World Bank's IFC mobilizes almost $1 billion to aid Ukraine's recovery
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private investment arm of the World Bank, gathered almost $1 billion to rebuild Ukraine's private sector, Reuters reported on Jan. 11, citing IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop.
Additional funds for Ukraine's reconstruction are now more crucial than ever as money from the U.S. and the EU, the two major donors, remains stalled by internal political disputes.
According to the World Bank's estimate, Kyiv will need over $400 billion for full recovery in the coming years.
The funding is part of a $2-billion package earmarked for Ukraine and announced by the IFC in December 2023.
Around $620 million of the sum comes from the IFC's own balance sheet and $360 million from external sources, Diop said.
The IFC's director nevertheless stressed the need "to monitor how the political situation evolves," adding that there are some concerns.
The "main challenge" in mobilizing additional funds lies in providing guarantees to external investors and convincing them to deploy their resources, Diop added.
As an alternative source of funds for reconstruction efforts, Ukraine is also eyeing over $300 billion in Russian assets frozen on Western accounts.
While the EU has been discussing ways to funnel profits generated by these funds to Ukraine, media reports indicate that the White House favors directly seizing some of these funds for Kyiv's benefit.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba commented earlier this week that the full amount of Russian assets could cover over 80% of recovery costs.
Dominic Culverwell
