After leading the Infrastructure branch of the World Bank, Senegalese economist Makhtar Diop will head the private sector development branch, the International Finance Corporation. Its mission is to promote sustainable and attractive projects for private capital.
An African at the head of the International Finance Corporation. The World Bank announced on February 18 the appointment of Makhtar Diop as Managing Director and Executive Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Whose mission is to promote economic expansion and improve the living conditions of populations, by promoting the development of the private sector in developing countries. His appointment will take effect on March 1, 2021.
Makhtar Diop said he was “honored” by the appointment, in a message on his Twitter account. “More than ever, private sector growth in developing economies is essential to improving people’s lives. Now is the time to stimulate inclusive growth and promote sustainable investments for the benefit of all.”
An appointment also welcomed by the President of the World Bank, David Malpass: “Makhtar Diop has to his credit extensive experience in the fields of development and finance and a career marked by energetic leadership and a sense of service to vis-à-vis developing countries, both in the public and private sectors”.
In his view, the newly promoted “will bring to the IFC skills that will help the World Bank to pursue its action in the fight against the global crisis with speed and to continue to work in favor of a green, resilient and inclusive recovery”.
A specific strategy!
In the vision of the Washington institution, developing countries need an enabling environment and thriving businesses in order to attract investment. Therefore, the goal of IFC is “to create jobs and promote the deployment of low carbon electricity and clean transport, clean water, infrastructure and digital services.”
Makhtar Diop’s main tasks will be to deepen and stimulate IFC’s “3.0” strategy, which aims to foster the creation of new markets and mobilize private capital on a large scale. It will have to implement the institution’s recent commitments: increased investments for the climate and for gender equality and increased support to countries in situations of fragility, conflict and violence.
Its mission will also be to strengthen the links between the organizations of the World Bank Group, the IFC therefore, but also the IBRD (Bank for Reconstruction and Development), the International Development Institution (IDA, which is addressed to the poorest countries) and MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency).
Part of IFC’s 3.0 strategy is to act more upstream – that is, intervening at an earlier stage in the project development process. This creates the conditions for mobilizing solutions from the private sector and for opening up new investment opportunities.
A champion of sustainable development!
Former Senegalese Minister of Economy and Finance, Makhtar Diop is currently the World Bank’s Vice President for Infrastructure. In this capacity, he leads the actions carried out by the institution to put in place efficient infrastructures in emerging and developing economies.
In this role, he oversees the strategic activities of the World Bank in the energy, transport and digital development sectors, as well as its initiatives to increase the supply of quality infrastructure services through public-private partnerships.
Prior to that, he served six years as the World Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region, which under his leadership led a major expansion of its activities, with commitments of a record $70 billion. Makhtar Diop presents himself as a strong advocate for Africa and sustainable development.
Makhtar Diop was the World Bank’s Director of Operations for Brazil and previously Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia. He started his career in the banking sector and has a great understanding of the public-private interface as well as direct experience of structural reforms in support of the private sector.
A former economist at the IMF, he also headed the Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure Department of the Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank. Finally, Makhtar Diop received the prestigious Regents ’Lectureship Award from the University of California (Berkeley) in 2015.
Reference: https://pressroom.ifc.org/all/pages/PressDetail.aspx?ID=26206
