Ifc Annual Report 2020

IFC - a member of the World Bank Group - is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2020, we invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

Seventeen in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2020 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity.

In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 185 member countries, a group that collectively determines our policies. We leverage our products and services-as well as those of other institutions across the World Bank Group-to create markets that address the biggest challenges of our time that developing countries face. We apply our financial resources, technical expertise, global experience, and innovative thinking to provide sustainable market-based solutions that bring widespread benefits. IFC is also a leading mobilizer of third-party resources for projects. Our willingness to engage in difficult environments and our leadership in crowding in private finance enable us to have a development impact well beyond our direct resources.

When it’s your job to look out for the public’s best interest, you do what it takes . . . Especially if your husband’s already died trying. When Cynthia Webber investigates a potential fraud perpetrated by Calgary’s CLEAR Wind Energy Corp., she discovers a secret that causes her whole world to come crashing down. And with the secret comes a dangerous enemy who will stop at nothing to get what they want—not even murder.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets and developing economies. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities for better lives. In fiscal year 2021, we invested $31.5 billion in total commitments, including $23.3 billion in long-term finance and $8.2 billion in short-term finance, to private companies and financial institutions in emerging and developing economies, leveragingthe power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

This book discusses and provides empirical evidence of the importance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a number of developing countries. In doing so, the book focuses on the contributions of MSMEs to national efforts, directly or indirectly, to achieve poverty reduction (Goal 1), zero hunger (Goal 2), good health and wellbeing (Goal 3), quality education (Goal 4), gender equality (Goal 5), clean water & sanitation (Goal 6), income distribution (Goal 10), and sustainable cities & communities (Goal 11). The book consists of chapters discussing evidence on these particular topics based on research from various countries including Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Malaysia.