Ukraine and IFC to collaborate on boosting private investment in recovery and developing public-private partnerships
On 13 May, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko met with Alfonso Garcia Mora, Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting was also attended by First Deputy Minister of Economy Oleksii Sobolev and IFC representatives.
Key topics of discussion included cooperation with the IFC and the World Bank to enhance the private sector’s role in Ukraine’s reconstruction, expanding access to financing and capital markets, developing public-private partnerships (PPPs), working on an Investment Strategy, and preparing for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2025).
“We are grateful to the IFC for its unprecedented financial, technical, and advisory support to Ukraine, which has continued during the war. There is currently a need to increase private sector participation in rebuilding key economic sectors. One of the ways to achieve this is through the development of public-private partnerships. We greatly value the IFC’s assistance in improving PPP legislation and identifying priority sectors for further cooperation. We also hope to significantly expand collaboration in developing sectoral strategies and a multi-year plan for the growth of the Ukrainian economy,” Yuliia Svyrydenko emphasised.
The IFC and the World Bank Group are actively supporting Ukraine in developing and creating an Investment Strategy – a comprehensive document aimed at mobilising foreign direct investment in key sectors over the next five years. The parties agreed to present preliminary results of this work at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2025) in July in Rome.
The partners also discussed the need to expand effective tools in Ukraine’s capital market and increase the IFC’s participation in the Ukraine Investment Framework, the investment component of the Ukraine Facility. The IFC has submitted a bid under the European Commission’s second call for proposals and plans to invest in private equity funds operating in priority sectors of Ukraine’s economy.
In the area of public investments, the parties agreed to intensify efforts on the Single Project Pipeline, particularly regarding the possibility of structuring it to align with the bankability of selected initiatives.
Background
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, has extensive experience in preparing and implementing PPP projects across various economic sectors, including logistics, energy, healthcare, and infrastructure. Over the past seven years, the Ukrainian Government has worked closely with the IFC to develop the potential of public-private partnerships.
On 12 December 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ukrainian Government and the IFC, under which the IFC serves as a strategic advisor to the Government, providing support in creating favourable conditions for increasing private investment in Ukraine’s infrastructure, particularly through PPPs.
Under the Memorandum, the IFC continues to provide assistance in developing financial mechanisms to attract private capital – particularly through public and donor funding – and in conducting tenders for the implementation of critically important projects in key economic sectors.