
www.ifc.org
) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses.
Since its founding in 1956 through the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2001, IFC committed more than $31 billion of its own funds and arranged $20 billion in syndications for 2,636 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY01 was $14.3 billion.
The World Bank Group’s Global Information and Communication Technologies Department (www.worldbank.org/ict) promotes the transfer of communications and information technologies to the developing world. The Information Technologies Investments Group, part of GICT, is a stage-independent investor with an exclusive focus on building successful information technology businesses in the emerging markets. Formed in mid-2000, the group brings a global perspective to information technology, a long-term approach to investments, an ability to leverage the resources of the entire World Bank Group as well as a commitment to maximize the value of its portfolio companies through sustained strategic assistance.
