The International Finance Corporation (www.ifc.org) has signed an agreement to invest up to $0.6 million in Banque de l’Habitat du Burkina Faso and will also provide advice. The bank is the first in Burkina Faso dedicated to housing and IFC aims to help strengthen the country’s financial sector and show that mortgage lending is commercially viable.
IFC is adding an advisory services programme to strengthen the bank’s operations, particularly in the areas of risk management and mortgage and property finance, during its critical growth phase.
Thierry Tanoh, IFC Vice President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe, was in Burkina Faso for a session of the Presidential Council for Investment. He was accompanied by Yolande Duhem, IFC Director for West and Central Africa, and Mary-Jean Moyo, IFC Country Manager for Burkina Faso. Tanoh said: “This investment reaffirms IFC’s commitment to supporting private sector development in Burkina Faso. The success of this programme will require a strong commitment and continued cooperation from all parties in the housing value chain, including BHBF, developers, regulators, and other financial institutions.”
IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and, with 6 partners, launched a sector-wide advisory programme in September 2009 to help create a viable and sustainable mortgage market in Burkina Faso. IFC is supporting the Government in investment climate reforms, as reflected by its significant rise in the Doing Business ranking. In 2010, Burkina Faso was recognized as the world’s fourth most consistent reformer over the last 5 years and for 2 years has ranked first among countries in the same regional groupings in the ease of doing business.
The IFC press release last Friday did not mention whether ongoing army protests were disturbing the proceedings.