Nouakchott, December 19, 2022 - Makhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will visit Mauritania on December 21st for meetings with government officials and business leaders to underscore IFC's strong support for the country's economic diversification and private sector growth strategy.
During his first official visit to Mauritania as IFC Managing Director, Mr. Diop will meet with His Excellency, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, Minister of Economic Affairs, Ousmane Mamoudou Kane, and other senior government officials. Discussions will focus on how IFC can increase its support for Mauritania's economic and job creation agenda.
Mr. Diop will focus on PPP, green energy, agriculture, financial services, and other important sectors, including those where IFC can amplify financial and advisory support.
With growth projected to reach four percent in 2022 and accelerate to 5.1 percent in 2023, Mauritania's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is well underway, but a stronger private sector will help speed development and job creation going forward.
IFC has significantly ramped up its investments in Mauritania over the last three years with a combined total financing package of almost $1 billion, including funds mobilized. IFC has recently committed multiple investments in the country's energy and mining sectors with a strategy that also focuses on agribusiness and access to finance for SMEs.
WHO: Makhtar Diop, Managing Director, IFC - @Diop_IFC
WHEN: Wednesday, December 21, 2022
WHERE: Nouakchott, Mauritania
For media requests, please contact: In Nouakchott: Abdoul Maiga | amaiga7@ifc.org | + 1 202 967 8969
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 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 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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Makhtar Diop
Makhtar Diop is IFC's Managing Director. He assumed this position on March 1, 2021. Prior to this appointment, he was the World Bank's Vice President for Infrastructure, where he led the Bank's global efforts to build sustainable infrastructure in developing and emerging economies. In this role, he oversaw the Bank's critical work in energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and public-private partnerships.
Prior to this, Mr. Diop served for six years as the World Bank's Vice President for Africa, where he oversaw the delivery of a record-breaking USD$70 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa to help tackle development challenges such as increasing access to energy; boosting women's and youth's economic empowerment; and promoting an enabling environment for more innovation and technology adoption. A passionate advocate for Africa's right to clean and affordable electricity, he also called for greater investment in renewable energy and pushed for stronger regional interconnectivity in the power and transport sectors. He previously served as World Bank Director for Finance, Private Sector & Infrastructure in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region; Country Director for Brazil, where he helped finance major infrastructure work; and Country Director for Kenya, Eritrea, and Somalia.
Mr. Diop brings to the post a deep level of experience and understanding of development challenges and a firm grasp of the public/private sector interface. His main priorities will be to mobilize investments in the poorest and most fragile countries and create the conditions for a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable recovery. In addition to his international organization experience, Mr. Diop, an economist by training who started his career in the banking industry before joining the IMF and later the World Bank, has extensive private sector experience. He has also held government positions, most notably as Minister of Economy and Finance of Senegal, where he played a key role in instituting structural reforms that helped build a strong foundation for Senegal's growth in the late 1980s.
A recognized opinion leader in the economic and social development field, Makhtar Diop has been named one of the 100 most influential Africans in the world. In 2015, he received the prestigious Regents' Lectureship Award from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mr. Diop holds degrees in economics from the Universities of Warwick and Nottingham in England.
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