IFC gives $17m to aid power supplies in developing countries

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced that it is providing a financial package of $17 million to Smart Energy Solutions (SES), a Dubai-based power generation company, to help address temporary electricity shortages in many conflict-affected countries.

As part of the package, the IFC said it will provide a loan to SES while acquiring a stake in Jolt Holdings, the owner of SES and a subsidiary of Gulf Capital.

The IFC financing will help the company expand into frontier and post-conflict countries in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia, where power outages often cut into productivity and hamper economic growth, the World Bank Group member said in a press release early December 2012.

“This investment fits with our strategy of helping companies based in the Gulf expand into the less developed economies of MENA, transferring knowledge and technology, thus contributing to regional economic integration and economic growth,” said Mouayed Makhlouf, the IFC Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

SES builds and rents a wide range of power generation systems, which provide governments and businesses with short-term solutions to energy shortfalls, giving states time to implement efficient, long-term solutions.

By Ekow Quandzie