Tokyo, Japan, November 6, 2023—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has appointed Tadashi Yokoyama as the new Director for its Tokyo Office. Under his leadership, IFC—in alignment with Japan's national priorities—will continue to play a key role in reinforcing partnerships with public and private sectors in the country to address climate change, foster gender equality and inclusion, and bolster food security and health, among others.
IFC is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. As one of IFC's founding members and the second largest shareholder, Japan has been a long-standing and crucial partner for IFC. To further strengthen its partnership with the Japanese government and development finance institutions while effectively leveraging the power of Japan's private sector, IFC founded its Tokyo office in 1988. Since then, IFC co-invested with Japanese partners in over 100 projects with a total committed portfolio of around $9.4 billion as of fiscal year 2023, ending June 30.
"IFC's partnership with Japan is key to mobilizing private sector capital and providing technological innovation to support developing countries," said Riccardo Puliti, IFC's Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific. "With this appointment, I am confident we can further enhance our partnership with the government and broaden our reach across the country's private and public sectors," he added.
With overlapping crises across the world and stretched public funding in developing nations, UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2023 reveals a widening annual investment deficit—from $2.5 trillion in 2015 to $4 trillion—that developing countries face as they work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Against this backdrop, accelerating private sector development as an engine of growth and scaling up private capital mobilization are essential to speed up progress on the SDGs.
"I am excited to join IFC at a critical juncture when private sector investment is urgently needed to address global development challenges," said Tadashi Yokoyama, IFC's new Director for the Tokyo Office. "Japan is well positioned to contribute to sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth in developing countries, with its extensive experience in development work, technological innovations, and financial and human resource optimization. I look forward to enhancing our engagement with Japanese partners, utilizing their tremendous expertise and capital," he added.
Yokoyama, a Japanese national, has deep experience and expertise in finance and international cooperation, including development finance, built upon a long and extensive professional career in the public sector. He has held several positions, including Executive Vice President of Policy Research Institute and Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Senior Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Head of Asia External Representation Office of the African Development Bank, Directors in charge of MDBs related issues and regional cooperation at the Japanese Ministry of Finance and Director in charge of bilateral official development assistance (ODA) to the East and Southeast Asia Pacific region within the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Yokoyama holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Sydney, Australia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Tokyo, Japan.
About IFC
IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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