IFC committed to continue supporting sustainable growth of Azerbaijan’s economy
By Sara Israfilbayova
We have been supporting the private sector in Azerbaijan for more than two decades, investing around $473 million in 56 projects, including mobilization, Jan van Bilsen, IFC Regional Manager for the South Caucasus told Azernews.
He noted that as the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, IFC leverages the power of the private sector to help end poverty and boost shared prosperity.
“In addition, IFC has supported around $80 million in trade through its trade finance program, and provided $250 million for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline,” he said, further adding that IFC has also implemented a range of advisory projects aimed at encouraging private sector growth.
“Since we started working in Azerbaijan in 1995, we have led the way in a number of areas, including the first foreign direct investment (FDI) outside oil - Baku Coca-Cola Bottlers; the first foreign bank in Azerbaijan - Kocbank (YapiKredi Bank); the first micro-finance bank - AccessBank; and the first international business hotel chain – Hyatt,” Bilsen stressed.
“Over the past decade, Azerbaijan has used its resource wealth well,” according to the Regional Manager.
He went on to say that poverty has been reduced, the middle-class has grown, and the country has made progress on sharing prosperity among its population.
“New sources of growth have to be tapped into and we are glad to see the government recognizes this and is taking steps in that direction. One of the key drivers to accelerating and sustaining progress is bringing the private sector to center-stage as the main driver of growth,” Bilsen pointed out.
Touching upon the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), Azerbaijan’s sovereign wealth fund, Bilsen emphasized that it has committed $350 million to three funds managed by the IFC Asset Management Company: the IFC Global Infrastructure Fund, which invests alongside IFC in equity and equity-related investments in the infrastructure sector in emerging markets; the IFC Catalyst Fund, which invests alongside IFC in funds that provide growth capital to companies developing innovative ways to address climate change in emerging markets; and the IFC African, Latin American, and Caribbean Fund, which invests alongside IFC in equity and equity-related investments across a range of sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
“IFC is committed to continue supporting sustainable growth and the diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy by helping to mobilize the power of the private sector,” he highlighted.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.
Established in 1944, the WBG is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for development solutions.
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