“The World Bank Group's private-sector investment arm, deploying equity, debt, and risk-sharing facilities into financial institutions and fintech infrastructure to expand financial inclusion across Africa.”
IFC, the World Bank Group's private-sector arm, runs one of the largest financial-inclusion investment practices on the continent. At the 2025 Africa Financial Summit, IFC announced $310 million in new investments across Egypt, Ethiopia, and Morocco: a $50M lending facility for Suez Canal Bank targeting underserved regions and women-owned SMEs, a $10M risk-sharing facility with Attijariwafa Bank Egypt, a $250M risk-sharing facility with Saham Bank in Morocco covering up to 50% of a $500M corporate loan portfolio, and advisory support for VisionFund's microfinance lending in Ethiopia.
On the earlier-stage end, IFC also invests directly into fintech-focused fund managers, most recently a $6 million commitment to First Circle Capital (also in this directory) specifically to back early-stage African fintech. This dual approach, large institutional facilities plus fund-of-funds-style LP commitments, means IFC touches African fintech at nearly every stage, even though it rarely writes checks directly to seed-stage startups.