Fueling Growth: IFC Strategic Initiatives for Sustainable Development in Central Asia – An Interview With Hela Cheikhrouhou

With its headquarters in Washington, D.C. the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was established in 1956 as the private-sector arm of the World Bank. The institution offers advisory, and asset-management services to promote investment in developing countries. Recent ventures in Central Asia include solar power projects in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and an entrepreneurship scheme for women and young people in Tajikistan. TCA spoke with Hela Cheikhrouhou, IFC Vice President for the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan, and Pakistan about the IFC’s work in Central Asia.   TCA: Can you please give us an overview of IFC's performance in Central Asia for fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024)? IFC had a pivotal year in Central Asia, making strides in sustainable development and inclusive growth across the region. Our efforts concentrated on climate finance, infrastructure, agriculture, and supporting smaller businesses. By coupling investments with advisory support, we helped expand the role of the private sector, creating jobs, promoting financial inclusion, strengthening infrastructure, and supporting the region's green transition. In the fiscal year 2024, IFC committed over $1 billion to Central Asia. This includes about $400 million in long-term financing from our own account, $600 million in mobilization, and $35 million in short-term trade and supply-chain finance to facilitate trade flows. Alongside these financial commitments, we engaged in advisory projects focused on improving financial inclusion, developing innovative public-private partnerships (PPPs), and advancing climate initiatives and gender equality. Our results this year underscore our commitment to fostering sustainable, inclusive growth, and enhancing the resilience and sustainability of Central Asian economies.    TCA: Can you highlight some of the IFC’s key achievements in Central Asia this year? In addition to the strong financial commitments mentioned earlier, IFC expanded its presence in various sectors, including finance, capital markets, renewable energy, agriculture, and infrastructure. Through our advisory services, we helped structure impactful PPPs at the sectoral level. A major focus this year has been strengthening local financial markets. IFC invested $228 million across ten financial institutions in Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Up to half this amount was dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs and rural enterprises. We also helped these financial institutions expand portfolios related to their micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) businesses, advance climate finance, foster digital transformation, and issue the region’s first sustainability, social, and green bonds. Supporting MSMEs has enabled entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and generate employment. In the past fiscal year alone, IFC-supported projects created around 35,000 direct jobs, including opportunities for over 13,000 women across the region. These efforts have been further bolstered by targeted investments and projects in individual countries across the region. In Uzbekistan, IFC, together with the World Bank, financed a new solar plant equipped with the country’s first battery energy storage system. Once completed, the plant is expected to provide electricity access to around 75,000 households in the Bukhara region. As part of its broader support for the Uzbek government’s efforts to reform its chemical sector, IFC assisted the State Asset Management Agency in privatizing Ferganaazot,...

Representatives of World Bank and IFC Speak About Projects in Tajikistan

The President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon received Vice President of the World Bank, Antonella Bassani and Vice President of the International Finance Corporation, Hela Cheikhrouhou. The meeting was followed by a press conference wherein joint projects were spoken about, Avesta.tj has reported. According to Bassani, the parties discussed the state of their bilateral partnership and cooperation between Tajikistan and the World Bank. Twenty-five projects worth $1.7 billion are being implemented in Tajikistan under the International Development Association. These projects cover investment development, political reform implementation, energy, water supply, agriculture, education, health, natural resource management, and other sectors. "The meeting also discussed promising areas contributing to deepening and expanding cooperation. We concluded that in the area of drinking water supply, it is necessary to intensify further actions in this direction and improve cooperation," the World Bank Vice President said, noting that the government's efforts to promote reforms are appreciated. Vice-President of the IFC, Hela Cheikhrouhou said that simplifying entrepreneurship for young people and women was also on the agenda. "The International Finance Corporation team decided to introduce global knowledge and experience into the private sector, which can become a source of quality jobs and economic development in Tajikistan," she stated. Cheikhrouhou also noted that she looks forward to cooperating within the framework of the Roadmap to reduce barriers to entrepreneurship and provide opportunities for young people, women, and girls to create successful enterprises in various sectors of Tajikistan's economy. "The International Finance Corporation for Tajikistan has sent $60 million of investments in the last 12 months, and we intend to increase it soon," Cheikhrouhou emphasized.