IFC announced, on November 16, the appointment of Dahlia Khalifa as its Regional Director for Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. In her new role, Dahlia Khalifa will drive IFC’s strategy to create a more resilient and sustainable private sector to support development and job creation in the region. Dahlia Khalifa will be based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Dahlia Khalifa will lead IFC’s investment and advisory teams in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone. While these countries face challenges such as rising inflation and the effects of climate change, a young, vibrant, and entrepreneurial population presents opportunities for a more dynamic private sector.
As of September 30, IFC had an investment and advisory portfolio in Central Africa and Nigeria of more than $2.53 billion across financial services, infrastructure, and agribusiness and is continuing to grow its portfolio in health, manufacturing, and value chain development.
To meet the challenges of the moment
Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Vice President for Africa, said: “I welcome Dahlia to her new role and know her leadership and experience generating impactful investments in the region will further deepen IFC’s work in Africa and enable our partners to meet the challenges of the moment, from rising food insecurity to the effects of climate change. I look forward to working with Dahlia and her team to deliver on new opportunities in the years to come, such as empowering more of the region’s entrepreneurs”.
Dahlia Khalifa Said: “We are stepping up our work to empower the private sector and to work jointly with government and development partners to deliver greener, more inclusive and sustainable growth in the region. I commit to further strengthening IFC’s work so that together we can build the strong foundations for private and public sector partnerships”.
To strengthen the private sector and boost economic development.
Dahlia Khalifa, an Egyptian and American national, was most recently the Senior Manager for IFC’s Creating Markets Advisory program in the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Pakistan, and Afghanistan region, where she and her team supported the removal of barriers to investment to strengthen the private sector and boost economic development.
Dahlia Khalifa has been with the World Bank Group (WBG) since 2004 in different managerial roles. She was both Practice Manager for Investment Climate Advisory Services, and Practice Manager for Strategy and Operations for the World Bank Group’s Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment (MTI) Global Practice.
Previously with the WBG, she was the Practice Manager for southern and central Africa in the Trade and Competitiveness (T&C) Global Practice, following her role as T&C Practice Manager for Strategy and Operations. Prior to that, she headed IFC’s E4E Initiative for Arab Youth, which aims to empower youth with skills relevant to the market by investing in and improving the environment for quality education and training. Prior to that, she was the Advisor to the Global Indicators and Analysis Department of the World Bank Group, which provides enabling environment and business regulation benchmarking and data sets including Doing Business, Women, Business and the Law, and Enterprise Surveys.
Entrepreneurial career in finance
Before joining the World Bank Group, Dahlia Khalifa was an entrepreneur and business owner. She founded and managed financial services companies providing brokerage, corporate finance, private equity investing, and management consulting services in the Middle East and Africa.
Over her career, she has advised over 160 companies in the Middle East and Africa to access finance, diversify, restructure, merge, and grow.
Dahlia Khalifa has also worked extensively with nonprofit organizations. She founded Egypt’s International Economic Forum and served as Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.
Dahlia Khalifa holds a PhD in government from Georgetown University, as well as an MA in international law from Georgetown University, and MA and BA in economics from the American University in Cairo.
The largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2022, IFC committed a record $32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises.
