International Finance Corporation, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has appointed Kyle Kelhofer as Senior Country Manager for Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Kyle Kelhofer who previously worked for IFC in Ghana, brings almost 30 years of global development experience to his new role supporting private sector growth, job creation, and recovery from COVID-19 in West Africa.

A United States national, he joined IFC in 1998 and has worked on energy-efficiency financing in Eastern Europe, SME financing in sub-Saharan Africa, post-conflict finance in the Middle East, and on IFC’s first subnational financings in Latin America. He was based in Ghana with IFC from 2007-2010, focused on strengthening the country’s oil, telecoms, and financial sectors, among others.

A statement issued by the IFC notes that Kyle Kelhofer’s most recent role at IFC was Senior Country Manager for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam, and previous to that, Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. He will be based in Accra.

“It is exciting to be back in West Africa and I look forward to working with the IFC team to make a positive impact here. COVID-19, climate change, poverty, and unemployment are all serious and interlocked challenges, but working with public and private sector partners, we can help the region build a foundation for strong and sustainable growth,”he said.

IFC’s focus in Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo includes supporting the agribusiness sector, bridging the infrastructure and connectivity gaps, promoting digital inclusion, and financing micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Before joining IFC, Kelhofer worked at Ernst & Young’s National High Technology Practice in San Francisco. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in international finance from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Kyle’s broad experience across multiple sectors and regions, including West Africa and Asia, will serve him well in his new role. I welcome him to the region and look forward to working with him to help bring greater opportunity to the private sector and support economic development in his cluster of countries and beyond,” said Aliou Maiga, IFC’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

Kelhofer succeeds Ronke-Amoni Ogunsulire.