Finance & Development, September 1977

This paper highlights that since its inception in 1956, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested more than US$1.7 billion in nearly 300 enterprises in 62 developing countries in total projects costing about US$9 billion. The IFC is the affiliate of the World Bank, which has been given the specific task of furthering economic development by encouraging the growth of productive private enterprise in developing countries. The paper underscores that IFC plays an essentially catalytic role in generating investment funds from local and foreign sources.