The private sector arm of the World Bank has pledged to ensure its operations focus as much on poverty reduction in developing countries as securing economic returns.
This comes after accepting the findings of a critical report from the bank’s independent watchdog.
The report of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) suggested on Thursday that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) should prioritize poverty reduction in its choice of sectors, countries and projects it invests in (IFC kan herhjemme bedst sammenlignes med Industrialiseringsfonden for Udviklingslandene – IFU, red.).
The report found that 86 percent of IFC investment projects contributed positively to overall economic growth in countries in which they were implemented.
The study also found that while most IFC investment projects generate broad economic returns for the country in which they operate, about 60 percent do NOT provide opportu-nities for the poor.
In a written response to the report, IFC management welcomed its recommendations, saying “a key next step for IFC in its poverty focus is to better articulate poverty dimensions in its projects”.
– The key conclusion for us is we have to be much more explicit upfront (helt fra starten) about the expected poverty reduction effects – be they direct or indirect, said Nigel Twose, IFC’s Director for Development Impact.
– So we can then track it and see if we were right, added he.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
