London, United Kingdom, June 22, 2023— IFC and partners announced multiple new agreements that provide financial and advisory support to Ukraine’s private sector amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the London Recovery Conference. These agreements support IFC's $2 billion Economic Resilience Action (ERA) program, launched last year, which includes financing from IFC's own account alongside guarantees, concessional loans and grants from donor governments. The agreements also mark the first financial contributions from the United Kingdom and the United States to the program.
IFC estimates that Ukraine’s private sector could contribute about $140 billion to the country’s reconstruction needs over the next 10 years - a third of the reconstruction and recovery needs estimated in the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment. In addition to financing for rebuilding, the private sector needs support now to continue to provide jobs, goods and services, and tax and export revenues.
The new agreements announced include:
- To support Ukraine’s cross-border trade, British International Investment (BII), the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) agreed to risk-share IFC’s trade finance exposure. BII and DFC intend to provide $25 million and $50 million, respectively, to support trade flows of critical goods, including food. In addition, MIGA has approved $20 million to support trade finance guarantees under the joint IFC-MIGA envelope. This will increase the capacity of the IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program in Ukraine from $200 million to almost $300 million. With this support, IFC and its partners will be in a position to facilitate as much as $1 billion of imports and exports over the next three years.
- The United Kingdom has agreed to contribute $30 million to IFC’s ERA program to support energy security amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy is one of the country’s most impacted sectors with reconstruction needs estimated at $47 billion. The UK’s funding is expected to mobilize a further $100 million in investments to support renewable energy and energy efficiency in Ukraine.
- IFC and the European Commission have announced a partnership aimed at de-risking and enabling up to €200 million in financing from Ukraine’s financial institutions to smaller businesses, with a focus on agribusiness and women-owned enterprises.
- IFC and the European Commission are also joining with the Kremenchuk City Council to help renovate municipal buildings to accommodate hundreds of internally displaced people. IFC will channel part of the EU funds in grants, helping the city cover the costs of building renovations and provide quality accommodation to people who fled the areas damaged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
- IFC signed a new engagement with leading global power developer Scatec ASA to help deploy Release by Scatec, an innovative containerized solar and storage solution, in Ukraine. The modular re-deployable technology provides a reliable and clean source of power and can help diversify Ukraine’s generation mix away from fossil fuels, further enhancing energy security.
- IFC is partnering with Emso Asset Management and its co-investors in Helianthus Investment DAC to improve access to finance for urban transport operators and introduce rolling stock renewal programs in Ukraine. As part of these efforts, IFC is looking at asset-backed finance models to bring green, inclusive transport fleets to Ukraine’s cities and companies.
- IFC and Ukraine’s Ministry for Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development have agreed to continue cooperation to maximize private finance for reconstruction. Within this scope of work, they have committed to cooperate to develop a national tolling system for roads. Also in the transport sector, IFC has signed agreement to support the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company to modernize and expand its fleet. IFC’s advisory projects in the infrastructure area will be implemented in partnership with the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance.
“Together we can do much more for Ukraine and its private sector,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC's Managing Director. “Ukraine’s reconstruction will cost far more than the government and donors can muster alone. The private sector can play a key role in this. Ukrainian businesses are also desperately short of financing and need immediate help to ensure the economy stays afloat. I welcome the backing by our partners and call on others to join us.”
IFC’s ERA program is providing an operational framework for IFC’s near-term investments and advisory work. Since February 2022, IFC has disbursed $264 million to private companies and financial institutions, including $179 million under IFC's Global Trade Finance Program. This financing, together with an additional $60 million committed, to support the Ukrainian technology sector, has been provided at IFC’s own account. With support from partners, such as the United Kingdom and the United States who joined ERA at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, together with the Netherlands and Switzerland who signed on in April 2023, IFC will be able to leverage its capital to provide significantly greater amounts of financing.
About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
