PHILIPPE LE HOUEROU

摘要

In March, as Covid-19 began to spread across the world, the World Bank's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), was swiftly equipped with $8bn in emergency funding to deal with the immediate economic damage of the pandemic. This was a substantial part of the World Bank's total $14bn fast-track financing to support both companies and governments during the crisis. Those measures, says the IFC's outgoing CEO, Philippe Le Houerou, are aligned with the commitment to support the world's poorest and most fragile countries - and proof that even a global, weighty institution like the IFC can move quickly. As he prepared to leave the organisation he had overseen for the past four years in September, Mr Le Houerou talked to The Banker about the importance of taking a more modern approach to development finance.