IFC SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility

The IFC SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility was launched in 2002. It is a multi-donor funded facility, managed and operated by IFC. One of 11 such regional programs managed by IFC worldwide, the facility is funded by IFC, the governments of the Netherlands and Norway, the European Commission, DFID (United Kingdom), CIDA (Canada), and the Asian Development Bank. Set up to promote the growth of SMEs in the region, it facilitates increased access to finance and provides quality business development services to projects in Bangladesh, Bhutan, northeast India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

IFC has developed a systematic and holistic approach to supporting the SME segment in its target countries. The four main program components or business lines are:

The Access to Finance (ATF) business line aims to foster the development of domestic financial markets in order to expand access to finance and thus support private sector development. A primary objective is the extension of financial services to previously underserved segments of the population including small and medium enterprises. As such, ATF works closely with private sector commercial banks, non-banking financial institutions and the financial sector as a whole, to bring about a growth in their SME portfolios. At the same time, ATF works with SMEs to help them develop the skills necessary to maintain proper financial records and accounts to increase their eligibility for loans.

The Value Addition to Firms (VA2F) business line aims to strengthen the private sector’s capacity to respond to market opportunities and link SMEs to these opportunities in order to ensure that economic growth benefits the poor. VA2F focuses on developing key economic sectors by engaging directly with private sector firms, service providers and trade associations in the sector value chains. VA2F leverages these engagements to scale up interventions into broader, more sustainable market development activities. Currently, VA2F key sectors include (i) Agribusiness, (ii) Light Engineering and (iii) Ready Made Garments.

The Business Enabling Environment (BEE) business line aims to promote sound economic policies, business-friendly regulatory frameworks and effective public sector institutions that are critical to attract new investments and create new jobs, while improving transparency and compliance. BEE works with governments, as well as public and private institutions, to open up markets to private investment and lower the cost and risk of doing business. BEE also works with entrepreneurs to help them understand what is required of them to start up and grow a successful business.

The Environmental and Social Sustainability (ESS) business line aims to transform the market by supporting innovative environmental and social business initiatives, demonstrating their commercial attractiveness and encouraging their independent replication in the private sector.

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