DRC BCC National Switch (IFC-609734)

Countries
  • Congo, Democratic Republic of
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
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
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."
Voting Date
Mar 30, 2026
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Banque Centrale du Congo
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Law and Government
  • Technical Cooperation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Advisory Services
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 0.60 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 Jun 8, 2026

Disclosed by Bank May 7, 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.

According to bank provided information, the Democratic Republic of Congo is modernizing its national payment system through the refinement of the national payments switch. IFC’s role is to provide global knowledge, best practices, and practical tools to support BCC and other stakeholders throughout the design and implementation process.

Through targeted knowledge sharing, technical guidance, and capacity building, IFC will help stakeholders address key challenges such as limited interoperability, high transaction costs, and constrained access to digital financial services. IFC will also facilitate peer learning by sharing comparative experiences from other countries that have successfully implemented payments switches.

By strengthening institutional capacity and enabling the adoption of proven tools and approaches, IFC’s support will contribute to a more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable payment infrastructure that expands access to digital financial services for women, SMEs, and rural communities, in line with the DRC’s broader financial inclusion objectives.

The project aims to support the modernization and strengthening of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s national payment system to advance financial inclusion, with a particular focus on underserved groups such as women, rural populations, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). By leveraging global best practices, the initiative seeks to establish a secure, scalable, and interoperable national payments switch that reduces transaction costs and expands access to digital financial services. This effort is expected to foster inclusive economic growth, promote gender equity, and support rural development by addressing structural barriers to financial inclusion and improving the efficiency and accessibility of the payment ecosystem.

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

Contact Information
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Contact information not provided at time of disclosure 

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

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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 

How it works

How it works