IFC to step up operations in "high risk" countries
4 October 2007
Last week, International Finance Corporation (IFC) chief Lars Thunell told Reuters that the IFC is "trying to do more in high-risk countries," adding that it is investing more in post-conflict countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Lebanon and Sierra Leone.
The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank - and now the International Finance Corporation (IFC) - have all recently announced plans to increase their involvement in post-conflict and so-called "fragile states" in Africa. This trend has set off alarm bells for civil society, raising concerns that the international financial institutions (IFIs) may wield undue leverage in these sensitive contexts or pursue inappropriate funding priorities, and prompting questions about the IFIs' expertise and track record in engaging with post-conflict countries.
The IFC signed its first loan in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003 with the mobile phone giant Celtel before the war had even ended. Since then, it has invested in one copper-cobalt mining project and is considering support for another.
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