Siglo 21 CAPEX (IFC-51530)

Countries
  • Argentina
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Borrower
FUNDACION UNIVERSIDAD EMPRESARIAL SIGLO 21
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Education and Health
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 20.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 40.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS May 13, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Apr 29, 2026

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

Siglo 21 (“Siglo” or the “Company”) is the largest private higher education institution by number of students in Argentina and the 8th largest in Latin America serving 90k students. Its distance learning programs and network of over 310 support centers enable access in remote areas, providing educational opportunities to young people and adults. The new campuses will add 20k seats, addressing the rising educational demand in the province of Cordoba. The University's hybrid and semi-distance learning programs address market needs by offering workforce-aligned education, which traditional universities often fail to provide.

The investment is a 7-year senior secured loan of up to US$20m to Siglo 21 for the construction of two new EDGE-certified campuses in the towns of Villa Maria and Rio Cuarto, within the province of Cordoba, Argentina. These campuses will support the growth of blended learning programs, meeting labor market demands and promoting economic growth (the “Project”). The construction of the Villa Maria campus has commenced and is expected to be completed in 2027. The Rio Cuarto campus will commence construction in 2026 with completion expected in 2028.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The total Project cost is US$40m, allocated equally between two new EDGE Advanced-certified campuses (US$20m each) to be developed over the next two years in Villa Maria and Rio Cuarto, both located in the province of Cordoba, Argentina. Each campus has the potential to serve more than 10,000 students and will be designed to support blended and semi-distance learning modalities. IFC will provide a 7-year senior secured A Loan of US$20m, with the remaining balance funded through the University's internal cash resources.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - FUNDACION UNIVERSIDAD EMPRESARIAL SIGLO 21 Undisclosed -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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