The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group, providing financial services to businesses investing in the developing world. As private enterprises often privilege “business confidentiality” over the public’s right to know, it is frequently difficult for the public to measure or influence the development impacts of the IFC’s activities.
The IFC was established in 1956 to support the growth of the private sector in the developing world. The IFC's stated mission is “to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives.”
While the World Bank (IBRD and IDA) provides credit and non-lending assistance to governments, the IFC provides loans and equity financing, advice, and technical services to the private sector. The IFC also plays a catalytic role, by mobilizing additional capital through loan syndication and by lessening the political risk for investors, enabling their participation in a given project. The IFC has worked with more than 3319 companies in 140 countries since its inception in 1956.
The IFC is one of the fastest growing institutions in the World Bank Group, with a committed portfolio of USD $32.4 billion for IFCs own account, and $7.5 billion in loan syndications as of Fiscal Year 2008.
It is a public entity, although its clientele consists of transnational, national, and local private sector companies, operating in a competitive and fast-moving business environment.
While the IFC has made some important gains in transparency in recent years, its information disclosure and public consultation processes leave ample room for improvement. The Bank Information Center (BIC) tracks problem projects at the IFC to highlight issues with environmental and social implications. BIC also examines the effectiveness of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman mechanism in cooperation with the Global Transparency Initiative (GTI), advocating for more independent and systematic project review process at the IFC.
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This page was last modified on November 12, 2009