IFC; a member of the World Bank Group; promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. In addition to its investment work; IFC provides advisory services to a number of its clients to support them in meeting specific development goals. IFC’s Financial Institutions Group (FIG) engages in a wide range of sub-sectors including Microfinance; Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs); Gender; Climate; Insurance; Capital Markets; Housing; Distressed Assets; and other areas; with both investment and advisory services delivered to IFC’s clients through IFC’s global network. FIG has three main objectives: 1) financial inclusion 2) servicing the real economy and 3) mobilizing third-party resources.The financial sector in Syria; a Fragile and Conflict-Affected State (FCS); has experienced significant decline over the past 14 years due to economic downturns caused by conflicts; political instability and security challenges (UNDP; Feb 2025). The conflicts have had devastating economic consequences; with GDP shrinking from $67.54 billion in 2011 to $9.7 billion in 2024 and inflation reaching 128% in 2023 driven by currency depreciation and supply shortages before declining to 58% in 2024. The Syrian currency's value has tumbled from around 50 pounds per U.S. dollar in late 2011 to over 13;000 pounds in December 2024 (World Bank; IMF). The United Nations (UN); European Union (EU); United States (US); and United Kingdom (UK) placed sanctions on Syria during the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad. These sanctions crippled the financial sector and posed significant barriers to financial transactions and investment inflows. With the removal of President al-Assad in December 2024; the US; UK and EU have lifted some of their sanctions. IFC’s re-engagement in Syria is expected to focus on i) helping the financial sector’s rehabilitation; ii) supporting regional economic integration; and iii) preparing for medium- to long-term investment mobilization