When fighting a global crisis, it’s important to focus on local impact.
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the deepest global recession since World War II. Developing countries are being hit hard, with as many as 150 million people at risk of being pushed into extreme poverty by next year.
Yet the nature of the health crisis, and the scale of the economic damage, varies widely from country to country. Some countries have largely reopened their economies, while others are still in the thick of the battle against the virus, and others reverting to closures in the wake of subsequent waves. Some developing countries have been simultaneously hit by a downturn in commodity prices, adding to the economic and fiscal pressure. While coordinating globally, therefore, policymakers are also sensitive to the needs of their individual countries. Ultimately, the on-the-ground impact of development finance happens at the local level.
In responding to the pandemic, IFC is striving to strike the right balance between global scale and targeted impact, while also ensuring our interventions enable a sustainable recovery. IFC has committed $4 billion from its $8-billion fast-track COVID-19 facility, which aims to sustain businesses and preserve jobs amid the pandemic. That includes the full $2 billion allocated under the trade-finance envelope of the facility, and an additional $2 billion spanning every region in which IFC operates.
As it delivers its pandemic response, IFC is working to ensure financing goes to the poor and vulnerable . Of the $4 billion in total financing committed so far, 48 percent is expected to benefit people in the poorest countries and fragile states.
Here’s a flavor of how IFC is assisting countries around the world cope with the pandemic:
Supporting small business in Sub-Saharan Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa, where the World Bank Group is predicting the first recession in 25 years, IFC has invested almost $1.1 billion through the fast-track COVID-19 facility to shore up the trade and liquidity needs of the private sector.
This includes loans totaling $300 million to major financial institutions in Kenya and Nigeria. Equity Bank in Kenya, and Zenith, Access and FCMB banks in Nigeria will use the bulk of IFC’s funding to on-lend to thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing working capital and trade-finance shortfalls because of disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Access Bank “recognizes the importance of SMEs to economic stability and is going the extra mile to ensure that such businesses are adequately financed to weather these testing times,” said Herbert Wigwe, the bank’s chief executive. “IFC’s funding will not only enable us to extend financial relief to our clients across all sectors during the pandemic but beyond the COVID-19 crisis as well. Our partnership with IFC will help Nigerian businesses weather COVID-19 and set a course for recovery.”
A shop attendant in Africa. Photo: Vic Josh/Shutterstock.com
With the support of the IDA Private Sector Window, which is being mobilized for the COVID-19 response, IFC provided a long-term loan in local currency to International Medical Group (IMG) to strengthen services at the healthcare provider’s Ugandan hospital and clinics, allowing them to continue to deliver quality medical care, including not-for-profit services, to low-income patients in the country. A subsidiary of CIEL Healthcare Limited, IMG offers private healthcare services, including the International Hospital Kampala and 17 clinics across Uganda, serving over 300,000 patients annually in the country.
Supporting Africa’s smaller businesses with these and other investments during the crisis is essential because of the vital contribution they make to employment, business activity, and the provision of goods, services and technology. In Côte d’Ivoire, to help companies whose cash flows have been disrupted by the pandemic, IFC provided a $28 million loan to NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire. At the regional level, IFC helped the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC), a telecom infrastructure provider, to expand and improve affordable internet connectivity to over 30 countries in Africa with a $20 million loan.
The economic damage from the crisis is expected to be severe in sub-Saharan Africa, which has won early praise for shielding itself from the worst of the health emergency, though case numbers continue to rise in many of the region’s countries.
“African countries have so far avoided the worst of the COVID-19 health crisis, though their economies, many heavily dependent on commodity exports, are especially vulnerable to a protracted global economic downturn,” said Manuel Reyes-Retana, IFC Regional Industry Director for the Middle East and Africa. “IFC’s emergency support in the region, in partnership with some of the region’s largest banks, will help keep businesses solvent and maintain jobs across vital sectors including health, transport, agribusiness, and manufacturing.”
Helping the Middle East and North Africa weather the storm
Along with a mounting health crisis, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the economies of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Almost every country in the region is expected to fall into recession in 2020, aggravating long-standing problems like unemployment and poverty.
In Egypt, IFC has deployed trade finance through the fast-track COVID-19 facility to help businesses import necessary commodities such as food and manufacturing inputs.
"This is just the beginning of IFC's response to the coronavirus in MENA," says Beatrice Maser, IFC Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. "We are working with clients across several sectors, including construction, agribusiness, and pharmaceuticals, to help them navigate the impacts of COVID-19. We're also tailoring our advisory services to support new opportunities in the digital economy, which will be crucial to the region’s recovery and its future.”
As the response unfolds, it will be key for the public and private sector to work together .
“Fresh thinking is now needed more than ever before, striking the right balance between scaling up and achieving impact. The Government of Egypt supports SMEs as it is macro-relevant, a key component in developing an inclusive growth agenda, creating jobs, diversifying the economy and supporting recovery. Through our partnership with IFC, we are creating an enabling environment through a comprehensive approach which includes financing as well as advisory services to ensure sustainable growth within this segment,” said H.E. Dr. Rania Al Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation.
Workers at Farm Trust, a startup in Tunisia. © Salma Aloui
Acting swiftly in Asia and the Pacific
Countries in East Asia were the first to be impacted by COVID-19. As soon as the effects were felt in Vietnam, IFC acted to expand trade-financing limits for four banks even before the fast-track COVID-19 facility was established, and the increased total limit of $294 million enabled these banks to support local importers and exporters. Among those benefiting was DaKao Production Ltd., a local women-owned agribusiness company. The import financing provided by the Vietnamese bank, TPBank, gave DaKao the required liquidity to import raw cashews and maintain production, preserving jobs for its 400 employees.
This initial COVID-19 response subsequently led to IFC investing around $1 billion across Asia and the Pacific through the fast-track facility to support trade flows and preserve jobs.
Helping SMEs keep their doors open and sustain jobs was a key rationale behind IFC’s decision to provide a financing package of $75 million to Phu My Hung Development Corporation in Vietnam through the fast-track COVID-19 facility. An established real estate developer supplying affordable housing and leasing commercial space to over 300 businesses, the corporation is using IFC’s support to extend financial relief to its clients.
“Supporting businesses in times of crisis is crucial, since they are the main drivers of employment in emerging economies,” said Vivek Pathak, IFC Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific . “With the latest forecasts showing the East Asia and Pacific region is expected to grow by only 0.9 percent in 2020–the lowest rate since 1967–IFC is continuing to work across the region to help spur economic activity.”
The slowdown across Asia and the Pacific was led by a sharp decline of economic activity in larger markets and a tightening of financial conditions have caused market stress in some countries. Furthermore, global containment measures amplified the impact on economies through a collapse in tourism, plunging trade, disruptions to global value chains and reduced export demand.
Workers for Hanel PT Limited Company at its factory in Bac Ninh province. Photo: Hieu Nguyen/IFC
In South Asian nations like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, COVID-19 continues to exact a toll on people and businesses. South Asia could experience its worst economic performance in 40 years, reversing decades of gains in poverty reduction. Of the estimated 115 million more people who could be pushed into extreme poverty this year, just under half live in South Asia. Capital outflows have increased dramatically. IFC helped SMEs affected by the pandemic in Bangladesh through a $30-million loan to The City Bank Limited, a leading private commercial bank.
“IFC played a strong role in strengthening the foreign currency financing ability and offshore banking business of The City Bank,” said Mr. Sheikh Mohammad Maroof, Additional Managing Director of The City Bank. “We believe that the COVID-19 Working Capital Solutions fund has further strengthened our ability to meet our customers’ foreign currency financing requirements in this pandemic where we have experienced contraction in foreign currency liquidity outside Bangladesh.”
In South Asia, IFC has received calls for support from a range of industries, including financial services, health and pharmaceuticals, agribusiness and infrastructure. IFC helped Mymensingh Agro Limited, a company within the PRAN Group, expand its capacity to manufacture affordable and quality food products with a $25 million investment–a move that is helping the company preserve jobs and economic activity through the value chain, especially sourcing from local farmers.
In Sri Lanka, IFC has provided a $50 million loan to Commercial Bank of Ceylon (ComBank) to help expand lending to SMEs, with more than half of the financing dedicated to businesses owned by women.
“Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy so it’s important to act now to help these businesses get through this challenging time,” said Mengistu Alemayehu, IFC’s Regional Director for South Asia. “We’ve also committed support for companies in India and Bangladesh and are working to do even more to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.”
In India, IFC helped DCM Shriram Limited mitigate supply-chain disruptions, protect jobs, and boost resilience in real sector markets affected by COVID-19 with a $40 million loan.
IFC has also been sharing knowledge and advice with companies, institutions and governments across Asia and the Pacific to help them gain a clearer understanding of the impacts of the pandemic. In Fiji, IFC has worked with the government to assess the fallout on SMEs hit by the halt of tourism, and is also working with pension funds and other funds across the region to analyze the impacts of COVID-19.
Protecting jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean
In Latin America and the Caribbean, large segments of the population are suffering tremendous hardships, and the latest estimates from the World Bank indicate that the expected economic contractions will trigger a sharp increase in the region’s poverty rate. IFC’s fast-track facility has committed $1.2 billion to help support the private sector amid this challenging operating environment.
Many households already survive on day-to-day earnings and do not have the resources to cope with the lockdowns and quarantines that are being deployed to contain the spread of the pandemic. A large proportion of workers are self-employed, and informality is common even among wage earners. Remittances, which provide an important source of income and represent a social safety net for many families, are expected to suffer the sharpest drop globally with a projected 19.3 percent decline in 2020.
“The short-term focus right now is to cushion the blow of the pandemic on the livelihoods of millions of people in the region. We want to help companies stay in business so their employees can keep their jobs,” said Allen Forlemu, Regional Industry Head for Financial Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. “That is why we are providing support to financial institutions so they can continue lending to SMEs, which are the region’s main source of jobs and engines of economic activity,” said Forlemu.
As part of its initial response, IFC helped to expand access to finance for SMEs, including women-owned businesses, through a $100 million loan to support Banco Daycoval, a leading mid-sized Brazilian bank. IFC also approved a loan to help strength Agrofértil, a key agribusiness company in Paraguay. This investment will help the agribusiness sector, which is critical to the country’s economy, face the impacts of the pandemic.
A combine harvests a soya-bean field in Paraguay. Photo: Geza Farkas
“Helping economies to accelerate their recovery process will require working closely with our clients, while supporting countries in the region prepare projects that can attract more private investment will be equally important. Effective collaboration between the private and public sector is now more crucial than ever for our region,” Forlemu said.
Sustaining business in Europe and Central Asia
When the pandemic arrived in Western Europe, it was clear Europe and Central Asia (ECA) would be hit hard. The close trade and financial links of Central and Eastern Europe made ECA one of the most affected regions in the world. When COVID-19 hit, the Turkish economy was recovering from the currency crisis of 2018. Companies have long been struggling to increase their access to financing. The pandemic has made the situation worse for Turkish firms.
IFC is helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) weather the effects of the pandemic through a $50 million senior loan to Turkey’s Garanti BBVA. A long-time IFC client, Garanti BBVA is using the funding to lend to Turkish MSMEs so that they can continue to operate and sustain their current employment levels.
In Ukraine, the gross domestic product is expected to decrease by 7.2 percent in 2020, according to the IMF. The depth of the contraction will depend on the duration of the pandemic, progress on implementing pending reforms, and the ability to mobilize adequate financing to meet sizable repayment needs.
IFC helped a leading agricultural producer in Ukraine finance its working capital to limit potential input supply-chain disruptions in meat production due to the pandemic, thereby supporting domestic food security.
“We work with our diverse clients in the region to help them where it is needed most,” said IFC Director for ECA, Wiebke Schloemer. “Whether we support Turkish MSMEs’ access to finance so they can keep their business afloat, or ensure that Ukrainian agricultural clients have enough working capital to continue operations, thus contributing to food security of Ukraine, we want to ensure that companies can stay in business, preserve jobs and continue to contribute to the economy in this unprecedented crisis.”
Published in October 2020