Nairobi, Kenya, May 21 2012 –
IFC Vice President Thierry Tanoh has highlighted IFC’s rising investments in Africa, including in infrastructure where IFC
will for the first time has mobilized more than $1 billion in private infrastructure investment in Africa in Fiscal Year 2012.
IFC is a member of the World Bank Group.
During his visit to Nairobi last week, Tanoh noted that IFC is active in more than 30 African countries, and has been expanding steadily. IFC’s annual investment commitments have grown from just $140 million in 2003 to over $2 billion in the last two years.
Tanoh said, ““As the heavyweight economy of East Africa, Kenya is a key priority for IFC. Our investments in Kenya have been increasing steadily - from $60 million in 2010, we will touch $380 million this year. IFC's focus going forward will be on high-impact sectors such as power, transport, and supporting small and medium businesses."
Recent IFC investments in Kenya including a $100 million loan to Equity Bank Group to support lending to small and medium businesses, agricultural projects and women entrepreneurs in the region.
IFC is investing in two projects to develop power generating plants in Kenya – Gulf Power Ltd and Thika Power Ltd. IFC is also considering an investment of $50 million in Kenya Power for its plans to expand its distribution network.
IFC’s strategy in Kenya focuses on supporting small and medium enterprises, continuing our work on improving the investment climate, and investing in high-impact areas like infrastructure and agribusiness.
IFC plans to increase new commitments in Sub-Sahara Africa to about $3.7 billion for FY12. The development impact of IFC’s activities in FY 2011 include 217,000 people employed by IFC clients, power generated for 6.6 million people, and 60 million people connected phone users. IFC has also helped provide support to 500,000 students, 260,000 farmers and 241,000 small businesses.
IFC seeks to encourage private investment in infrastructure through advisory mandates that create commercially viable structures. IFC’s advisory work across Africa is already developing public private partnerships in most infrastructure subsectors, including rail, airlines, airports, ports, water, and power.
In cases where public and private funding of services is required, IFC is working closely with other World Bank colleagues to reinforce policy initiatives that encourage private investment in infrastructure.
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, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, we helped our clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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