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Since 2000, IFC has implemented Advisory Services projects in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) to facilitate private sector growth and investment, and private participation in infrastructure. Going forward, the region’s Advisory Services programs will focus on three cross-cutting themes: addressing climate change, facilitating post-crisis recovery, and reaching the rural poor through the development of the agri-sector.
IFC donor partners have included Austria, Canada, the Commission of the European Communities, Denmark, Finland, Germany (Bavaria and the Free State of Saxony), the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. IFC also receives private sector funding from BP, and its oil and gas co-venturers in this region. Since 2000 our donor partners have contributed over $100 million in funding to advisory services programs in the region. CORE SERVICES Investment Climate: IFC strengthens the business environment across ECA to help generate growth through increased foreign and domestic investment, improving the regulatory framework. All IFC Investment Climate projects are being delivered as part of the broader World Bank Group effort. Over the last several years, IFC worked on a number of issues pertaining to improve business operations/business taxation, sub-national competitiveness, inspections, investment generation, alternative dispute resolution, and European Union accession. The World Bank Group’s Doing Business Report 2010 shows ECA as the region that has reformed the most, and many of the reform topics include areas where IFC Advisory Services were rendered. Infrastructure: IFC provides Advisory Services to governments to enhance business-related infrastructure and implement PPPs in areas such as health and education, privatization, and infrastructure. IFC historically focused its infrastructure PPP work in ECA on the Western Balkans region. More recently, IFC has begun to develop infrastructure PPP opportunities in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Ukraine. ECA’s Infrastructure advisory activities have provided an effective bridge between private sector investors, operators, and financing institutions on one side, and public sector players on the other to increase availability of infrastructure projects for private sector participation. To date, completed PPPs have significantly contributed to regional poverty alleviation, economic growth, and environmental improvement. Access to Finance: IFC fosters the development of domestic financial markets, primarily by extending financial services to underserved segments of the population and improving financial markets infrastructure. In the past decade, IFC helped expand the markets for energy efficiency financing, housing finance, small and medium enterprise banking, microfinance and leasing in the region. More recent products focus on addressing the emerging themes of climate change, post-crisis recovery and agribusiness, including initiatives such as Residential Energy Efficiency, Agro-Insurance, and Rural Finance. Corporate Advice: In ECA, IFC generates development impact by helping private sector companies improve corporate governance, as well as strengthen linkages and agribusiness supply chains. Traditionally, much of the work in ECA had focused on improving corporate governance. While this remains a priority, an emerging focus is on the development of the agri-sector. Much of this work is being conducted in Ukraine because of its significant agribusiness potential. Over the last several years, IFC successfully completed a number of supply chain development initiatives in the fruit, vegetable, and dairy sectors. IFC also pioneered work around food safety in the Balkans through its international standards program, which now is being expanded and extended in the broader region. Environmental and Social Sustainability: IFC conducts projects to support innovative environmental and social business initiatives to demonstrate their commercial attractiveness and encourage replication in the private sector. One such initiative is the Cleaner Production Program, a joint Investment and Advisory Services platform designed to stimulate investment in cleaner production projects and promote cleaner production best practices and policies, helping to advance economic and environmental performance of industry. Another example is the Russia Renewable Energy Program, which IFC is implementing jointly with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The program will engage various stakeholders to enable the development of a renewable energy market in Russia. At least $360 million in investments into renewable energy projects are expected through the implementation of this program. |
