About - IFC UNHCR Joint Initiative

About the Joint Initiative

Launched in early 2023, The IFC UNHCR Joint Initiative is a strategic partnership between the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to enable private sector business engagement to accelerate economic opportunities for refugees and host communities.

The partnership is aligned with the Global Compact on Refugees, which calls for the private sector to promote refugees' self-reliance, local economic development, and improved access to services. The Joint Initiative leverages IFC's expertise in fostering private investment and market creation, and UNHCR's international protection mandate to safeguard rights and build a better future for forcibly displaced individuals. The Joint Initiative promotes collaboration with various stakeholders, including but not limited to UN agencies, development agencies, governments, the international community, and the private sector.

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International Finance Corporation

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has more than 60 years of experience in unlocking private investment and creating markets and opportunities where they are needed most.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution and leads international action to protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.

📍Press releases - UNHCR Press Room and IFC Press Room

📍Video - Filippo Grandi - Innovative Partnerships to Address the Global Refugee Crisis

📍Video - Makhtar Diop - Innovative Solutions for the Forced Displacement Crisis

📍Video - Financial Times Global Boardroom discussion with Makhtar Diop and Filippo Grandi

Team

The leadership of the Joint Initiative is composed of the Head of the Joint Initiative, an IFC manager with extensive experience in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States, and a Deputy Head, a UNHCR manager with a sound knowledge of the UNHCR Protection and Solutions Mandate in various contexts. The Joint Initiative is governed by a Management Committee providing strategic direction to the Joint Initiative and approves its strategies, staffing, work plan and overall budget. The management committee comprises senior representatives from IFC and UNHCR who meet quarterly. It is co-chaired by IFC’s Vice President for Corporate Support and UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations.

Michel M. Botzung - Head of the Joint Initiative

Michel has worked in IFC for 20 years, holding field positions in North Africa, the Middle East, India, and Kenya. He previously served as the FCS (Fragile and Conflict Situations) Manager for Africa, contributing to IFC's business growth in challenging markets and leading engagements in the forced displacement space, notably in Kenya's Kakuma area.

Ferdila Ouattara-Uche - Deputy Head of the Joint Initiative

Ferdila is a Human Rights Practitioner advocating for the rights of forcibly displaced people. She has engaged with governments, civil society, and development agencies to prioritize the forced displacement agenda, primarily in countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo.

Ricardo García Tafur - Senior Operations Officer

Ricardo is an economist with more than 25 years of global experience in International Development, focusing on financial inclusion and providing financial services to underserved populations, including forcibly displaced populations. His work has spanned regions including Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia, the Pacific, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Veronika Burget - Senior Partnerships Officer

Veronika oversees fundraising with government and private sector donors as well as the mobilization of partners to support the JI strategically. Veronika has 20 years of experience in humanitarian affairs, development cooperation, the private sector and academia. Having worked in HQs and the field in Europe, the US, the Middle East and the Balkans, Veronika has extensive experience in advocacy, fundraising, partnership work as well as program design and grant making.

Nodoka Hasegawa - Senior Operations Officer

Nodoka is an international development and humanitarian practitioner with extensive experience in forced displacement settings in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucasus regions, as well as through HQ-based global work. Most recently, she led UNHCR's development engagement in Bangladesh, mobilizing the International Financial Institutions and Private Sector initiatives by creating evidence, improving operations, and policies aimed at enhancing the self-reliance of refugees. Prior to that, she was a social development specialist at the World Bank.

Raj Raina - Operations Officer

Raj is an investment professional with extensive experience across Africa and the Middle East, including some of the most challenging markets such as South Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Mali, and Yemen. Most recently, as an Investment Officer at IFC, he led the origination and commitment of over US$760 million in new business deals across diverse sectors. Prior to that, he worked in microfinance with the Maddox-Jolie-Pitt Foundation in Cambodia and contributed to development efforts at the World Bank in the Mekong region. Raj holds a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from Drake University, and he has been a CFA charterholder since 2017.

Development partners

The Joint Initiative is funded by the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States of America.

IFC UNHCR Joint Initiative - About