The Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility works with public and private organisations in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to improve their investment climate so that the private sector can thrive, create decent jobs and contribute to sustainable economic transformation.
This report reflects the activities of the ICR Facility from December 2019 through August 2025, with a particular focus on the period from 01 September 2024 to 31 August 2025. It is the ICR Facility’s final report.
- Output area 1
The ICR Facility conducts interventions to improve the business environment and investment climate in ACP countries, following requests from public and private sector organisations. As of 31 August 2025, the ICR Facility had completed 103 interventions, of which 75% contributed to gender equality, with many placing a strong focus on women’s economic empowerment (WEE). Reviews conducted six months after completion showed that the interventions led to the implementation of 58 business reform initiatives and establishment of 29 public-private dialogue processes.
- Output area 2
The ICR Facility provides capacity development for national and regional development finance institutions (DFIs). As of 31 August 2025, it had delivered capacity-building interventions to 80 ACP DFIs. Twenty-two of these institutions benefitted from more comprehensive tailor-made support.
- Output area 3
The ICR Facility captures lessons from interventions and shares them to inspire further reforms. This creates a virtuous circle in which experience from Outputs 1 and 2 feeds into knowledge dissemination and advocacy, which in turn generates new requests for technical assistance. By August 2025, the ICR Facility had delivered 243 knowledge products and activities supporting inclusive and sustainable business environment reform. Knowledge products include various types of publications, such as videos, tools and blog posts. Knowledge sharing activities include peer exchanges, trainings and live events. We focused on topics such as access to finance, the green and social economy, public-private dialogue and youth and women’s economic empowerment. These products and activities reached more than 40,000 stakeholders.