IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) have agreed to work together to generate growth opportunities for Irish companies in emerging markets.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) announced during the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund’s Annual Meetings in Bali, Indonesia, IFC and ISIF will collaborate to foster economic cooperation and private sector development. The collaboration will enable Irish companies to benefit from growth opportunities in emerging markets, while at the same time supporting IFC’s strategy to create markets and promote private sector solutions to development challenges. The MoU will initially focus on investment opportunities in the food and agriculture sector, given its strength and importance for the Irish economy, as well as the sector’s potential for substantial development in emerging markets, in particular in Africa.
Eugene O’Callaghan, Director of ISIF said, “IFC is a leading global institution that can be highly complementary to ISIF’s strategy of supporting indigenous Irish companies scale and grow internationally and we are very excited about the potential benefits from this collaboration. IFC provides a unique set of financing and advisory solutions that can support Irish companies’ growth plans in emerging markets. The collaboration will focus in phase one on food and agriculture companies, as emerging markets are forecast to present both significant growth opportunities for Irish companies in this sector and valuable new routes to market for existing and additional output.”
IFC and ISIF will aim to promote investments by Irish companies and investors in emerging markets by:
- making Irish investors more aware of the full suite of IFC’s investment products and services; and
- identifying co-investment opportunities with Irish companies that are consistent with the mandates and strategies of IFC and ISIF, and that have the potential to promote economic cooperation and inclusive and sustainable growth.
“Our partnership with ISIF underscores IFC’s strategy to leverage the power of the private sector and create markets that address the most urgent development needs of our time,” said Karin Finkelston, IFC Vice President of Partnerships, Communication, and Outreach.