All Publications

Nov 29, 2018

Digital Skills in Sub-Saharan Africa

Spotlight on Ghana

English | 170 pages | 2019 IFC

Nov 27, 2018

IFC SME Ventures: Investing in Private Equity in Sub-Saharan African Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations

This report, researched in partnership with CrossBoundary LLC, highlights the critical success factors when investing in fragile states, as well as existing innovations being developed by current investors. While the challenges of investing in FCS are well known, the most effective approaches and factors required for success are still being explored.

English | 68 pages | 2018 IFC

Sep 27, 2018

HANDBOOK: Digital Financial Services for Agriculture

This handbook offers financial services providers an understanding of smallholder farmers and agricultural value chains, and practical guidance on how to develop and launch sustainable financial services for the agricultural sector. It surveys the current landscape in terms of existing DFS offerings in the agricultural sector, to share actual market experience and lessons learned from the pioneers in the market. Although financial inclusion has expanded dramatically in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past ten years due to the rapid evolution of mobile money and agent banking, access to formal financial services remains limited in rural areas and in the agricultural sector. Agriculture contributes to about 18 percent of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa, but only an estimated 1 percent of bank lending in the region is allocated to the agricultural sector.

English | 236 pages | 2018 IFC

Jun 29, 2018

Unlocking Private Investment

Côte d’Ivoire pledged to achieve 42 percent of renewable-energy generation by 2030 under the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. Achieving this target could create a $9 billion investment opportunity by 2030, but the key question is how to unlock private financing. Working with the Ivorian government, IFC developed a roadmap that highlights promising pathways toward attracting private sector investment while focusing on the government’s goals.

May 15, 2018

DIGITAL ACCESS: The Future of Financial Inclusion in Africa

The launch and growth of digital financial services in Africa has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of people enjoying access to formal financial services. The continent is now home to more digital financial services deployments than any other region in the world, with almost half of the nearly 700 million individual users worldwide. Mobile money solutions and agent banking now offer affordable, instant, and reliable transactions, savings, credit, and even insurance opportunities in rural villages and urban neighborhoods where no bank had ever established a branch.

English | 97 pages | 2018 IFC

May 14, 2018

What We Learned about Corporate Governance and Code Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

The report presents 10 lessons learned attained over more than two decades of experience in code development in South Africa and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Apr 27, 2018

Kakuma as a Marketplace

A consumer and market study of a refugee camp and town in northwest Kenya (Special Conference Edition)

English | 88 pages | 2018 IFC

Apr 10, 2018

Shaping The Future Of Africa French

The report, entitled Shaping the Future of Africa: Markets and Opportunities for Private Investors, notes that growth recovered from a two-decade low of 1.3 percent in 2016 to an estimated 2.4 percent in 2017, and is projected to improve further to 3.6 percent in 2020.

Mar 26, 2018

Case Study: ADvTECH

How the Largest Education Group is Increasing Access to Quality, Affordable Higher Education

Mar 23, 2018

Shaping The Future Of Africa

The end of the commodity super cycle in 2014 hit Sub-Saharan economies hard, sending economic growth to a two decade low by 2016 as prices of crude oil, commodities, and other African exports fell dramatically. In addition, global financial factors reduced the interest of international investors in the region.

Nov 20, 2017

Creating Markets in Ghana: Country Private Sector Diagnostic

Creating Markets in Ghana – A new joint IFC and World Bank study has identified agribusiness, ICT and education services in Ghana as high growth potential sectors. The Country Private Sector Diagnostics (CPSD) identify sectors where private sector solutions can create or expand markets, and make substantial contributions to development impact.

English | 54 pages | 2017 IFC

Jun 22, 2017

HANDBOOK: Data Analytics and Digital Financial Services

The Data Analytics and Digital Financial Services Handbook gives financial service providers an overview of the potential that data and data analytics present for financial inclusion in terms of improving efficiency of operations and effectiveness of product development and marketing, as well as increase outreach through innovative data-driven lending methods.. It is the third handbook on digital financial services published by IFC and The MasterCard Foundation as part of The Partnership for Financial Inclusion.

English | 160 pages | 2017 IFC

Mar 2, 2017

Nigeria Financial Literacy Baseline Survey Report

Nigeria is an entrepreneurial economy with an estimated 37 million micro, small and medium-sized companies in the country, and their contribution to economic growth and job creation is significant. There are also a large number of self-employed entrepreneurs who support themselves and their families by supplying goods and services to the economy. Many of these businesses have the potential to become bigger and more prosperous, but their growth is restricted for a variety of reasons. Access to finance has been singled out as a crucial prerequisite to the growth of these businesses. Learn how the use of moveable collateral and credit reporting can help finance inclusive economic growth in Nigeria.

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Oct 27, 2016

Unlocking Value: Alternative Fuels For Egypt’s Cement Industry

111| IFC

Sep 16, 2016

Built for Change: Inclusive Business Solutions for the Base of the Pyramid

IFC presents five in-depth case studies of inclusive businesses and identifies the common strategies these companies are employing to do business with people living at the base of the pyramid. Ranging in geographies and sectors (agriculture, education, financial services, and healthcare), each company has a unique path but their shared strategies provides insights that can spark innovation among future business entrepreneurs. The case studies are based on interviews with the companies’ founders, chief executive, and senior management.

Sep 16, 2016

MicroEnsure

MicroEnsure has developed pioneering insurance solutions for low-income people in Africa and Asia living on less than $4 per day. Founded in 2008, the company has introduced over 200 types of insurance for life, health, and accidents for the poor, and distributes its products through mobile network operators, microfinance institutions, and other organizations that low-income customers trust. The company reaches more than 40 million customers in 15 countries in Africa and Asia. This case study is in the 2016 Built for Change report which features companies that are employing unique strategies to integrate people living at the base of the pyramid into the companies’ business operations.

Sep 16, 2016

Bridge International Academies

Bridge International Academies is an education organization founded in 2008 in Kenya, and grown to serve almost 100,000 students in over 470 locations in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and India. The company offers affordable, low-cost education to primary school children in underserved, low-income communities. The schools employ low-cost technology to provide teaching content to its teachers and to monitor the delivery of the content and teaching techniques on a real time basis. The company reaches more than 40 million customers in 15 countries in Africa and Asia. This case study is in the 2016 Built for Change report which features companies that are employing unique strategies to integrate people living at the base of the pyramid into the companies’ business operations.

Aug 24, 2016

Transforming African Development: Partnerships and Risk Mitigation to Mobilize Private Investment on a New Scale

The role of the private sector is particularly significant in Africa—the focus of this report. Africa’s population is expected to increase to 1.7 billion in 2030. By 2050, the continent will be home to 2.4 billion people—a quarter of the world’s future population.

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Aug 24, 2016

Transformer le développement de l’Afrique: Partenariats et atténuation des risques pour mobiliser l’investissement privé à une nouvelle échelle

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Aug 24, 2016

アフリカ開発への軌跡: パートナーシップとリスクの低減により 民間投融資を新たな規模で動員

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Aug 2, 2016

HANDBOOK: Digital Financial Services and Risk Management

The last decade has seen a rapid evolution of digital financial services to expand financial inclusion, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mobile money and agent banking are new endeavors for many financial services providers, and with new opportunities come new risk. This handbook is designed for any type of financial institution offering or planning to offer digital financial services and offers an overview of related risks and how best to apply a risk management framework to deal with these risks.

English | 116 pages | 2016 IFC|

Apr 11, 2016

Alternative Delivery Channels and Technology

This handbook, produced in collaboration with Software Group, aims to help financial institutions successfully implement alternative delivery channel projects in order to further financial inclusion. It provides a set-by-step, practical guide to building alternative delivery channels that links technology choices with the overall business process.

English | 104 pages | 2016 IFC

Mar 16, 2016

CASE STUDY: A Hotel Is Not Just A Place To Sleep

IFC investments in high-quality hotels: Promoting jobs, business infrastructure, tax revenues, and local supply chains

Mar 4, 2015

Ending the Microfinance Crisis in Morocco Acting Early, Acting Right - Arabic

Ending the Microfinance Crisis in Morocco Acting Early, Acting Right - Arabic

Arabic 48 pages| @ 2015 IFC

Mar 4, 2015

Sortie de la crise du secteur de la microfinance au Maroc des interventions opportunes et efficaces

Sortie de la crise du secteur de la microfinance au Maroc des interventions opportunes et efficaces

French 48 pages| @ 2015 IFC