It takes more than finance to achieve sustainable private sector development. Advice is a critical part of IFC’s work as a comprehensive solutions provider.

We provide technical and financing knowledge, expertise, and tools to:

• Create markets in fragile and conflict-affected areas and in the poorest countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank’s International Development Association, or IDA
• Unlock financing opportunities
• Strengthen clients’ performance and development impact

Our advisory portfolio includes more than 700 advisory projects in about 100 countries, valued at $1.3 billion. About 60 percent of IFC’s advisory program was in IDA countries—including more than 20 percent in fragile and conflict-affected areas. In addition, 90 percent of clients said they were satisfied with IFC’s advisory work.

Selected highlights of 2015:

IMPROVING ACCESS TO FINANCE

• In 2015, we worked across the world with financial institutions that focus on micro, small, and medium enterprises. These institutions provided about 51.2 million micro and 7.6 million small and medium loans totaling $403.2 billion. They also provided 846,000 housing finance loans totaling $24.8 billion.
• We supported our partners in digital financial services to facilitate 144 million noncash retail transactions, totaling over $410 billion.
• We helped strengthen country financial markets by working with collateral registries and credit bureaus that facilitated over $17.8 billion in financing. More than 539,000 micro, small and medium enterprises were able to receive loans secured with movable property. In addition, we helped create or enhance nine credit-bureau operators.

PROVIDING SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES

• Our agribusiness clients supported 3.6 million farmers through improved access to finance and markets and through sustainable farming practices. These benefits are expected to improve farmers’ productivity and income and enhance their ability to cope with unexpected events.
• We worked with firms to adopt new practices and technologies that attracted financing of nearly $568 million, including $360 million through resource-efficient technologies and $166 million through corporate governance reform projects.
• IFC helped governments sign 13 contracts with private operators, eight of which were in IDA countries. These transactions are expected to create or improve access to infrastructure and health services for over 15.7 million people and to mobilize over $1.9 billion in private investment in infrastructure.

IMPROVING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

• In collaboration with the World Bank, we supported 42 national and local governments to implement 94 reforms that helped improve the enabling environment for private sector development and foster competitive markets and job creation. Seventy reforms were in IDA countries, including 28 in fragile and conflict-affected areas.
• These reforms led to $136 million in private sector savings and contributed to an estimated $52 million in new investments.