IFC Appoints Dahlia Khalifa as Regional Director for Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone
IFC-International Monetary Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, announced the appointment of an Egyptian and American national, Dahlia Khalifa, as its Regional Director for Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone in a press release yesterday, November 16th, 2022. In her new role, Khalifa will spearhead IFC’s strategy to build a more resilient and sustainable private sector to support regional development and job creation.
Khalifa, who will be based in Lagos, Nigeria, will lead the IFC’s investment and advisory teams in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, 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.
What IFC Stakeholders are saying
Speaking on the appointment, Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa said “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.”
Khalifa in her response promised to collaborate with government and development partners as well as empower the private sector in the region. “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.”
Until this appointment, Khalifa was the Senior Manager for the IFC’s Creating Markets Advisory program in the Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan region, where she and her team supported the removal of investment barriers to strengthen the private sector and boost economic development.
Before joining the World Bank Group, Khalifa founded and managed financial services companies in the Middle East and Africa that provided brokerage, corporate finance, private equity investing, and management consulting.
IFC had a $2.53 billion investment and advisory portfolio in Central Africa and Nigeria as of September 30, and it is continuing to expand its portfolio in health, manufacturing, and value chain development.