IFAD Joins MCDF Finance Facility as Implementing Partner in Beijing Agreement

“As IFAD provides ‘first-mile’ connectivity support to rural populations in our member countries, we are convinced that the partnership with MCDF will be extremely useful,” said Associate Vice President Brown.

On July 13 in Beijing, Donal Brown, Associate Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Sir Danny Alexander, Vice President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Administrator of the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Finance Facility, signed an MCDF Implementing Partner Agreement. The agreement was witnessed by MCDF CEO Zhongjing Wang.

This agreement enables IFAD, an International Financial Institution (IFI) within the United Nations system, to access grants from the MCDF Finance Facility for cross-border connectivity infrastructure project preparation, capacity building, and information sharing, pending approval from the MCDF Governing Committee.

“As IFAD provides ‘first-mile’ connectivity support to rural populations in our member countries, we are convinced that the partnership with MCDF will be extremely useful,” said Associate Vice President Brown.

IFAD is now the fifth Implementing Partner of the MCDF Finance Facility, joining the African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, AIIB, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“AIIB welcomes IFAD joining the growing community of MCDF Finance Facility Implementing Partners,” said Vice President Sir Danny. “AIIB looks forward to exploring new collaboration opportunities with IFAD in response to the global demand for high-quality cross-border connectivity infrastructure development.”

“MCDF congratulates IFAD for becoming the latest MCDF Finance Facility Implementing Partner,” said CEO Wang. “MCDF deeply appreciates the efficient coordination between IFAD’s and AIIB’s legal teams in finalizing the Implementing Partner Agreement.”

Prior to the signing, Associate Vice President Brown and CEO Wang had a bilateral meeting at the MCDF Secretariat on July 12, where they exchanged concrete ideas for enhancing MCDF-IFAD collaboration.

“IFAD looks forward to deepening our MCDF partnership through the use of MCDF Finance Facility resources and through knowledge sharing, capacity development, and active use of JIGSAW,” said Associate Vice President Brown. “We are also keen to explore opportunities to work with MCDF to promote ‘public, private, and producer partnerships’ in the context of connectivity development.”

“With IFAD’s unique mandate focusing on agriculture and rural development, MCDF believes IFAD will open a new horizon for MCDF Finance Facility’s operations,” said CEO Wang. “MCDF is excited to work closely with IFAD to enhance its capacity to efficiently use MCDF Finance Facility resources.”

To date, the MCDF Finance Facility has provided 25 approved grants supporting cross-border connectivity infrastructure projects, amounting to USD 34.2 million, which is expected to mobilize USD 7.1 billion in investments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Since its establishment in 1978, IFAD has 178 member states and has provided over USD 24 billion in grants and low-interest loans to fund projects in developing countries. With 194 ongoing projects in more than 92 countries, IFAD has demonstrated that, with access to finance, markets, technology, and information, rural people can lift themselves out of poverty.