Tag Archives: PSW

Unlocking Futures: How the IDA Private Sector Window Is Creating Jobs Where They Are Needed Most

Posted on by

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • By leveraging IFC and MIGA business platforms, the IDA PSW creates an opportunity for the strategic use of public resources to catalyze private investment, making it possible for companies and industries to operate in high-risk, fragile, and conflict-affected settings.
  • A total of $5.4 billion from the IDA PSW has catalyzed over $31 billion in commercial investments in low-income and fragile countries and is expected to create 3 million jobs, provide 4 million additional loans to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and expand digital connectivity to 31 million subscribers.
  • From agribusiness in Mozambique to telecom infrastructure in West Africa and clean water access in Haiti, IDA PSW-supported investments are building the ecosystems needed to sustain jobs, boost resilience, and spark inclusive economic growth.
Continue reading →

How a novel financing tool is helping bring the private sector into difficult markets

Posted on by

More than one-third of people in Senegal work in agriculture, many tending to small plots of 15579644066_69e846aaa7_cmillet, rice, and ground nuts.  Despite their importance to Senegal’s economy, these farmers often cannot afford the fertilizers and high-yield seeds so crucial to improving productivity.

To change that, one of Senegal’s leading microfinance institutions, Union des Mutuelles Alliance de Crédit et d’Epargne pour la Production (UM-ACEP), has long been providing loans to farmers. But it faces a challenge — one I have seen all too often in Sub-Saharan Africa. To reach more farmers, UM-ACEP needs capital, and many financial institutions are hesitant to lend the company money. They fear that UM-ACEPs business is too risky because their customers are smaller businesses with limited experience and undocumented financial performance.

So, IFC has stepped in.

Continue reading →