Publications

May 27, 2021

Small Business, Big Growth: How Investing in SMEs Creates Jobs

This report aims to capture the key constraints that SMEs typically confront and provide a methodology better suited to measuring the job creation effects of SME finance initiatives by DFIs like IFC.

English | 102 pages | IFC 2021

May 25, 2021

Artificial Intelligence Solutions to Support Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration in Emerging Markets

This paper describes the potential approaches for institutional investors and asset managers to align their investment strategies for emerging markets with the Sustainable Development Goals through environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-integrated investments.

30 pages | © May 2021 IFC, Amundi | Complimentary

May 12, 2021

The Early Impact of COVID-19 on Financial Institutions

The global COVID-19 pandemic and diminished economic activity that resulted from it had a significant impact on financial institutions around the world in 2020. In order to gauge that impact and identify the areas of financial institutions’ operations that felt it most acutely, IFC launched a survey of financial institution clients in October 2020. The survey asked managers to share their assessments of the pandemic’s impact primarily along four dimensions: operations, strategic direction, funding, and loan portfolio. This note summarizes key findings extracted from the responses of 149 clients across 65 emerging markets, representing approximately 30 percent of IFC's outstanding portfolio in long-term finance to financial institutions.

May 5, 2021

Ghana Distributed Solar Market Assessment

This market assessment for Ghana surveys the potential for solar solutions to address the energy access and cost issues facing commercial, industrial and residential customers. This analysis focused on identifying and understanding the market dynamics, market sizing, segmentation, and obstacles restricting the full potential of the rooftop solar market. These focal points are critical to designing interventions to accelerate a budding market opportunity. Both reports also explore solar project economics, which are increasingly favorable in Ghana and many other markets.

May 5, 2021

Nigeria Distributed Solar Market Assessment

This market assessment report for Nigeria surveys the potential for solar solutions to address the energy access and cost issues facing commercial, industrial and residential customers. This analysis focused on identifying and understanding the market dynamics, market sizing, segmentation, and obstacles restricting the full potential of the rooftop solar market. These focal points are critical to designing interventions to accelerate a budding market opportunity. Both reports also explore solar project economics, which are increasingly favorable in Nigeria and many other markets.

Apr 19, 2021

Emerging Market Green Bonds Report 2020

The 3rd edition of IFC & Amundi’s Emerging Market Green Bonds Report provides an overview of EM green bond developments in 2020, discusses policy and regulatory changes driving EM green bond issuance, and provides an outlook for potential for green bond market growth. EM green bond issuance outside of China was resilient in 2020, increasing by 21% from 2019, to $22 billion.

English | 38 pages | IFC 2021

Mar 24, 2021

Armenia Women Entrepreneurship Study

This report presents a synthesis of the main findings of both a qualitative study conducted among women entrepreneurs in Armenia and a quantitative survey conducted among over 400 Armenian businesses. The two studies focused on revealing the patterns, perceptions, opportunities and challenges facing women entrepreneurs in Armenia, including those due to COVID-19. 

English | 120 pages | 2021 IFC

Mar 23, 2021

COVID-19 and Women-Led MSMEs in sub-Saharan Africa

The study reports that women-led MSMEs have been hard-hit by the pandemic due to their smaller size and concentration in heavily affected sectors.

English | 56 pages | IFC 2021

Mar 23, 2021

LAPO Agent Banking in Nigeria - Increased Reach, Client Diversity

Nigeria’s Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) and IFC have a long-standing relationship that began in 2012. In 2017 in the context of this partnership, to help serve unbanked people and those with limited or no access to financial services, LAPO piloted an agent-banking network to expand financial access to the unbanked..

English | 17 pages | IFC 2021

Feb 28, 2021

Blended Concessional Finance and COVID-19

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments, development institutions, and private companies are trying to find mechanisms to prevent the loss of essential economic activity under difficult and uncertain market conditions. In this context, blended concessional finance deployed by DFIs is already playing an even greater role than in the recent past, as it can help bridge critical financing gaps by placing important projects within the risk tolerance of private sector investors and DFIs, despite great market and financial uncertainty. Blended concessional finance will play a critical role to ensure that the response to the pandemic remains focused on the most difficult markets and, as efforts to rebuild are put in motion, the rebuilding is done in an inclusive and climate and gender-smart manner.

English | 8 pages—February—Note 99 | IFC 2021

Feb 10, 2021

GB-TAP Brochure: Delivering Global Public Goods

In 2018, IFC launched the Green Bond Technical Assistance Program (GB-TAP) to respond to the climate crisis by creating a market for green bonds in developing countries. Through this program, IFC and its partners will create global public goods to stimulate the supply of green bonds in emerging market countries in order to meet growing demand for these bonds.

Feb 10, 2021

Green Bond Funds: Impact Reporting Practices 2020

This report surveys green bond funds and investors, provides an analysis of impact reporting practices and case studies from green bond funds, and offers an examination of the challenges of impact data collection and aggregation.

Feb 3, 2021

Using Blended Concessional Finance to Invest in Challenging Markets—Economic Considerations, Transparency, Governance , and Lessons of Experience

This report examines IFC’s two decades of experience supporting pioneering projects with blended concessional finance. The report addresses issues such as why and when concessional finance is appropriate to support private sector projects; the key transparency, access, and governance processes required to implement projects efficiently and effectively; the principles for selecting and structuring projects; how to use blended concessional finance to invest in lower-income countries; and the different ways of structuring concessional finance facilities used by DFIs.

English | 64 pages | IFC 2021

Jan 29, 2021

Business Case Update #3: Lower NPLs for Women-Owned SMEs

Business Case Update #3: Lower NPLs for Women-Owned SMEs

Jan 14, 2021

Taking Action on Trade: From Concern to Support

This note investigates COVID-19-related trade restrictions and discusses their consequences. It also illuminates the importance of trade, especially during the current pandemic, through the voices of global leaders as well as a collective set of emerging market voices.

English | 18 pages | IFC 2021

Jan 6, 2021

Private Credit in Emerging Markets

Private credit broadly refers to nonbank lending to firms. Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008–2009, private credit has grown considerably. Although the phenomenon of private credit is more predominant in the United States and the United Kingdom, it is also a growing asset class in emerging markets. Private credit appeals to borrowers because of bespoke, structured solutions, longer maturities, greater flexibility, and ease of doing business. Investors also like private credit, because of its attractive risk-adjusted returns. The global economic shock resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has seen marked changes in production and consumption patterns in the real economy, with ripple effects in credit markets. Uncertainty and increased risk aversion spiked a rush to top up liquidity—the so-called ‘dash for cash’— primarily in the bank-intermediated credit and public capital markets.

English | 8 pages—January—Note 98 | IFC 2021

Dec 14, 2020

Corporate Sustainable Bonds in Emerging Markets

An analysis of the status and market potential for green and sustainability or SDG bonds in emerging markets

English | 2 pages | 2017 IFC

Dec 10, 2020

Bridging the Gap: Emerging Private Sector Response and Recovery Measures for Gender Equality amid COVID-19

As COVID-19 widens global gender gaps, IFC and UN Women have partnered to showcase a growing number of companies and organizations around the world that are taking action to ensure the economic inclusion and social well-being of their employees, customers, and suppliers, as well as local communities. This report aims to inform companies around the world on emerging practices and initiatives for supporting women employees, entrepreneurs, and those in value chains amid the pandemic.

English | 34 pages | 2020 IFC & UN Women

Dec 8, 2020

Sustainable Finance Practices in South African Retirement Funds

A look at opportunities to unlock investment in green & climate finance & support a resilient economy

English | 66 pages | 2020 IFC

Nov 19, 2020

Why Trade Finance Matters—Especially Now

This note, the second of IFC’s “Trade and COVID Trilogy,” collects and analyzes trade-related findings from over 70 “Daily News Summaries” and other data sources from late March to early November, 2020.

Nov 11, 2020

Crowdsourcing the Future of SME Financing

This publication showcases best articles from SME practitioners globally on what SME finance will look like in 2030.

Oct 31, 2020

Handbook on Merchant Payments and Digital Financial Services

Designed for digital financial service (DFS) providers that would like to build and manage merchant acceptance networks. Such DFS providers typically include financial institutions, mobile network operators, fintechs, payment service providers and others. The handbook offers best practices that IFC has tested and observed through our global digital-finance projects and engagements.

English | 92 pages | 2020 IFC

Oct 26, 2020

Digital Transformation - The Case of South India Bank

In 2016, IFC began a new project with South Indian Bank (SIB), a mid-sized private bank (currently third largest in southern India). The bank aimed to transform its retail and small and medium enterprise businesses (SMEs). SIB’s transformation strategy was to improve its digital capabilities to drive customer engagement and mobilize deposits.

English | 24 pages | 2020 IFC

Oct 23, 2020

When Trade Falls—Effects of COVID-19 and Outlook

This note provides an overview of this year’s multi-body trade forecasts and the extent to which those forecasts were realized as reported across various publications.

English | 36 pages | 2020 IFC

Oct 21, 2020

Women-owned enterprises in Vietnam

Perceptions and Potential