IFC Disclosure Portal — Frequently Asked Questions

English is the working language of IFC and is used in all project and institutional disclosures. IFC will respond to requests for information in English. However, to the extent that IFC receives requests in other languages, IFC will endeavor to be responsive in the relevant language. For project disclosure documents, if a client’s environmental and social materials are prepared for stakeholder consultation in languages other than English in accordance with the requirements of IFC Performance Standards 1 (paragraph 31) and 7 (paragraphs 9-12), IFC may make such client documentation available in those languages through the Disclosure Portal alongside the English versions.

The IFC Disclosure Portal is publicly accessible and requires no registration to browse project disclosure documents or institutional disclosures. Registration is required only to subscribe to project disclosure notifications.

IFC aims to respond to all information requests within thirty calendar days. If your request requires more time because, for example, the information sought is complex or wide in scope, IFC will contact you to explain the delay and, where possible, provide an estimated timeframe for its response.

For cases where a requester believes that a request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that IFC’s Access to Information Policy (AIP) has been interpreted incorrectly, IFC has established an appeals process. Appeals should be submitted through the IFC Disclosure Portal’s Appeal page. 

Please visit IFC's Contact Directory.

You will receive an e-mail notification within twenty-four hours of any matching project being disclosed.

IFC operates in more than 100 countries across six regions. These include Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and Central Asia, and South Asia. Both Region and Country are available as filters on the IFC Disclosure Portal’s Advanced Search page. Note that selections within each filter are ordered by disclosure document volume, most to least, rather than alphabetically, but you can search within the filter to locate a specific country more quickly. Because some projects are implemented at the regional level rather than in a single country, certain regions may also appear in the Country filter.

Results are ordered from the most recent project disclosure document to the oldest by default. You may also sort by Relevance, Project Name, and Country.

Yes. You may apply multiple filters simultaneously, for example, filtering by both Country and Industry at once. However, within each filter category, only one selection can be applied at a time. For instance, you may select one country or one project status, but not two countries or two project statuses at the same time. 

Yes. Once you have refined your search, click the spreadsheet icon in the results panel to download the list as a CSV file. The file will include key project details drawn from the project disclosure documents and is compatible with standard spreadsheet applications. Exports are limited to 500 entries at a time to accommodate a range of bandwidths. Apply date or other filters to chunk your results if you are attempting bulk downloads. 

Yes. Project page URLs and search results URLs are stable and can be shared. The person clicking on the link you share will be taken directly to the project or the search results for which you have filtered.

Investment projects: 

• As part of IFC’s Investment Project Cycle, for investment projects assigned an environmental and social risk category of A, the Summary of Investment Information (SII) is disclosed 60 days prior to consideration by IFC's Board of Directors. For all other investment projects, disclosure occurs 30 days prior to Board consideration. If applicable, the Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) is disclosed simultaneously with the related SII. 
• Early Disclosures take place up to 120 days or more before Board consideration and precede the disclosure of the SII and ESRS. 

Advisory projects: 

• Depending on the nature of Advisory engagements, the Summary of Advisory Services Project Information (ASPI) disclosure occurs within 60 days of signing the first client agreement or completion of the first project supervision cycle.
• Summary of Collaboration or Co-Development Project (SCCP) disclosure for Upstream projects occurs within 60 days of signing the client agreement.

There may be some limited circumstances that may prevent the observance of these time periods, where IFC may delay the disclosure period of certain information in line with Paragraph 14 of IFC Access to Information Policy on “Delayed Disclosure”. 

As described in paragraph 14 of the IFC Access to Information Policy, IFC may delay the disclosure of certain information that it would otherwise make publicly available because of market conditions, legal or other regulatory requirements such as timing requirements relating to securities offerings, equity investments in publicly listed companies, purchases of shares in a private placement or a financial restructuring. A project disclosure document may be withheld in part or in whole. This prerogative may be exercised by the director responsible for the project, with respect to such information. Project information subject to a “Delayed Disclosure” is expected to be published once the delayed disclosure sensitivities have expired.

IFC maintains all project disclosure documents on the IFC Disclosure Portal for Active and Completed investment projects in which it has invested in line with the IFC Access to Information Policy. Project disclosure documents are removed if IFC does not proceed with a proposed investment. 

Since 2019, IFC has published the estimated subsidy for each project supported by Blended Finance and the justification for why concessionality is needed in each project’s Summary of Investment Information.

For projects supported by the IDA21 Private Sector Window (PSW), IFC discloses additional project-level information: project co-financing details at commitment, including IFC own-account commitment and DFI and commercial co-financing amounts at commitment, if applicable, and development outcome at project closure. This information can be found in each project’s Summary of Investment Information under the ‘Project Co-Financing Details’, ‘Blended Finance’, and ‘Development Impact’ sections. Disclosures may be updated throughout a project’s lifecycle. These disclosures are also made available on a public dashboard. 

In addition to the information listed within paragraphs 30 and 31 of the IFC Access to Information Policy on Pre-Approval Disclosure related to Financial Intermediary (FI)investments, IFC began publishing information on the intended use of proceeds in 2018, including product type and targeted sectors, in the Summary of Investment Information (SII). For equity clients with exposure to coal-related projects, in 2019 IFC began disclosing the client’s aggregated exposure to such projects, as reported by the client. The SII also includes a summary of the client’s Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) where it exists, with a description of policies to appropriately identify, categorize, assess and address the environmental and social risks relevant to the activities it is financing. 

In addition to the information listed within paragraphs 40-42 of the IFC AIP on Post-Board Disclosure, IFC also updates the SIIs for its FI investments with the following information following the first annual monitoring report and updated annually thereafter:

• For equity investments in commercial banks, IFC will disclose the name, location by city and country, and sector for “Category A” sub-projects, effective July 1, 2020.
• For investments in senior bonds issued by commercial banks where IFC is the sole investor and senior loans to commercial banks, IFC will disclose the name, location by city and country, and sector for “Category A” sub-projects and those “Category B” sub-projects  which are corporate or project finance sub‑loans of US $20 million or more, funded by proceeds from an IFC senior loan or senior bond investment classified by IFC as financing climate‑related activities, effective July 1, 2020.
• For investments through private equity funds, IFC discloses a listing of the names, locations and sectors of sub-projects, subject to regulatory constraints and market sensitivities.

For Advisory projects, the Summary of Advisory Services Project Information (ASPI) discloses a summary of essential project information, including the project’s intended objectives and activities, expected development results, as well as environmental & social risks and mitigation measures.

For Upstream Collaboration and Co-Development projects — activities that occur before the traditional investment cycle and serve as necessary precursors to an investment, such as assessing the investment readiness of potential projects and co-developing viable projects for potential investors — the Summary of Collaboration or Co-Development Project (SCCP) discloses essential project details, including project country/region and industry, followed by a project summary that includes its intended purpose and activities, and environmental & social risks, mitigation and relevant recommendations. Any subsequent mainstream investment with the client would be disclosed under a Summary of Investment Information (SII) and Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS), where applicable.

Note that the SCCP replaces the earlier Summary of IFC InfraVentures Project (SIVP) document, through which several prior disclosures were made.

Broad Community Support, or BCS, refers to a collection of expressions by Affected Communities, through individuals or their recognized representatives, in support of the proposed business activity. There may be BCS even if some individuals or groups object. 

In accordance with paragraph 30 of IFC's Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability, in cases where IFC assesses that the business activity to be financed is likely to generate potential significant adverse impacts on communities (i.e., Affected Communities) or is likely to generate potential adverse impacts on Indigenous Peoples, IFC expects clients to engage in a process of Informed Consultation and Participation (ICP) pursuant to Performance Standard 1. In such cases, through its own investigation, IFC will determine whether the client’s community engagement is one that involves ICP and enables the participation of the Affected Communities, leading to BCS for the business activity by Affected Communities. IFC discloses whether a BCS assessment has been conducted for a project. If a BCS assessment is underway at the time of initial project disclosure, it will be noted in the project disclosure document and updated once the assessment is complete.

  An Environmental and Social Action Plan, or ESAP, is a plan agreed between IFC and its client that sets out the specific actions the client is required to take to address potential environmental and social risks and impacts identified during IFC's due diligence, and to bring the project into compliance with the IFC Performance Standards. Not all projects have an ESAP (e.g., environmental and social risk Category C projects and some equity investments). Where an ESAP has been prepared, it will be included in or linked to from the project's Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS), or in the case of an investment in a Financial Intermediary, in the project’s Summary of Investment Information (SII) on the IFC Disclosure Portal.

Project disclosure documents are dynamic, and several components may be updated over the lifecycle of a project. These include the status of the project, the Board-approved amount for investments, certain development impact information, the status of Environmental and Social Action Plans (ESAP), if available, and/or relevant client environmental and social documentation as it becomes available. If Broad Community Support (BCS) is in the process of being assessed at initial project disclosure, it will be updated once the assessment is complete. 

For IFC’s investments through private equity funds and other Financial Intermediary investments that meet certain criteria (see What information does IFC disclose about its Financial Intermediary investments?), IFC updates the Summary of Investment Information (SII) with sub-project information following the first annual monitoring report and updates annually thereafter. This information can be found in each project’s SII under the E&S sections “Private Equity Funds Disclosure” or “Financial Intermediary Sub-Project Disclosure”. 

For projects supported by the IDA21 Private Sector Window (PSW), IFC discloses additional project-level information: project co-financing details at commitment, including IFC own-account commitment, and DFI and commercial co-financing amounts at commitment, if applicable. These projects will also include development outcome at project closure. This information can be found in each project’s Summary of Investment Information under the ‘Project Co-Financing Details’, ‘Blended Finance’, and ‘Development Impact’ sections.

Users are encouraged to revisit project disclosure documents of interest periodically.

Project disclosure documents on the IFC Disclosure Portal display a status reflecting the current stage of IFC's engagement with the project. The statuses you may encounter include: 

• Pending Approval: IFC’s Board of Directors, or other relevant internal authority, has yet to approve the investment project.
• Pending Signing: IFC’s Board of Directors has approved the investment project, but IFC and the client have not signed the applicable legal agreements. Once the agreement is signed, this is also referred to as the Project Commitment stage.
• Pending Investment: IFC’s Board of Directors has approved the investment project, IFC and the client have signed the legal agreement and reached “Project Commitment”, but IFC has not disbursed.
• Active: For an investment project, IFC has invested. For an Advisory Services project, the engagement is ongoing.
• Hold: IFC has temporarily paused the project for administrative purposes.
• Completed: For a project in which IFC invested, Completed status means IFC no longer has investment exposure to the client. For an Advisory Services project, this means the engagement has concluded.

IFC publishes information on the full investment project cycle leading up to and after project disclosure, in line with paragraph 28 of the IFC Access to Information Policy. 

IFC’s Board Meeting Minutes are released after they have been cleared internally for accuracy and completeness and are posted within a defined timeframe following the meeting, usually within 30 days. For projects that operate under the “Delayed Disclosure” provision per paragraph 14 of the IFC Access to Information Policy (See ‘What is a “Delayed Disclosure”?’), the publication of the relevant Board meeting minutes is tied to the release date of the project information itself. If any of the projects considered at a given Board meeting fall under this provision, the release of that meeting’s minutes is postponed until all such projects have been disclosed.

Financial Reporting Standards:

• Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and audited annual financial statements published annually in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP). 

• Unaudited MD&A and quarterly financial statements, in accordance with IFC’s Articles of Agreement and US SEC Regulations.

Sustainability and Impact Reporting Standards:

• Green and Social Bond Reports: IFC reports annually on the use of proceeds, project impacts, and alignment with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, and Sustainability Bond Guidelines.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Developed a common methodology with other development finance institutions (DFIs) and Harmonized Indicators for Private Sector Operations (HIPSO) partners to align DFI contributions with the SDGs, available for broader use by private impact investors and corporates.

• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): Signatory since 2011; reports annually in line with Principle 6 through the PRI Data Portal.

• Operating Principles for Impact Management (Impact Principles): Founding signatory; annually discloses alignment of IFC’s impact management systems with the Impact Principles and, at regular intervals, arranges for independent verification of this alignment.

• Climate Related Disclosures: Publishes an annual climate-related disclosure report explaining integration of climate considerations into IFC's governance, strategy, risk management, and performance measurement, along with key international alignment frameworks and methodologies applied by IFC. 

Collaborative Frameworks and Transparency Initiatives:

• International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI): As of January 2017, IFC has been publishing data on its investment projects and key operational documents to the IATI Standard.

• Blended Concessional Finance: Chairs a working group of more than 20 DFIs; promotes adoption of blended finance principles to ensure disciplined approaches and avoid market distortions. The working group has published annual reports since 2017.

• Mobilization of Private Finance: Works with other development organizations on global standards for defining and reporting mobilization activities; since 2017, at the request of the G-20, jointly publishes an annual mobilization report, which aggregates the mobilization activities across more than 20 institutions.

• Global Emerging Markets Risk Database Consortium (GEMs): IFC and IBRD are the largest contributors of data to GEMs, a consortium of almost 30 multilateral development banks (MDBs) and development finance institutions (DFIs). GEMs is widely recognized as a best-practice example of data transparency in credit risk statistics for emerging markets and developing economies.