By Business Insider Reporter
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has placed Tanzania at the centre of a renewed push to mobilise private investment, strengthen businesses and create jobs across East and Southern Africa following the appointment of Mary-Jean Moyo as its new Division Director for Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Ms Moyo, a Zimbabwean national and experienced development finance executive, assumed the position on September 1, 2026. She is based in Dar es Salaam, where she will oversee IFC’s engagement across the six countries.
Her appointment comes as IFC seeks to deepen its role in using private capital, investment and advisory support to help emerging economies expand productive sectors and create more and better jobs.
“Across East Africa, there is significant opportunity to unlock private investment, strengthen businesses, and create more and better jobs,” Ms Moyo said. “Together, we can help mobilize capital, support entrepreneurship and innovation, and drive inclusive and sustainable growth.”
Tanzania a key IFC investment market
Md Moyo’s appointment also puts a spotlight on Tanzania’s growing importance within IFC’s private-sector operations in Africa.
IFC has been active in Tanzania across financial services, manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, housing, tourism and other sectors. As of the end of FY2023, IFC reported an investment portfolio of US$442.1 million and an advisory portfolio of US$11.9 million in Tanzania, with new investments of US$115 million during that financial year.
The corporation’s more recent engagements demonstrate the breadth of that involvement.
In April 2026, IFC approved up to US$100 million in local-currency financing for NMB Bank, with the facility designed to expand financing to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The investment is supported by the IDA Private Sector Window’s blended-finance mechanism.
IFC has also supported Tanzania’s sustainable finance market. In 2023, it invested US$20 million in CRDB Bank’s first green bond, equivalent to 29.3 percent of the issue, helping finance climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, water, forestry and green buildings.
It similarly invested US$25 million in NMB’s sustainability bonds, supporting projects ranging from renewable energy and energy efficiency to sustainable water, clean transport and affordable housing. The investment followed IFC’s support for NMB’s Jasiri gender bond, which is financing women-owned MSMEs.
From finance to productive sectors
IFC’s Tanzania portfolio extends beyond financial institutions.
In 2024, the corporation committed up to US$45 million to support the expansion and environmental improvement of Kioo, Tanzania’s major glass manufacturer.
project is intended to increase manufacturing capacity, expand regional markets and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs. IFC is also involved in agriculture and rural value chains.
A wider private-sector agenda
Ms Moyo brings to the role experience spanning development finance, commercial banking, private equity and IFC operations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East.
Before her appointment, she served as Chief of Staff to IFC’s Managing Director and previously as Regional Industry Director for Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services in the Middle East and Africa. She has also worked with commercial banks in Zimbabwe, the central bank in Botswana and pan-African private equity funds.
Her mandate comes as IFC seeks to work more closely with other World Bank Group institutions, combining public-sector policy and investment support with private-sector financing, expertise and advisory services.
The objective is to create conditions in which private businesses can invest, expand and generate employment while supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
IFC in Africa
At the continental level, IFC says its Africa strategy is focused on sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, finance, health, telecommunications and manufacturing, while also supporting smaller businesses and greater participation of women in the private sector.
Globally, IFC committed a record US$71.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries in FY2026, underscoring the scale of capital it is seeking to deploy and mobilise. For Tanzania, Moyo’s Dar es Salaam-based regional mandate could therefore strengthen the country’s position as a platform for IFC’s wider private-sector investment strategy—particularly at a time when Tanzania is seeking to expand investment, industrialise, develop value chains and increase private-sector participation in economic transformation.
