Assessing IFC's Poverty Focus and Results

Growth is good for the poor, but the impact of growth on poverty reduction depends on both the pace and the pattern of growth. A pattern of growth that enhances the ability of poor women and men to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from growth should not come at the expense of a slower pace of growth. Including the poor in the growth process is also good for the pace of growth. This relationship underscores the critical importance of the pattern of growth for poverty reduction. The International Finance Corporation's (IFC) mission is to create opportunities for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. It pursues this mission by promoting growth through support for private sector development. Attention to the type of growth that the institution supports is therefore critical for the fulfillment of its mission. IFC's approach in this respect has evolved over the years: from support to private sector-led growth in general, to promoting environmentally and socially sustainable growth, to, more recently, beginning to pay explicit attention to inclusive growth. There have been different perspectives of how IFC's support for private sector development is helping to tackle poverty. Yet, there is not enough clarity about what poverty means within the IFC context and how its interventions reach and affect the poor.