World Bank’s investment arm to boost local-currency lending in Africa

The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private investment arm, is expanding its local-currency lending and direct investments into companies across Africa to help projects reach the scale required to attract major global funds, Managing Director Makhtar Diop told the Africa Financial Summit in Casablanca on Monday. “What investors tell us is that when we have assets of less than a billion, it doesn’t interest us,” said Diop.

“When you talk to BlackRock, when you talk to all these people, they tell you that we need a certain volume so that we can invest in our countries and have long-term resources,” he said. There is a wide spread push to attract more private money into the developing world as rich nations slash aid spending and concessional finance is squeezed, and experts also say that local-currency lending can shield countries from currency volatility over which they have limited control.

Africa accounted for more than $15 billion of IFC commitments last year, mostly in debt and trade finance. Diop said that local-currency lending already accounts for roughly 30% of the IFC’s portfolio. The IFC is also seeking partnerships with commercial banks to exchange dollar resources for local-currency lines. Diop said deeper market integration, including interoperable stock exchanges, would help mobilise savings and attract long-term investors.