The World Bank’s investment arm plans to triple its lending in post-conflict African countries by 2017, a senior official said yesterday.
The bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested a record $3.7 billion (R32.7bn) in Africa this year, up from about $700 million in 2006, and is present in 30 countries, 18 of which are emerging from conflict.
Nena Stoiljkovic, IFC’s vice-president of business advisory services, said it would seek to tap into the high economic growth in many of these nations after years of underinvestment during civil strife.
“Looking at the kind of growth expected in Africa, it’s a place we would like to invest in more,” he said at a conference focusing on post-conflict countries. – Reuters