IFC appoints Dahlia Khalifa as regional director

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries, has announced the appointment of Dahlia Khalifa as its Regional Director for Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

In her new role, Khalifa will drive IFC’s strategy to create a more resilient and sustainable private sector to support development and job creation in the region.

Khalifa will lead IFC’s investment and advisory teams in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone.

While these countries face challenges such as rising inflation and the effects of climate change, a young, vibrant, and entrepreneurial population presents opportunities for a more dynamic private sector. Khalifa will be based in Lagos, Nigeria.

“I welcome Dahlia to her new role and know her leadership and experience generating impactful investments in the region will further deepen IFC’s work in Africa and enable our partners to meet the challenges of the moment, from rising food insecurity to the effects of climate change. I look forward to working with Dahlia and her team to deliver on new opportunities in the years to come, such as empowering more of the region’s entrepreneurs,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa.

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“We are stepping up our work to empower the private sector and to work jointly with government and development partners to deliver greener, more inclusive and sustainable growth in the region. I commit to further strengthening IFC’s work so that together we can build the strong foundations for private and public sector partnerships,” said Khalifa.

Khalifa, an Egyptian and American national, was most recently the Senior Manager for IFC’s Creating Markets Advisory program in the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Pakistan, and Afghanistan region, where she and her team supported the removal of barriers to investment to strengthen the private sector and boost economic development.

Before joining the World Bank Group, Khalifa founded and managed financial services companies providing brokerage, corporate finance, private equity investing, and management consulting services in the Middle East and Africa.

As of September 30, IFC had an investment and advisory portfolio in Central Africa and Nigeria of more than $2.53 billion across financial services, infrastructure, and agribusiness and is continuing to grow its portfolio in health, manufacturing, and value chain development.

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.