IFC announced that Femi Akinrebiyo, a Nigerian national with more than 20 years of experience in developing, structuring, and leading projects and investments that support sustainable economic growth, has been appointed as Manager of Global Manufacturing and Trade Supplier Finance.
In his new role, Akinrebiyo will accelerate IFC’s investment and advisory work to help manufacturing clients boost competitiveness, contribute to global climate targets, and act as an engine for economic growth in emerging markets.
Akinrebiyo will lead a team overseeing more than $4.5 billion in annual investments in manufacturing and trade supplier finance across a diverse range of industries, including automotive components and electric vehicle batteries, steel and glass manufacturing, cement and construction supplies, textiles and garments, as well as petrochemicals and fertilizers.
Akinrebiyo most recently served as a Global Manager for IFC’s early-stage project preparation business, which focusses on expanding the pipeline of bankable projects in low- and middle-income countries. In this role, he led a team of more than 100 people focused on project development in manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism, property, health, and education.
“It’s an honor to be taking the helm of the manufacturing and trade supplier finance team, which is dealing with so many urgent development issues, including recent disruption of global supply chains, and the carbon footprint of industry around the world,” said Akinrebiyo. “As we grow our global portfolio of investments, I will be looking at ways to multiply our impact and catalyze investments from other private sector players.”
His appointment comes as IFC expands its work in providing decarbonization solutions, ramping up its efforts to support the creation of regional manufacturing clusters, and strengthening its financing options for suppliers through the Global Trade Supplier Finance (GTSF) program. GTSF helps global brands improve the environmental and social performance of actors in their supply chains through the use of sustainability-linked financing. This program is paired with IFC’s powerful advisory services offerings, which work with suppliers to implement more sustainable operations.
Akinrebiyo holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Illinois, USA and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
