Resources

Dec 7, 2021

Consumer and Market Study in Southwest and West Nile Refugee-Hosting Areas in Uganda

This Consumer and Market Study explores economic activities, employment trends, consumption levels, access to finance, and consumer preferences of refugees and host communities in Uganda’s largest refugee-hosting areas in the Southwest and West Nile regions. The aim of this study is to understand the potential market of the eight reviewed districts and identify possible entry points for the private sector. Among the key findings, the study identified a large consumer market, worth about $485 million measured as annual consumption expenditure, and the potential to develop agribusiness value chains, formalize access to finance and engage private companies in the provision of solar products.

Oct 8, 2021

Creating Markets in Haiti: Country Private Sector Diagnostic

The Haiti Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) provides IFC & World Bank analysis of growth and investment opportunities, constraints, & policy recommendations.

English | 137 pages | 2021 IFC

Jul 19, 2021

Public Sector Advisory Operations in Fragile African Markets

The report, Public Sector Advisory Operations in Fragile African Markets, presents lessons learned and recommendations for improving project delivery of public sector advisory projects aimed at supporting governments' finance, private sector, and entrepreneurship agenda in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jun 21, 2021

Barriers and Opportunities for Refugee Women to Engage in the Digital Economy

The digital economy 1 can offer a new and promising path forward for people seeking employment across the globe. Online platforms are altering the future of work, reducing barriers to entry and blurring the distinction between formal and informal labor.

English | 75 pages | 2021 IFC

May 18, 2021

Private Sector Initiatives in Forced Displacement Contexts: Constraints and Opportunities for Market-based Approaches

The number of forcibly displaced persons has been rising in recent years, and many displacements have become protracted. However, public resources available to assist individuals and families have dwindled, exacerbating already strained situations. Amid this backdrop, private sector initiatives have emerged to help create jobs both for displaced people and their host communities. While market-based approaches in refugee contexts are still new, initiatives in several countries have demonstrated the valuable role that private sector firms and investors can play. This note discusses examples of these market-based initiatives, related challenges, and conflict-sensitive approaches for overcoming these challenges. The note also discusses the important role that development agencies can play in de-risking private sector development through market-creating strategies, partnerships, and blended concessional finance.

English | 8 pages—May—Note 103 | IFC 2021

Nov 6, 2020

Impacts of COVID-19 on the Private Sector in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant negative impact on the private sector in developing economies, and businesses and individuals in fragile and conflict-affected situations are among the most severely affected. The pandemic has evolved rapidly from a health emergency to a global economic crisis, spreading through the real sector and posing growing risks to financial systems. Notable sector-level impacts include supply- and demand-based shocks to infrastructure and private healthcare; disruptions to imports, exports, and global and local value chains; and declining agribusiness activity that threatens food insecurity, all leading to financial sector instability.

English | 8 pages — November — Note 93 | IFC 2020

May 11, 2019

Private Sector & Refugees—Pathways to Scale

A new IFC study—Private Sector & Refugees: Pathways to Scale—produced in partnership with The Bridgespan Group, takes an unprecedented look at over 170 initiatives in both Africa and the Middle East to understand the nature of, and derive lessons from, private sector engagement with refugees and host communities.

English | 80 pages | 2019 IFC

Feb 8, 2019

Generating Private Investment in Fragile and Conflicted-Affected Areas

The private sector can help break the cycle of conflict, fragility, and poverty that persists in many fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS). This study draws on academic research and IFC’s experience with the private sector in FCS to derive lessons on how to engage with the private sector to foster growth, job creation, and stability.

English | 44 Pages | 2019 IFC

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

Mar 1, 2017

Good Practice Handbook: Use of Security Forces: Assessing and Managing Risks and Impacts

This Good Practice Handbook on the Use of Security Forces: Assessing and Managing Risks and Impacts has been developed for IFC clients and other private sector companies and their consultants. The handbook provides practical, project-level guidance for companies to better understand and implement the requirements outlined in Performance Standard 4. Chapters focus on risk assessment, managing private security, managing the relationship with public security, preparing a security management plan, and assessing allegations or incidents related to security personnel.

142 pages | © February 2017 IFC | Complimentary

Sep 29, 2016

Congo Call Center: Business Amid Fragility

In fragile settings the challenges of building a business are increased by a legacy of conflict, instability, and loss. Institutions struggle to provide basic services, let alone the complex reforms and public goods necessary for an enabling business environment. Despite these substantial obstacles, it is possible to create a sophisticated business in even the most challenging settings. The Congo Call Center is one such example—a formal services firm reliant on costly, imported technology that has grown and prospered in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

English | 2 Pages - September - Note 16 | © IFC, 2016

Nov 30, 2014

Helping Local Companies Increase Olive Oil Exports in the West Bank and Gaza

IFC worked with eight olive oil companies -  representing the majority of the sector in the West Bank and Gaza - to develop supply chains, improve quality, and increase exports.

Region: Middle East & North Africa / Strategic Priority: Agribusiness / Key Topic: Fragile States

Nov 26, 2014

Empowering Farmers and Small and Micro Entrepreneurs in the Democratic Republic of Congo

IFC worked with Minoterie de Matadi, a flour and feed milling company in the Democratic Republic of Congo known as MIDEMA, to strengthen its value chain by providing IFC’s Business Edge training to farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and facilitated their links to financial institutions and their access to finance.

Region: Sub-Saharan Africa / Strategic Priority: Agribusiness

Nov 25, 2014

Working with Raisin and Pomegranate Farmers to Increase Their Productivity and Access to International Markets in Afghanistan

IFC helped raisin and pomegranate farmers increase the quality and quantity of their crops through farm extension services and farm management training. The training provided them with information about harvesting, grading, and storing their products, and enabled them to access new markets in Afghanistan and abroad.

Region: Middle East & North Africa / Strategic Priority: Agribusiness, SMEs / Key Topic: Fragile States

Jun 24, 2013

Creating Private Equity Funds to Promote Small Business Enterprises in Southern Africa

IFC worked with Business Partners Limited (BPL), a South Africa-based specialty risk finance firm, to create Business Partners International (BPI) in 2004. The firm operates private equity funds in central and southern African countries. Small business owners who have attended IFC’s Business Edge management workshops have accessed financing through these funds.

Region: Sub-Saharan Africa / Strategic Priority: SMEs / Key Topic: Fragile States

Jun 18, 2013

Partnering with a Jobs Placement NGO Boosts Employment in Yemen

IFC is working with the Yemen Education For Employment Foundation (YEFE) to increase employment among the country’s women and college-educated youth, two segments of society with higher than average unemployment rates. Using IFC’s Business Edge management training, YEFE prepares participants to start their own enterprises or get jobs that were pre-committed by sponsor companies.

Region: Middle East & North Africa / Strategic Priority: SMEs / Key Topics: Fragile States, Women

Jun 18, 2013

Strengthening Small Businesses in Haiti's Fragile Economy

IFC is working with SOFIHDES, a private development finance corporation, to provide IFC's Business Edge management training to entrepreneurs and SME owners in Haiti. By partnering with SOFIHDES, IFC has been able to develop a market for small business management training and help more than 2,700 SME owners rebuild their businesses following the 2010 earthquake.

Region: Latin America & the Caribbean / Strategic Priority: SMEs / Key Topics: Fragile States, Job Creation, Women

Jun 18, 2013

Bridging the Gap Between Small Businesses and Mining Companies to Increase Local Impact in Guinea

IFC is working with international mining company Rio Tinto in Guinea to ensure the participation of local businesses in its supply chain as it develops its Simandou iron ore project. This work builds on IFC's pilot program, "Guinea Linkages" in which local businesses that improved their capacity were awarded over $7 million in mining sector contracts.

Region: Sub-Saharan Africa / Strategic Priority: SMEs / Key Topics: Communities, Women, Jobs, Fragile States

Jun 1, 2012

IFC Partners with BBC to Improve Competitiveness of Small Businesses in Afghanistan

IFC and BBC jointly aired a new radio program to inspire entrepreneurship, educate farmers and provide practical business advice in Afghanistan. This initiative has the largest rural listenership of any media program in the country — and sets a new standard for the use of mass media to educate communities constrained by illiteracy and trapped in conflict. REGION: Middle East & North Africa / STRATEGIC PrIORITY: Agribusiness / KEY TOPICS: Farmers, Fragile States