With support from
FIAS Supports a Global Portfolio
In FY23 and FY24 the FIAS portfolio has grown substantially, more than doubling the number of projects in the portfolio in two years. As of June 30, 2024, the end of FY24, the FIAS portfolio consisted of 172 projects (up from 72 at the end of FY22), of which 162 were client-facing (mostly country- or region-specific with 6 global “platforms” with client-facing components); 10 were global projects spanning knowledge, product, and program development.
Egypt and Viet Nam Green Building
FIAS is actively supporting a shift to a low-carbon and sustainable economy in Egypt and Viet Nam. It has established regulatory and policy frameworks that are driving competitiveness, coordination, and mainstreaming of standards and processes in key strategic industries. In the Egypt Green Building (GB) project the aim is to contribute to an increase in the stock of EDGE-certified green buildings and thus improve resource utilization and reduce carbon footprint. Similarly in Viet Nam, FIAS is supporting to help make the country’s buildings and cities more climate resilient, promoting a safe and healthy environment for residents while mitigating the social and financial impacts of natural hazards.
FIAS Prioritizes Gender Equality
Gender equality is a fundamental human right. It is a foundation for a peaceful and prosperous world and essential for development. The current unprecedented times, however, threaten gender equality. Pandemics, inflation, climate change, and forced displacement have impacted girls, women, and sexual and gender minorities disproportionately. The FIAS programmatic theme on Gender and Inclusion is a key priority for advisory projects. FIAS encourages and incentivizes project teams to design and implement gender-smart solutions, study gender gaps in the markets identified by the project, and monitor gender-related development outcomes and impacts.
Ethiopia and Uganda Warehouse Receipts
FIAS is supporting IFC’s goal of increasing the growth of the agriculture sector and the economic development of Ethiopia and Uganda through the Warehouse Receipt projects. The aim is to address the bottlenecks in the agriculture value chain by developing warehousing operations and provide high-quality storage infrastructure, collateral management services and investment opportunities.
Strengthening Credit Infrastructure for MSME Growth Program in OHADA member countries
IFC is implementing the OHADA Strengthening Credit Infrastructure for MSME Growth Program, is a five-year advisory services markets and enabling environment benefiting member countries of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). It is aimed at promoting access to credit for MSMEs and women-owned enterprises in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Central Europe (CEU) Agriculture Finance Digital Platform
The Central Europe (CEU) Agriculture Finance Digital Platform project aims to de-risk agri-finance, reduce transaction costs associated with agricultural lending, increase financial institutions’ participation in the sector, and enhance outreach to under-banked farmers and agri-business micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This project is working in seven Central European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine.
Central America Sustainable Banking Initiative Fostering Regional Climate Finance
Through this FIAS-supported project, the IFC team is working to foster climate finance in Central America by supporting the Central American Council of Superintendents of Banks, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions (CCSBSO) and the participating superintendencies in the development of a green finance taxonomy that will lay the foundation for green financing.
Housing for Pakistan (H4P) Initiative Addresses Affordable Housing Deficit
Housing for Pakistan (H4P) is a two-phase joint IFC Investment Services and Advisory Services project aimed at building the primary market for housing finance in Pakistan through investment facilitation and capacity-building measures at financial institutions and developers. The target groups are households from the affordable segment, whose household incomes (both formal/documented and informal/undocumented) range from $500 to $1,200 per month.
Our Mission
With the support of Development Partners, the Facility for Investment Climate Advisory Services (FIAS) supports projects and programs implemented by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that aim to develop dynamic and resilient economies that promote economic inclusion through investment, innovation, job-creation, and higher productivity. Efforts to increase the competitiveness of developing country economies support their increased participation in international markets, produce better jobs, and contribute to the World Bank Group’s mission of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity on a livable planet and the IFC 3.0 Creating Markets Upstream strategy aimed at stimulating greater private sector investment in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).
Who We Are
The Facility for Investment Climate Advisory Services (FIAS) is a collaboration between 14 development partners and the World Bank Group. As of FY25, the roster of FIAS Development Partners was Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, in partnership with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). FIAS funding supports client-facing and knowledge development projects. IFC oversees and manages the FIAS multi-donor trust fund that allocates support to client-facing projects implemented by IFC Advisory and Upstream Services teams and FIAS-supported global platforms and global knowledge projects implemented by IFC and IBRD teams.
What we do
FIAS-supported work, managed and implemented by IFC, is organized into two strategic pillars. Pillar 1 involves improving the business environment in client countries. Pillar 2 entails expanding market opportunities and increasing firm-level competitiveness. Supporting these pillars are three programmatic themes that serve as guiding priorities across the portfolio: gender and inclusion; green competitiveness; and digitalization. As part of the “one World Bank” theme embodied in the Evolution Roadmap initiative, FIAS prioritizes and tracks IFC projects that involve collaboration with lending and policy initiatives implemented by World Bank colleagues with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). While some FIAS-supported projects focus on a single pillar, many combine elements of both pillars, and a majority of projects in the FIAS FY22–26 portfolio include components in the gender or climate cross-cutting themes—or both.
OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
Australia
Austria
Canada
Denmark
Europe
France
Ireland
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
