On Monday, April 4, 2022, the Government of Liberia and the World Bank signed a US 40 million Dollar Financing Agreement for the Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade (LIFT) Project.
Of the amount, 20 million is an IDA Grant, while the remaining 20 million is a concessional IDA credit.
The signing ceremony, which took place at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex, in Congo Town, is intended to provide a line of credit for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) , as well as build their capacities to access markets over the next five years, with direct support to over 750 SMEs.
Through the LIFT Project, the GOL will strengthen the capacity of the National Investment Commission and the Inter-Ministerial Concession Committee, to attract large investors and negotiate investment agreements in a bid to get the best deals for Liberia.
That is why we say good news for the country’s private sector; we see the signing of the agreement as timely, consistent with the government’s quest to boost the Country’s investment climate, and promote small and medium enterprises in the country.
We say kudos to World Bank Country Manager for Liberia, Dr. Khwima Nthara, who intoned at the signing ceremony that’’ the agreement marks yet another important milestone in the development partnership between the World Bank and Liberia.”
Records show that the Financing agreement, approved by the World Bank’s Board in February this year, is the first significant amount of financing to support programs for improving the investment climate for Liberia’s Private Sector.
In the words of the World Bank Country Manager, “the move is in recognition of the significant progress made by the government so far, in stabilizing the macro-economy over the past three years.”
Bravo to the Executive branch of Government for playing its part to mobilize the substantial amounts of resources that will transform the lives of the Liberian people.
It is now our ardent hope that the National Legislature will leave no stone unturned in rectifying the agreement in the soonest possible time for its implementation to begin.
We commend the World Bank for its continued support to Liberia’s recovery; commendations also go to the Finance Ministry, Central Bank of Liberia, LRA and the Commence Ministry for representing Liberia at the signing ceremony.
By: Victor Kezelee
