The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will link 100 promising African entrepreneurs with company managers, international investors and financial institutions.

These entrepreneurs will be selected next December during a forum in Egypt. Those selected will be provided funding facilities for their projects and coached to facilitate the extension of their activities in new markets.

This selection falls within the framework of the "Next 100 African Startups" initiated by IFC in collaboration with Egypt’s ministry of investments and international cooperation, to boost entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa.

 "The best way to stimulate innovation and create jobs in Africa is to support local entrepreneurs", said  Sergio Pimenta, vice-president of IFC in Africa and in the Middle-East.

Let’s remind that in the past two years, this branch of World Bank in charge of the investments operations in developing countries, disbursed about $65 million to finance technology companies and startups in North Africa and in the Middle-East.  

The IFC has also decided to support women entrepreneurs and, recently, it signed a partnership agreement with Misr in that regard.

Chamberline Moko