IFC Private Sector Day to Highlight Strategies for Boosting Private Sector Development in Cameroon
Douala, January 15, 2024 – Media are invited to attend an IFC-hosted event in Douala on January 17 that will convene high-level representatives from the Government of Cameroon and Cameroon's private sector to discuss ways of increasing private sector growth and sustainable economic development in the country.
Discussions at the 'IFC Private Sector Day' event will also focus on IFC's investment and advisory services projects in Cameroon and how they are supporting the country's National Development Strategy 2021-2030 and its digital, agribusiness, and infrastructure sectors, among others.
Participating from IFC will be Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa; Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa; and several other senior members of IFC Africa's leadership team, including from the infrastructure, manufacturing agribusiness & services, and financial industries sectors.
His Excellency Mr. Achille Bassilekin III, Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts, will lead Cameroon's government delegation. Célestin Kamanou Tawamba, President of the Cameroon Employers Groupment (GECAM), is also confirmed to attend.
During his official visit to Cameroon from January 15th to 19th, Sérgio Pimenta will also tour projects and meet with other senior government officials, partners, and key private sector leaders to discuss new avenues for enhanced cooperation.
IFC has been growing its investment and engagement in Cameroon. As of January 2024, IFC has a committed portfolio of US$ 242 million that is supporting digital and other infrastructure and domestic value chains, particularly in the agricultural sector, and is improving access to finance for smaller businesses.
WHO: Sérgio Pimenta, Regional Vice President for Africa, IFC - @SPimentaIFC
Achille Bassilekin III, Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts
Célestin Kamanou Tawamba, President of the Cameroon Employers Groupment (GECAM)
WHEN: Wednesday, January 17, 2024, 09:00 (opening) to 13:00 (closing)
WHERE: Akwa Palace, Douala, Cameroon
For media requests, please contact:
Abdoul Maiga | amaiga7@ifc.org | + 1 202 967 8969
Odilia Renata Hebga| ohebga@worldbank.org | + 237 97859955
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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Sérgio Pimenta
IFC's Vice President for Africa
Sérgio Pimenta is IFC's Vice President for Africa. In this capacity, he is in charge of all investment, and advisory operations in a region with a committed portfolio of $13.3 billion and more than 800 staff working to expand the private sector's role in addressing urgent development challenges in the financial, manufacturing, agribusiness and services, and infrastructure industries.
Previously, Mr. Pimenta was Director and Global Head of Industry—Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services at IFC, managing all operations in these sectors worldwide. Mr. Pimenta also served for three years as IFC's Regional Director responsible for East Asia and the Pacific, based in Hong Kong.
Earlier in his career at IFC, Mr. Pimenta held senior managerial positions in the manufacturing, agribusiness, and services sectors in the Asia Pacific region, the Middle East and North Africa, and Washington, DC.
Prior to joining the World Bank Group through its Young Professionals Program in 1996, Mr. Pimenta worked for the Treasury Department of the French Ministry of Finance, as well as for Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP).
A Portuguese and French national, Mr. Pimenta holds an engineering degree from the École Polytechnique, Paris, and a post-graduate degree from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris.
