IFC appoints new country manager for Maldives, Sri Lanka

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Sunday announced the appointment of Alejandro Alvarez de la Campa as the new Country Manager for Maldives and Sri Lanka.

According to IFC’s announcement, Campa will be based in Colombo and would be leading its strategy in building a diversified portfolio and increasing impact in both countries, while helping strengthen sustainable private sector development and promoting inclusive growth.

Speaking about the appointment, Hector Gomez Ang, IFC Regional Director for South Asia highlighted Campa’s experience working with both private and public sectors.

"IFC's focus on Maldives revolves around supporting sustainable and inclusive private sector-led growth. With Alejandro's multi-regional experience in working across private and public sectors, I am confident IFC will lead the way in delivering high-impact investments and strategic engagements in the country."

The statement announcing the appointment also said that Campa's top priority will be to strategically lead IFC's investment and advisory engagements in Maldives, pushing for stronger, progressive steps towards improving private sector-led growth which can deliver jobs and opportunities for people in Maldives.

“IFC is looking at opportunities to promote inclusion through disruptive models of digital finance, improving access to financial services leading to more, better opportunities for Maldivians” says new IFC Country Manager for ????????&????????: https://t.co/0j3DYbjcUV @WBMaldives pic.twitter.com/zHNlPh7NyC

— IFC South Asia (@IFC_SouthAsia) December 4, 2022

Talking about his new, Campa said, "As the Country Manager for IFC in Sri Lanka and Maldives, I look forward to deepening our partnerships in Maldives to diversify IFC's investments and support private sector-led growth, while also paving the path towards a greener, resilient and inclusive future for the benefit of the country's people."

"While boosting tourism is a key priority, and a mainstay of the economy, IFC is also looking at opportunities to promote inclusion through disruptive models of digital finance, improving access to financial services for micro, small and medium leading to more and better opportunities for Maldivians."

Furthermore, he stressed the significance of maintaining close collaboration with the private sector, government, development partners as well as the World Bank.

Campa who is from Spain joined IFC in 2004. He has extensive experience working across the World Bank Group. Prior to this appointment, he was the Manager leading IFC's Creating Markets Advisory teams in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. He was also a Practice Manager for Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) and Finance and Markets (F&M) in Africa in the joint World Bank-IFC Global Practice group.

Alvarez de la Campa holds a Law Degree (JD) from the University of Seville and an MSc in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris.a

IFC has played a role in supporting the private sector of Maldives since 1983—with over $200 million in investments so far.

Their strategy for Maldives centres around three pillars: sustainability; inclusion; and connectivity. Under these strategic pillars, IFC's program for Maldives seeks to promote inclusive and sustainable growth with a focus on tourism, food security, gender, infrastructure, and climate-smart solutions.

a member of the World Bank Group, IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, working in over 100 countries. Using its capital, expertise, and influence, IFC creates markets and opportunities in developing countries.