International Finance Corporation - Peru

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.

Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 182 member countries, a group that collectively determines our policies. Our work in more than a 100 developing countries allows companies and financial institutions in emerging markets to create jobs, generate tax revenues, improve corporate governance and environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities.

IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives.

Our Strategic Priorities:

• Strengthening the focus on frontier markets
• Addressing climate change and ensuring environmental and social sustainability
• Addressing constraints to private sector growth in infrastructure, health, education, and the food-supply chain
• Developing local financial markets
• Building long-term client relationships in emerging markets

About Advisory Services

Private sector development requires more than just finance. Experience shows the powerful role advisory services can play in unlocking investment and helping businesses expand and create jobs.

To help the private sector in emerging markets, IFC provides advice, problem solving, and training to companies, industries, and governments. Our experience shows that companies need more than financial investment to thrive—they need a regulatory environment that enables entrepreneurship, and advice on business best practices. Our work includes advising national and local governments on how to improve their investment climate and strengthen basic infrastructure. Governments account for around half of our advisory projects. We also help investment clients improve corporate governance and become more sustainable.

We offer advice through nearly 1,100 Advisory Services staff in 85 offices across 73 countries. Funding comes from donor partners, IFC, and client contributions. In FY11, advisory services project expenditures totaled $206.7 million. In all, 65 percent of project expenditures attributable to clients in individual countries went to IDA countries.

Financial Markets Investments and Access to Finance Advisory Services

FINANCIAL MARKETS

We focus on small and medium enterprises, microfinance, trade, and climate change, among others. IFC is a leading investor in microfinance. We create innovative products in insurance and supply-chain finance to reach the poor. We are rebuilding our investments in housing finance and are supporting capital-market development in light of the global financial crisis.

ADVISORY SERVICES

Access to Finance Advisory services help increase the availability and affordability of financial services for individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises. Our advisory services often accompany the financial investments, giving clients the benefit of in-house expertise from seasoned sector specialists. We also partner with consultants familiar with local conditions to provide solutions suited to the unique characteristics of a particular country. Our projects include assistance to banks and specialized financial institutions in improving their ability to provide financial services to micro, small, and medium enterprises.

MSME Finance

Leasing can be an effective channel in tackling the critical global challenges of climate change and the food crisis by supporting investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, cleaner production, and agribusiness equipment.

Microfinance: Microenterprises and small businesses account for the major share of the private sector and employment in many developing countries. Yet, despite their size and importance, these businesses rarely have access to the savings, credit, and payment services provided by formal financial institutions.

Retail Payments: IFC's Global Innovative Retail Payments Program works to increase access to banking services through developing innovative and sustainable retail payments services as a point of entry for low income populations. The program supports the development of innovative and sustainable retail payment solutions using technologies such as mobile phones, EFTPOS and payment card infrastructure to deliver payment services at low cost to the base of the pyramid as well as other users.

SME Banking: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are critical for the economic and social development of emerging markets. They play a major role in creating jobs and generating income for low income people. In many emerging markets, however, access to financial services for SMEs remains severely constrained.

Banking on Women: Working in collaboration with IFC’s Financial Markets Department, IFC’s BOW program helps bank profitably and sustainably serve women businesses. We provide financing for on-lending to women entrepreneurs, as well as advisory services to enhance our client commercial banks’ ability to address the needs of the women’s market and provide the most appropriate products and services for this clientele.