Rachel Kyte, Vice President for Business Advisory Services and a member of IFC’s Management Group, will visit Sierra Leone from May 31 to June 2, 2009. Ms. Kyte is the most senior IFC official to visit Sierra Leone.
On Monday, June 1, at 1:30pm, Ms. Kyte will officially open the IFC Country Office, located at 13 Lamina Sankoh Street in the central business district of Freetown. Journalists are invited to attend the opening.
During her visit, Ms. Kyte will also meet with the Honourable Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone and various government officials. She will hold a roundtable meeting with key stakeholders in the private sector and tour the Sierra Leone Investment & Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA). Ms Kyte will also host a dinner with IFC’s development partners—AfDB, DFID, EC, Irish AID, GTZ, UN, UNDP, and UNIDO.
Ms. Kyte’s visit signals IFC’s growing commitment to Sierra Leone. Through its post-conflict initiative, IFC’s strategy in the country is to support economic recovery by helping improve the investment climate, strengthen the domestic financial sector, increase private participation in infrastructure, and by financing select private sector companies in priority sectors identified by government.
At the invitation of the government, the IFC team is working in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development to advise the government on appropriate actions to help create a better business and investment climate in the country. The advisory support has resulted in a number of reforms that are beginning to have a notable effect on the cost, procedures, and time of doing business.
IFC has also invested more than $28 million in Sierra Leone’s telecommunications and financial services industries, which are key development sectors for the country. IFC is currently developing working strategies to increase its investment portfolio in manufacturing and services, agribusiness, health, education, infrastructure, and financial markets.
IFC’s investment activity in Sierra Leone Industry (sector)Exposure ($Million)Telecommunications25.00Financial Markets2.72
IFC Advisory Services Industry (sector)Exposure ($Million)Investment Climate10.1
The new IFC office in Freetown and the creation of an IFC hub for West and Central Africa in Dakar, Senegal, are part of IFC’s global efforts to reach more of the world’s poorest countries by increasing its workforce on the ground.
As IFC Vice President for Business Advisory Services, Ms. Kyte oversees IFC's advisory business and provides leadership on this integral part of IFC’s business. Since joining IFC in 2000, she has led the introduction of new performance standards and IFC’s expanded sustainability and disclosure policies, and showed how IFC can transform standards for business and help develop markets. Ms. Kyte helped extend IFC’s reach through better risk management and new business opportunities related to sustainability. She also championed knowledge management and innovation. Most recently, Ms. Kyte played a key role in shaping IFC’s approach to climate change.
Prior to joining IFC, Ms. Kyte held elected positions in Europe and founded and led NGOs focusing on women, the environment, health, and rights. She was also a member of the management team of the World Conservation Union – IUCN. Ms. Kyte holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and history from University of London. Ms. Kyte’s visit will mark her first to Sierra Leone.
About IFCIFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
Rachel Kyte is IFC's Vice President, Business Advisory Services, and a member of the Management Group. She oversees IFC's advisory business and provides leadership on this integral part of IFC's strategy.
Ms. Kyte joined IFC in 2000 as a Senior Specialist, Ombudsman, in the Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman. In 2004 she became Director for Environment and Social Development, where she led the introduction of new performance standards and IFC's expanded sustainability and disclosure policies, and showed how IFC can transform standards for business and help develop markets. She helped extend IFC's reach through better risk management and new business opportunities related to sustainability. She also championed knowledge management and innovation. Most recently, she played a key role in shaping IFC’s approach to climate change.
Ms. Kyte has held elected positions in Europe and has founded and led NGOs focusing on women, the environment, health, and rights.
Prior to joining IFC, Ms. Kyte was a member of the management team of the World Conservation Union – IUCN. She holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and history from University of London.
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