IFC, Swedfund Boost Collaboration to Promote Private Sector Development in Emerging Markets

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Swedfund, Sweden’s development finance institution, agreed today to increase and streamline their collaboration to provide much-needed financing to private sector companies and help boost growth and jobs in emerging markets.

Swedfund became the seventeenth development finance institution to sign IFC’s Master Cooperation Agreement (MCA), which standardizes steps that lenders take when joining IFC to co-finance projects. This streamlined approach saves time and money for borrowers—private sector companies in emerging markets—and lenders through increased efficiencies. Since the establishment of the MCA in 2009, signatories have provided more than $1.5 billion via syndicated loans to IFC clients in emerging markets.

IFC created the agreement in response to calls by the Group of 20 for increased collaboration among official finance institutions to help meet shortfalls in private sector financing during the global financial crisis.

“In fulfilling our mandate to support the growth of the private sector in very challenging environments, we are constantly looking to enhance our co-operation with like-minded investors,” said Karin Isaksson, Investment Director at Swedfund. “Together with the IFC, we will in a more efficient way be able to reach even more companies and thereby have a greater impact in the countries where the investments are needed most.”

“IFC’s relationship with Swedfund already spans a wide range of complimentary activities, many of which are focused on Africa,” said Jingdong Hua, IFC Vice President, Treasury, Syndications, and Information Technology. “This includes joint investments in small and medium enterprises, activities to enhance corporate governance in private sector companies, and capacity building for entrepreneurs. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration.”

The following institutions are also signatories to IFC’s MCA:

• Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP)
• Banque Ouest-Africaine de Developpement (BOAD)
• Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO)
• Black Sea Trade & Development Bank (BSTDB),
• CDC Group (CDC)
• Development Bank of Japan (DBJ)
• Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG)
• Eurasian Development Bank (EDB)
• Export Development Canada (EDC)
• Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD)
• Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO)
• Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG (OeEB)
• OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
• Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
• Sociedade Para o Financiamento do Desenvolvimento (SOFID)
• Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (PROPARCO).

About IFCIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.