IFC allocates about K13 billion to fight climate change, virus

The National Business

WITH the goal of building resilience among people, businesses, and countries, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) ramped up its response efforts to tackle the dual crises of climate change and Coronavirus (Covid-19) in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) in the last fiscal year.
Despite the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, financial year 2021 saw a record commitment of US$3.8 billion (about K13.3 billion) by IFC in the region, including US$2.8 billion (about K9.8 billion) in long-term financing from its own account and US$956 million (about K3.3 billion) mobilised from outside investors.
In addition, the IFC provided US$1.5 billion (about K5.2 billion) in short term finance in the region to facilitate trade flows.
According to a statement, IFC committed US$1.9 billion (about K6.7 billion) to the Covid-19 response efforts since the onset of the health crisis in EAP.
The first transaction under the IFC’s US$4 billion (about K14 billion) global health platform, which addressed the severe shortage of medical supplies in developing countries, was in EAP, and US$3 billion (about K10.5 billion) was committed to support the region’s financial institutions serving micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
MSMEs, which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, account for the vast majority of businesses in the region and are collectively EAP’s largest employer.
Twenty-six per cent of projects, amounting to US$744 million (about K2.6 billion) in long-term financing, focused on tackling climate change and the marine plastics crisis.
While EAP contributes 30 per cent of global gross domestic product (and is home to 30 per cent of the world’s population, it is responsible for 60 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions with some of the biggest contributors to marine plastic waste.
In response to the region’s urgent need to tackle climate change, the IFC completed a series of notable transactions in its last fiscal year including investing in its first blue bond.