The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has appointed Sarvesh Suri as its new regional vice president for Asia and the Pacific.
The Indian national brings 25 years of experience across global investment, infrastructure and development finance to the role, and will oversee IFC’s investment and advisory operations spanning India to the Pacific Islands. He will be based in Singapore.
He said the focus of his role would be on finding ways to mobilise private capital, deploy innovative financing instruments, strengthen local capital markets, make equity investments for impact, and support small businesses as “engines of job creation”.
IFC is tasked to advance development through the private sector, with a mandate to reduce poverty and support shared prosperity while embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards into investments.
IFC also focuses on crowding in private investment where public resources are constrained in sectors such as renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, green buildings and inclusive finance in emerging markets.
In his new role, Suri will be supported by two division directors: Keiko Miwa, based in Jakarta, who will manage South West Asia and the Pacific Islands, and Arnaud Dupoizat, who will take on oversight of East Asia from Hong Kong from 1 February.
Suri replaces former Asia and the Pacific SVP , who has moved to Dubai and an equivalent new role for IFC for the Middle East and Central Asia.
Suri most recently served as IFC’s regional industry director for infrastructure and natural resources in Johannesburg, where he played a key role in launching Mission 300, an initiative aimed at expanding access to essential services and infrastructure.
Earlier in his career, he spent six years at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), another World Bank Group institution, where he was director of operations overseeing political risk insurance and credit enhancement products for cross-border investments into developing countries.
Before joining MIGA, Suri held a range of senior leadership roles at IFC over 15 years, including as senior regional manager based in Jakarta, overseeing operations across Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.
