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Washington, D.C., September 22, 2010
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, strongly endorses the joint declaration made at the United Nations today by international bilateral donors recognizing the significant impact the private sector has on development and committing to work together to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
Several donor governments released the declaration following a meeting of heads of state and governments, chief executives, civil society leaders, and heads of UN agencies. The meeting to discuss how the private sector, governments, and the UN can work together to advance progress toward the goals was part of the UN High-Level Plenary Meeting on MDGs, which is currently taking place in New York.
“As the largest global development institution focused on the private sector, IFC welcomes the commitment of international donors to work with the private sector to support sustainable economic growth in developing countries,” said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO. “IFC will continue to work closely with bilateral donors and the private sector to make investments and provide advisory services that create opportunity where it’s needed most.”
The donor declaration recognized that the private sector is the engine of economic growth and development, creating jobs, goods and services, and generating public revenues essential to achieve the MDGs. It also recognized the important role that multilateral institutions and business organizations, including the UN Global Compact, continue to play in advancing sustainable business models and markets to build an inclusive global economy.
In 2009, IFC clients provided 2.2 million jobs, including nearly 514,000 in the manufacturing and services sectors. They treated nearly 8 million patients, helped educate 1.4 million students, and supported 2.1 million farmers. IFC clients also distributed water to 35 million customers, power to 29 million customers, and gas to 16 million. Micro, small, and medium enterprises, the businesses responsible for most of the world’s job creation, received 10 million loans totaling $112 billion from IFC clients.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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