The International Finance Corporation (IFC or SFI) has launched a $225 million venture capital platform to support early-stage startups in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Pakistan. The IFC, a member of the World Bank, will make equity and “equity-like” investments in tech startups.
This, for “turn them into scalable businesses that can attract equity and debt financing”. The institution said in a statement that it will also use the industry’s independent platform to work closely with other members of the World Bank.
She will thus advocate for regulatory reforms, sector analyzes and other changes likely to develop venture capital ecosystems in these regions. IFC will also work to leverage more capital from other development institutions and the private sector. It has so far received an additional $50 million in support from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility, which de-risks investments in low-income countries.
