Washington, D.C., June 30, 2010—
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Zulekha Hospitals Group, a prominent woman-owned health care business in the United Arab Emirates, have signed agreements to finance Zulekha’s expansion plans and bring affordable health care services to India.
The project will introduce high clinical and managerial standards and create new jobs where there is significant unemployment, especially in smaller Indian cities.
“We are very happy to partner with IFC, whose global experience and local knowledge of private health care in emerging and developing markets will help facilitate our expansion to India,” said Dr. Zulekha Daud, Managing Director, Zulekha Hospitals Group.
Zulekha is proposing to use $21 million of IFC’s $24 million financing package to build a new 189-bed hospital in Nagpur in the Indian state of Maharashtra where access to health care is low and patients often need to travel several hundred miles for quality medical treatment.
The remaining $3 million will pay for energy efficiency-related expenditure at Zulekha’s Sharjah facility in the United Arab Emirates. IFC expects to share its knowledge of clean production initiatives to generate cost savings and encourage other companies to adopt greener technologies.
“This investment reflects a strategic IFC priority to support health care networks and providers that work across countries and regions, especially in emerging markets such as India,” said Guy Ellena, IFC Director for Health and Education. “We also are delighted to support a woman-owned business that expects to employ many women.”
Michael Essex, IFC Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, “IFC will help Zulekha Hospitals Group expand its reach and services beyond the Arabian Gulf, increasing access to affordable health care for people in India that need it the most while raising standards and promoting best practice across the industry.”
IFC is the largest multilateral investor in private health care in emerging markets, and supports the growth of health care in developing countries in a sustainable and socially responsible way.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing capital for private enterprise, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009, helping channel capital into developing countries during the financial crisis. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Zulekha Hospitals Group
Zulekha Hospitals is a family-owned health care group based in the United Arab Emirates. The group operates a 63-bed hospital in Sharjah and an 88-bed hospital in Dubai. Both hospitals are accredited by the Joint Commission International, the most internationally recognized accrediting body for health care providers. The business began in 1966, when Dr. Zulekha Daud of Nagpur, India, established a small clinic in Sharjah. The group now employs 1,050 staff and treats over 550,000 patients per year. Visit
www.zulekhahospitals.com
.
