IFC names new Philippines country manager

MANILA, Philippines — The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has named Amena Arif as its new country manager for the Philippines.

In a statement yesterday, IFC said Arif succeeds Jean-Marc Arbogast, who stepped into a new role as World Bank Group country manager in Chile.

In her new post, Arif will be working on mobilizing private sector investments to support job creation, reduction of climate change effects and promotion of financial inclusion.

“IFC is committed to working together with our partners in the Philippines to unlock funding that will help create jobs, support companies to mitigate the impacts of climate change, open doors for small businesses to grow and make sure digital services are available to everyone,” Arif said.

“I am excited to be back in Asia and look forward to working closely with our public and private sector partners toward sustainable and inclusive growth,” she said further.

Arif, a Pakistani national, joined IFC in 2012.

Prior to her appointment as country manager for the Philippines, Arif held the same role for East Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya.

She also previously served as country manager for Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

In IFC, she led debt and equity investment transactions and worked with financial institutions in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Lebanon.

Before joining the IFC, she worked for international commercial banks.

Arif holds an MBA from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in Pakistan.

IFC is the largest global development institution dedicated to supporting the private sector in emerging markets.