Accra, March 2, GNA – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group that provides investment, advisory, and asset-management services, has appointed Kyle Kelhofer, as Senior Country Manager West Africa.
He succeeds Ronke-Amoni Ogunsulire, and would be based in Accra.
He is expected to work to support the agribusiness sector, bridge the infrastructure and connectivity gaps, promote digital inclusion, and financing micro, small, and medium enterprises in Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Mr Kelhofer, who was once based in Ghana (from 2007 to 2010), in a statement by IFC, said, “It is exciting to be back in West Africa and I look forward to working with the IFC team to make a positive impact here.”
He added in the statement that: “COVID-19, climate change, poverty, and unemployment are all serious and interlocked challenges, but working with public and private sector partners, we can help the region build a foundation for strong and sustainable growth.”
Mr Aliou Maiga, IFC’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said: “Kyle’s broad experience across multiple sectors and regions, including West Africa and Asia, will serve him well in his new role.
It added: “I welcome him to the region and look forward to working with him to help bring greater opportunity to the private sector and support economic development in his cluster of countries and beyond.”
The statement noted that Mr Kelhofer would bring his almost 30 years of global development experience to the new role, supporting private sector growth, job creation, and recovery from COVID-19 in West Africa.
He joined IFC in 1998 and has worked on energy-efficiency financing in Eastern Europe, SME financing in sub-Saharan Africa, post-conflict finance in the Middle East, and on IFC’s first subnational financings in Latin America.
His most recent role at IFC was Senior Country Manager for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, and previous to that, Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. He will be based in Accra.
Before joining IFC, he worked at Ernst & Young’s National High Technology Practice in San Francisco.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in international finance from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
It works in more than 100 countries, using capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.
In the 2021 fiscal year, IFC committed $31.5 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grappled with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
GNA