About IFC
© Karel Prinsloo/IFC
IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries.
We achieve this by creating new markets, mobilizing other investors, and sharing expertise. In doing so, we create jobs and raise living standards, especially for the poor and vulnerable. Our work supports the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
Our Mission
Advance economic development by encouraging the growth of private enterprise in developing countries.
Our Core Values
- Impact
- Integrity
- Respect
- Teamwork
- Innovation
IFC was founded in 1956 on a bold idea: that the private sector has the potential to transform developing countries. Since then we’ve expanded to more than 100 countries, coining the term “emerging markets” and pioneering new markets such as sustainable bonds.
Leading the Way in Private Sector Development
We help countries develop their private sectors in a variety of ways:
- Investing in companies through loans, equity investments, debt securities and guarantees.
- Mobilizing capital from other lenders and investors through loan participations, parallel loans and other means.
- Advising businesses and governments to encourage private investment and improve the investment climate.
Our Strategy
The first pillar of our IFC 3.0 strategy is creating markets. Under this strategy, we’re increasingly working “Upstream,” getting involved earlier in the project-development cycle to seed investment opportunities, in some cases working to create markets where none existed.
This approach addresses one of the biggest obstacles to nurturing the private sector in developing countries: the lack of projects with enough financial backing and business promise to be considered “bankable” by international investors. Rather than sitting back, we’re intervening to create the conditions for promising projects.
The second pillar of IFC 3.0 is to mobilize more private capital for development purposes, especially in low-income countries and those affected by fragility and conflict.
Our development of the Operating Principles for Impact Management is helping forge a common standard for investments that target measurable positive social, economic or environmental impact alongside financial returns. We’re an active issuer of investments designed to encourage sustainable development, including green and social bonds.
Our Impact Improves Lives
IFC brings a distinctive set of advantages in working with the private sector in the world’s most challenging markets. These include a history of innovation, a mandate for global influence and a determination to achieve measurable development impact.
$22 billion in long-term finance commitments in FY20
We aim to have a positive impact on people’s lives wherever we operate. Our impact-rating system, called the Anticipated Impact Measurement and Monitoring Framework, evaluates projects based on their expected development outcomes, as well as their effect on market creation.
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