Two ladies sewing a fabric

Africa Day 2025

Recognizing the continent's progress and potential, its dynamism and the depth of its inventiveness and cultures.

The Latest from IFC

Building Legacies, from One Island Nation to Anothe

Tier 2 Capital

By increasing resilience and freeing up resources, tier 2 cpaital is allowing banks to lend more to local small businesses, boosting growth in Kenya.

The African Centers of Excellence

Over the past decade, the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) have trained thousands of students in key fields such as health, agriculture, digital technology, energy, and the environment.

Venture Capital and the Rise of Africa's Tech Startups

Africa’s fledgling startup scene is seeing breakneck growth, slowed only by a lack of funding. This offers new opportunities to investors looking for returns in untapped, fast-growing markets.

What We Do

A strong and engaged private sector is indispensible to ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. That's where IFC comes in - we have more than 60 years experience in unlocking private investment, creating markets and opportunities where they are needed most.

We provide investment, advice, and asset management — offerings that are mutually reinforcing and can be tailored to a client’s specific needs.

We apply our financial resources, technical expertise, global experience, and innovative thinking to help our partners overcome financial, operational, and other challenges.

IFC works with clients to create the opportunities which help the private sector mobilize solutions and finance to solve development challenges.

IFC at a glance

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.

In fiscal year 2024, IFC committed a record $56 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private sector solutions and mobilizing private capital to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. 

  • 62.5 Million
    People connected to the internet
  • 11.3 Million
    People supplied with power
  • $226.5 Billion
    In Trade Finance Volume
  • $516.9 Billion
    In Impact from SME Loans

BROWSE BY REGION

See where we work

IFC’s impact spans more than 100 nations. We empower entrepreneurs all over the world, turning bold ideas into engines of inclusive growth creating millions of jobs, uplifting lives, and transforming communities.

Featured Publications

Report cover

Financing Firm Growth

Report

New research highlights how equity and bond markets foster growth in developing economies, contributing $4 trillion in capital and generating 5 percent more jobs over three decades.

The Run on Recycled Plastic

EMERGING MARKET INSIGHTS

Demand for recycled plastic is set to rise in the coming years, opening opportunities for recyclers, particularly in emerging markets.

Reassessing Risk in Emerging Market Lending

Research Note

New statistics from the GEMs Consortium on around 15,000 loans to private companies in developing economies, reveal that the risk of investing in emerging market businesses is lower than commonly perceived.