NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Antananarivo, Madagascar / Washington, D.C., June 13, 2006?The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will provide joint risk-sharing with the Republic of Madagascar and two local banks to make loans available to owners of small and medium enterprises. This is the first joint investment under the International Development Association/IFC Pilot Program for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Henri Rabarijohn, IFC?s Country Manager for Madagascar, said, ?This groundbreaking collaboration between IFC and IDA is a model for mobilizing local currency financing in some of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will benefit smaller businesses that typically cannot secure loans from local banks.? (Read the full article)