Groundbreaking investments and initiatives by IFC in the Middle East in fiscal year 2023 helped advance climate finance, create jobs, boost inclusion, diversify economies, and improve access to energy, healthcare, and finance for millions in the region and beyond.
IFC invested and mobilized around $1 billion in the Middle East between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, with its own account investments reaching $613 million.
Around $710 million was provided and mobilized in infrastructure, manufacturing, agribusiness, and services to enable the construction of new solar parks and wind farms and improve food security amid a turbulent global economic period.
Investments in climate-related projects have made a great leap compared to the previous fiscal year, reaching almost $185 million. IFC invested in Jordan's first green bond, which will be issued by Jordan Kuwait Bank, with its proceeds earmarked for green projects and assets.
In addition, IFC mobilized a number of cross-border investments in climate finance. For instance, IFC invested in the United Arab Emirates' Masdar to build Uzbekistan's first wind farm and prevent the release of more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. IFC also signed a cooperation framework with Masdar to establish a green hydrogen platform for emerging markets and explore collaboration for African renewable energy projects.
One million Egyptians will have access to clean energy thanks to a $1.1 billion investment in AMEA Power by IFC and other international partners to construct Egypt's largest solar and wind farms. Additionally, thousands of jobs will be generated across emerging markets through IFC's investment in the United Arab Emirates' second Alcazar Energy fund, which aims to accelerate the green transition.
"The Middle East is confronted with a multitude of challenges, but it also holds vast opportunities. We are resolute in our commitment to supporting the region's private sector in addressing climate change, building critical infrastructure, and fostering job creation and inclusion to continue to improve lives for people in the region and beyond," said Khawaja Aftab Ahmed, IFC's Regional Director for the Middle East, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) also took center stage. In Saudi Arabia, over one million people in underserved communities will benefit from a pioneering PPP that will introduce remote reading and reporting diagnostic services in seven hospitals. IFC was the lead transaction advisor assisting the Saudi Ministry of Health in structuring and implementing the PPP - one of the country's first in the healthcare sector.
Supporting entrepreneurs and promoting financial inclusion were also key. Together with Flat6Labs, one of the region's leading early-stage venture capital firms, IFC launched the Start Mashreq program to champion entrepreneurs and underserved communities in Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, including women and the forcibly displaced. IFC also expanded its SheWins Arabia initiative to support an additional 100 women-led startups and over 30 fund managers across 17 countries in the region.
To promote trade in fragile and conflict-affected countries, IFC signed $46 million trade deals with Yemen Kuwait Bank, the International Development Bank of Iraq, and the National Bank of Iraq, enabling the delivery of essential food, medicine, raw materials and equipment to Iraq and Yemen.
Moving ahead, IFC plans to continue to focus on strengthening climate-resilient development, supporting private sector growth including through PPPs, improving infrastructure and digital connectivity, and addressing cross-cutting areas such as gender inclusion and fragility.