World Bank Group President, David Malpass, has announced the appointment of an African, Makhtar Diop as Managing Director and Executive Vice President to head the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with effect from March 1, 2021.
The IFC is an arm of the World Bank Group that advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries.
The disclosure is contained in a press statement that was released by the World Bank Group on Thursday, February 18, 2021.
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What the World Bank Group President is saying
David Malpass in his statement said, “Makhtar Diop has deep development and finance experience and a career of energetic leadership and service to developing countries in both the public and private sectors. Makhtar’s skills at IFC will help the World Bank Group continue our rapid response to the global crisis and help build a green, resilient, inclusive recovery. We need business climates and thriving businesses that attract investment, create jobs and foster the scaling up of low carbon electricity and transportation, clean water, infrastructure, digital services, and the wide range of development success that are key to our mission of poverty reduction and shared prosperity.”
The statement said that the key responsibilities of Mr Diop will be to deepen and energize IFC’s 3.0 strategy of proactively creating markets and mobilizing private capital at significant scale, deliver on the IFC capital package policy commitments including increased climate and gender investments and support for FCV countries facing fragility, conflict and violence.
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He is also expected to strengthen the linkages between IFC, the World Bank, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), as the World Bank Group accelerates efforts aimed at boosting good development outcomes in client countries. The IFC 3.0 strategy seeks to help countries create markets and mobilize private capital, including broadening upstream engagement by getting involved earlier in the project development cycle to create the conditions needed for private-sector solutions and investment opportunities. It also aims to expand IFC’s impact in the poorest and most fragile countries, with a goal to more than triple IFC’s annual own-account investments.
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What you should know
- Diop, a Senegalese national and former Minister of Economy and Finance, is currently serving as the World Bank’s Vice President for Infrastructure, where he leads the Bank’s global efforts to build effective infrastructure in developing and emerging markets that support inclusive and sustainable growth. In this role, Diop oversees the Bank’s critical work across energy and transport sectors, digital development, and our efforts to bring more quality infrastructure services to communities through public-private partnerships.
- Before his current appointment, Diop served for 6 years as the World Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region, where he oversaw a major expansion of our work in Africa and the delivery of a record-breaking $70 billion in commitments. A passionate advocate for Africa and sustainable development globally, Diop led efforts aimed at increasing access to affordable and sustainable energy and promoting an enabling environment for innovation and technology adoption.
- Diop served twice as a World Bank Country Director — for Brazil and for Kenya, Eritrea, and Somalia. He has a strong grasp of the public/private sector interface, started his career in the banking sector, and has the first-hand experience in leading structural reforms in support of the private sector, including in his position as the Minister of Economy and Finance of Senegal. Diop worked as an economist in the International Monetary Fund. And he served as the World Bank Director for Finance, Private Sector & Infrastructure in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
- A recognized opinion leader in the development, Makhtar has been named one of the 100 most influential Africans in the world. In 2015, he received the prestigious Regents’ Lectureship Award from the University of California, Berkeley. He holds advanced degrees in economics and finance.