IFC Results Show High Development Impact, Record Investments in Sub Saharan Africa in FY12 Investments hit $4 billion in SSA; activities support infrastructure, farmers, entrepreneurs

• The MasterCard Foundation and IFC launched a partnership to increase access to financial services for an estimated 5.3 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. The $37.4 million partnership will help microfinance banks expand more rapidly and develop new products, while expanding into new, hard-to-reach locations. The project will also help providers deliver more affordable mobile financial services to low-income customers.
• IFC and the World Bank’s Investment Climate Advisory Services worked with governments to enact 143 laws and regulations, which led to $298 million in private sector savings. São Tomé and Príncipe , Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, and Burundi were ranked among the world’s top reformers in the 2012 Doing Business report.
• IFC's Public Private Partnership in infrastructure business line had a landmark year, signing agreements with African governments that mandate it to structure transactions that can attract private sector sponsors and investment. The mandates and other activities had a particular focus on countries recovering from conflict, such as South Sudan, supporting their efforts to regenerate infrastructure and build strong private sectors. Key sectors included health, tourism and renewable energy, providing a strong indicator of both the level and range of interest by governments to create more investment opportunities.
• IFC’s Conflict Affected States in Africa Initiative (CASA) provided advisory support to eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in FY12, including to some of the region’s least developed, to help them rebuild their private sectors and generate economic growth. CASA helped Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan make improvements to their business climates that are attracting investment and supporting the growth of smaller businesses. CASA almost doubled its spending on programs in conflict affected countries to $9 million in FY12 from $5.4 million in FY11.CASA is supported by donors Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. For more information see www.ifc.org/casa
• IFC’s Africa Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (AMSME) Program supports increased lending to small and medium enterprises by working with partner financial institutions. In fiscal year 2012, the program worked in 16 countries across Africa with 21 banks, including Bank of Africa, Ecobank and Banc ABC, which provided over $1 billion in loans to their SME clients.
• IFC’s Credit Bureau program aims to make access to finance easier for individuals and small businesses by building credit information sharing and reporting systems in Africa.  To do this, we work closely with central banks, public and private banks, other lenders and credit providers, and consumers.  In fiscal year 2012, the program worked on developing credit bureaus in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Ghana.  In Ethiopia, IFC provided advisory support to the National Bank’s credit registry, which went live in August 2011.
• The Efficient Securities Markets Institutional Development (ESMID) Africa Program, a joint program by IFC, World Bank and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), helps develop securities markets to finance infrastructure, housing, microfinance and other projects. ESMID works in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Nigeria, where it helps simplify procedures for issuing and trading bonds, trains market participants; and is regionalizing securities markets. In fiscal year 2012, the program enacted a number of regulatory reforms in Africa to develop local bond markets. Highlights included ESMID’s bond issuance framework, which received national approval in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.  ESMID also helped pass a law to allow over the counter bond trading in Kenya.
• Lighting Africa , a joint IFC and World Bank program, is mobilizing the private sector to provide safe, affordable, and modern off-grid lighting to communities in Africa that are not connected to the grid and rely on kerosene lamps or other expensive, polluting alternatives. By the end of fiscal year 2012, Lighting Africa had provided cleaner, better lighting and increased access to energy to 3.8 million consumers across the continent. For more information on Lighting Africa see www.lightingafrica.org
• In partnership with financial institutions, IFC provided local currency loans in Rwanda and Zambia last fiscal year, helping businesses in those countries secure long-term funding while protecting them from foreign exchange risk. IFC also obtained approval from Rwanda, Ghana and the eight member countries of the West African Monetary Union to establish local currency bond programs to strengthen domestic capital markets and support private sector development in the region.
• IFC and the IFC African, Latin American, and Caribbean Fund made equity investments in Morocco-based insurance provider Saham Finances to help the company expand into parts of Africa, where the majority lack health, life, and business insurance coverage. IFC and the IFC ALAC Fund, managed by IFC Asset Management Company, invested the Moroccan dirham equivalent of €90 million in Saham Finances. The investment will help the company extend coverage across Sub-Saharan Africa, where the percentage of those insured is among the lowest in the world.
• IFC and Standard Chartered launched a bond-issuance program that will increase the availability of local-currency financing for private sector development in Africa. The IFC Pan-African Debt Medium-Term Note Programme will initially focus on Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Rwanda. Over the next several months, IFC will work with the respective authorities in these countries to obtain their consent to be part of the program. Standard Chartered is appointed as the sole arranger for the program. Standard Chartered will also be the lead manager for many of the inaugural bond transactions under the program. Other financial institutions may co-lead individual bond issues.
• IFC made an equity investment of $35 million in the Convergence Partners Communications Infrastructure Fund to support more rapid development of information and communications technologies infrastructure across Africa. The fund is expected to play an important development role in Africa. The fund’s investment focus will be to address the lack of enabling infrastructure that provides quality, affordable communications services, especially broadband, across Africa. The fund aims to develop and invest in new wholesale, open access networks and related services, and will capitalize on the potential for communication technology platforms to deliver critical services such as banking, healthcare, education and government programs that improve living standards.
• IFC and the IFC African, Latin America and Caribbean Fund invested $55 million in Armajaro Trading Limited, a leading global soft-commodity supplier, to support the ethical sourcing of cocoa and coffee. The project will help develop sustainable farming practices and improve traceability within its supply chains.
• IFC invested $200 million in the new Global SME Finance Facility , the first global platform of its kind to blend donor funding with funding from international development institutions to expand lending to small businesses in emerging markets. The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) is the facility’s first donor, with an investment of $63 million. The facility will support high-impact projects with higher risk profiles, such as in conflict-affected areas of Africa and South Asia, women-owned businesses, and those engaged in sustainable-energy and climate-change activities. It is expected to fund about 600,000 small businesses over its 10-year lifetime. The facility will target projects in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
• IFC Advisory Services programs in FY12 were supported by the governments of Austria, Belgium,  Denmark, Flanders,  Iceland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Wallonia as well as the  Austrian Development Bank, European Commission, and The MasterCard Foundation.

• IFC invested $25 million in the Kenya Airways rights issue, building upon a partnership that dates back to 1995, when IFC first advised the carrier on its privatization process.  In fiscal year 2013, IFC is also expected to loan an additional $80 million towards Kenya Airways’ expansion program.  
• IFC and six leading finance institutions provided $164 million financing to Rift Valley Railways to rehabilitate the Kenya-Uganda railway line.  IFC was the largest financier, providing $42 million.  

• Understanding the need for reliable power to build economies in East Africa, IFC invested in two government-tendered independent power projects – Thika Power ($28 million) and Gulf Power Ltd ($31 million).  The IPPs will increase power supply in Kenya, demonstrating how the private sector can help the government meet growing demand for electricity.
• Supported by an IFC equity investment of $2 million, in February 2012, Premier Gas launched ‘ Pima,” a one-kilogram Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder, which allows for partial refills starting at 50 Kenyan Shillings ($0.6). The LPG stoves will provide a cleaner energy alternative to Kenyan households that rely on kerosene as a cooking fuel, despite health hazards.  
• IFC and the European Investment Bank launched a new €60 million facility to expand access to finance for sustainable energy through local financial institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. The facility will be supported by the identification of bankable sustainable energy projects and capacity building for local service providers.
• IFC, with the support of the Government of Canada , committed a sustainable energy finance loan in Sub-Saharan Africa with Sasfin Bank . The transaction will support expanded lending by Sasfin for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects boosting efficient use of energy resources and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. IFC is to provide up to $10 million financing to the bank, including up to $2.3 million from the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program. The long term funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects will help the South African companies become more resource efficient and competitive. These benefits were also made possible by the government of Canada’s contribution, which helped make the financing package viable.

• IFC provided $5 million to African Eagle Resources, a UK-incorporated company that discovered nickel deposits in the Dutwa region of Tanzania in 2008.  The loan will support a nickel exploitation project  in Tanzania, that is expected to provide jobs and government revenues once the mine is developed.

• IFC made an investment of $ 30 million, partially denominated in Zambian Kwacha, to support the expansion of Zambeef Products Plc in Africa. Following an investment of $10 million in 2010, this is IFC’s second loan to Zambeef, which is emerging as one of the leading agribusinesses in the region. Zambeef is involved in the production, processing, distribution and retail of beef, chicken, pork, dairy, edible oils and flour. IFC’s new investment will support Zambeef’s $60 million three-year expansion plan, which aims to increase production, add new retail outlets and make food production more efficient across the supply chain.
• Mozambique’s largest wheat miller, Merec Industries , received $25 million from IFC to expand its milling and handling facilities; boosting food production and efficiency.  Merec will use the financing to build a new flour mill in northern Mozambique and construct a storage facility of 20,000 ton silo at the port of Maputo. IFC’s involvement in Merec dates back to 2000, when it provided partial guarantees to establish the company’s first mill, and later financed a second mill and pasta plant in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

• IFC made its one hundredth hotel investment in Africa with a $5.5 million loan to hotel company, Opulent (B) Ltd., to develop the first DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Burundi. The hotel will help improve the country’s business infrastructure by providing international-standard rooms and conference facilities.  IFC also financed a multi-storey commercial and residential complex, ‘ International House ’, which will soon appear on the Bujumbura skyline.

• ·IFC maintained a leading role in developing the region’s financial sector , partnering with a number of banks.  In March 2012, IFC extended a $100 million loan to Equity Bank Ltd. to support lending to SMEs and women entrepreneurs. Equity Bank will use the loan to expand lending in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Rwanda. IFC has previously provided investment and advisory services to Bank of Africa and Diamond Trust bank to help them increase their support for SMEs in East Africa.
• IFC loaned $9 million to Alios Finance Group to provide leasing, equipment loans and hire purchase for small and medium firms in Kenya and Tanzania. The Pan-African group is seeking to finance small and medium businesses working in transportation, manufacturing and services in these two important economies of East Africa
• IFC made an equity investment of up to ZAR 170 million (approximately $20 million) in Assupol Holdings Limited , the holding company of Assupol Life Limited. Assupol Life Limited, formerly a mutual society, converted into a public company and demutualised during December 2010. The investment will position Assupol to gain more recognition among investors as Assupol develops a business strategy to serve more low-income customers in South Africa. Assupol’s products include life, disability and accident cover; funeral cover; retirement products; and savings and investment products. Its client base is highly concentrated among previously disadvantaged
• groups, especially low-income South Africans.

• International Medical Group Uganda received a loan of $2.2 million, which  will be used to roll out a low-income health insurance project in Kenya, and open new clinics and upgrade facilities in Uganda. IMG will invest in new medical equipment, as well as add new in-patient wards, broadening health care services in Uganda.

• IFC made its first investment in South Sudan to support a large commercial building in Juba, helping Africa’s newest country build its economy following independence. IFC’s $5 million loan will help UAP Properties Ltd. build ‘Equatoria Tower’ a twelve-storey structure that will provide office and retail space. IFC also officially opened its office in Juba in May 2012.  

• Rwanda has been working closely with IFC to provide local currency financing for businesses.  In 2009, IFC set up a local currency swap facility with the National Bank of Rwanda - the first time a multilateral organization entered into a swap with an African Central Bank. The swap facility has enabled IFC to commit the equivalent of $26 million in Rwandan francs towards projects that support agribusiness, manufacturing and small businesses. In fiscal year 2012, IFC made it easier for KCB, East Africa’s largest bank, to enter Rwanda by providing a $5 million local currency loan.  KCB will set up a program for small and medium businesses, as well as increase mortgage lending in Rwanda.

• IFC signed an agreement with the Principal Officers Association of South Africa to work on the integration of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues in investment decisions. POA is a trade association of pension fund managers representing more than ZAR 2 trillion (about $250 billion) in assets under management. The project will provide a consistent framework and set of tools for retirement funds to comply with the new Regulation 28 of South Africa’s Pension Funds Act. The regulation is pioneering on a global level in that it requires pension funds to actively consider sustainability issues in their investment decisions. This is reinforced by a number of national and international policy initiatives such as the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.

• IFC is investing €60 million in direct financing, and coordinating €138 million in syndicated and parallel loans to the Kribi Power Development Company in Cameroon to support the development, construction and operation of a new natural gas-fired power plant and transmission line that will enhance the supply of reliable electricity and improve energy security in Cameroon. The Kribi power project will be implemented as a public-private partnership between Cameroon’s government and the AES Corporation (USA). In addition to providing direct financing to this €263 million project, IFC is coordinating an additional $138 million in financing from the African Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), the French Promotion and Investment Company for Economic Cooperation (PROPARCO), and the Central African Development Bank (BDEAC).  
• IFC invested about $20.8 million in Rialto Energy Limited to support the expansion of the company’s oil and gas exploration work in Côte d’Ivoire and help provide future natural gas for the country’s power sector. About $10.8 million came from IFC’s own account, and $10 million was mobilized through IFC’s African, Latin American, and Caribbean Fund, which has commitments from various pension funds and other institutional investors.
• IFC is providing an $80 million loan to Takoradi International Company (TICO) , to help expand its gas-fired Takoradi 2 power plant (“T2”) in Ghana, increasing the generation of electricity in the country to spur economic growth.   Alongside the $80 million, IFC will provide an additional $15 million loan to TICO on behalf of the Canada Climate Change Program, for which IFC is the implementing agency.  The OPEC Fund for International Development will be providing $22.5 million, and the balance of the $330 million debt financing will be provided by a consortium of international development finance institutions, led by FMO.

• IFC will invest an additional $150 million in the Simandou iron ore project , owned 95% by Rio Tinto plc and 5% by IFC. The project is located in southeast Guinea and at full production will be the largest mining and commercial project in the country, supporting economic growth in Guinea for decades. Annual taxes and royalties to Guinea’s Government could exceed $1 billion annually, depending on iron ore prices. The project will directly employ over 4,000 Guineans. IFC is also supporting a ‘buy local’ program to increase the project’s use of local sourcing in its supply chains.

• IFC invested $7 million to help Kenya’s Vegpro Group develop a 1,070 hectare farm in Ghana, marking the company’s first expansion outside Kenya. The new farm will boost Vegpro’s vegetable production to meet rising demand from European clients.  Vegpro Group will work with 800 smallholder farmers in Ghana, giving them access to international markets for the first time.
• IFC invested $14.3 million in Patisen , a food processing company in Senegal, to support its expansion across West Africa. A main goal of IFC’s work in the region is to support the agribusiness sector.

• IFC agreed to share the risk on an SME portfolio with BNP-Paris local subsidiary, BICICI , for up to XFO38.6 million of new loans to SMEs while building the bank’s SME-lending capacity with our flagship AMSME program ( Africa Micro Small Medium Enterprise Finance Program).

• IFC’s Business Edge program, which provides management training for entrepreneurs, was launched in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, and Congo Brazzaville last fiscal year.