IFC earmarks record US$2.8 billion investment to Brazil in 2021 fiscal year

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private investment arm, has allocated a record US$2.8 billion to support projects in Brazil that help tackle the impact of the pandemic in fiscal year 2021, which ran from July 2020 through June this year.

With this figure, Brazil represents IFC’s largest portfolio in Latin America and the Caribbean and the world’s 4th largest.

Of the US$2.852 billion, US$1.108 billion come from IFC’s own resources and US$1.745 billion were raised from other financial institutions. IFC’s work with Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) contributed US$960 million of this total, with major infrastructure projects for Brazilian cities, such as public lighting, highways, and commuter trains.

In fiscal year 2021, IFC signed the first advisory contract to encourage the green building market, with EDGE certification. The initiative with Itaú BBA involves technical training for the bank’s client developers and consulting services to identify opportunities in the green building market.

IFC’s strategic priorities in Brazil also include helping the country align its economic growth with environmental targets. Projects with climate components represented 60.7% of IFC’s own resources in Brazil. Among them, the first green bond certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) for a Brazilian credit cooperative – Sicredi – in the amount of US$120 million.

In February 2021, IFC signed a memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Federation of Banks (FEBRABAN) in a joint effort to promote sustainable finance, further aligning the banking sector with Brazil’s greenhouse gas reduction commitments as part of the Paris Agreement.

Since the start of the pandemic, the IFC has focused its efforts on helping the private sector mitigate the economic impact of Covid-19. In March, the IFC announced an US$8 billion package of accelerated funding to help businesses affected by the pandemic worldwide.

Since then, over US$3.8 billion of its own resources (and about US$1.6 billion raised) have been allocated worldwide. In Brazil, 4 projects were approved within this scope, reaching a total of US$260 million.