The World Bank Group, through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Citi have signed a new ZAR 1.6 billion borrowing facility aimed at expanding IFC’s capacity to provide local currency financing in South Africa. The facility adds to the World Bank Group’s local currency financing instruments and has supported IFC’s anchor investment in the Cape Water outcome-based bond issued by South Africa’s FirstRand Bank, described as the first outcome bond issued by a commercial bank globally. It builds on a similar facility in Kenyan shilling (KES) signed by IFC and Citi in 2024, and the institutions plan to replicate the model in additional countries; IFC also reported committing more than USD 33 billion in local currency financing across 71 local currencies over the last decade.
World Bank 2026-04-14
World Bank Group’s IFC and Citi sign ZAR 1.6 billion borrowing facility to expand local currency financing in South Africa
The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation and Citi have signed a new ZAR 1.6 billion borrowing facility to expand IFC’s local currency financing capacity in South Africa. The facility supports IFC’s anchor investment in FirstRand Bank’s Cape Water outcome-based bond, builds on a similar Kenyan shilling facility agreed in 2024, and is intended as a model for further country replications, with IFC noting over USD 33 billion committed in local currency financing across 71 currencies.