devinitorg/iati-policy-markers huggingface dataset:
Absolut Tier 2 The project company is Absolut Bank (Absolut or the Bank), a medium-sized Russian commercial bank, operating primarily in Moscow, the Moscow region, and St.Petersburg, currently expanding into selected Russian regions. It is a well-managed and profitable institution experiencing strong asset growth, with good market position and high efficiency of operations. The Banks core business is lending to corporates (including small and medium-sized enterprises), housing finance and trade finance.  The project consists of a seven-year unsecured subordinated loan to enable the Bank to strengthen its capital base and expand its operations. The project is expected to have a significant development impact:   - SME and retail clients will have increased access to finance as a result of the Banks growing portfolio in these areas. - Individuals will have increased access to housing finance as a result of the Banks growing mortgage portfolio.  - Retail customers in the regions will have greater access to finance, as the Bank builds its regional branch network.
Absolut Bank The project company is Absolut Bank (the Bank or the company), a private medium sized bank serving primarily the Moscow region. It is a well-managed and profitable institution experiencing strong asset growth, with good market position and high efficiency of operations. The Banks three core business areas include corporate finance, retail banking, and financial institutions.

The project consists of a senior loan to be used by the Bank for the expansion of its residential mortgage lending program and, potentially, an equity or quasi-equity investment to enable the Bank to strengthen its capital base and expand its operations.
Almaz Capital Russia Fund II, LP The proposed project is an investment of up to US$25 million in equity, not to exceed 20% of total fund commitments, in Almaz Capital Fund II, L.P., a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (the Fund), a venture capital fund sponsored by Almaz Capital Partners Ltd. (Almaz). Almaz is seeking to raise about US$175 million of aggregate commitments for the Fund, with initial closing targeted at US$100 million. This is the second fund to be managed by Almaz. Almaz successfully raised $72 million for the Almaz Russia Fund I in 2008/2009.  The Fund will make venture capital investments in information technology (IT) companies in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States ("CIS") with a focus on (i) proven technologies for global markets, developed in Russia/CIS; and (ii) proven business models targeted at Russian/CIS consumers. Target sectors include: (i) internet, software, and systems; and (ii) semiconductors and optoelectronics. The Fund aims to invest in 15-18 portfolio companies, each in the range of $7-16 million over the life of the investee company. The Fund plans to invest in 7-8 early stage companies; 5-7 mid-stage companies; and opportunistically invest in 2-3 late stage, pre-IPO deals. Finally, the Fund will allocate $5 to 10 million for early seed investments only to be invested with select angel investors (typically experienced technology entrepreneurs) as well as in cooperation with incubators and accelerators. There is limited access to Western-style venture funding and support, a much needed ingredient for a successful telecoms, media, and related technology ("TMT") industry in Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States ("CIS"). The Fund will act as a catalyst to support the development of the technology sector and the growth of local entrepreneurship and innovation. It will facilitate the capacity development as well as sector knowledge and skill transfer while using global industry best practices in portfolio companies thereby enhancing their competitiveness and sustainability. In addition, the Fund will support the creation of new jobs as investee companies expand.
NBD Project This investment is part of the Russian Multi-Bank Credit Line project to provide funding to several regional banks in Russia.  NBD was established in 1992 and is currently the fourth largest bank in its region by assets, with 20% of the local banking business.  The bank focuses its activities on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs, and increasingly on retail banking (which now accounts for over 20% of the loan portfolio and the majority of deposits).  As of  December 31, 2000, the bank''s total assets amounted to US$29.5 million equivalent and capital to US$3.1 million equivalent. In March, NBD''s capital increased to US$6.2 million equivalent.     Currently, there are virtually no commercial sources of long-term funding for Russian banks, unless they belong to one of the large financial industrial groups. IFC''s financing will enable NBD to expand its lending activities to the local SME sector and to mid-sized enterprises in the region. This financing will be combined with a program of technical assistance to improve the bank''s operations.     The Russian financial sector is seriously underdeveloped and does not function efficiently in either mobilizing or allocating resources.  The resulting shortage of financing is a major constraint to the development of a productive sector of the economy.  This project will contribute to rehabilitating and restoring confidence in the sector by helping a regional viable bank and will provide credit to help the development of regional productive enterprises.  The investment will also allow the bank to increase its lending, with longer maturities, to small and mid sized Russian corporates, thus supporting a sector of the economy which will be a key to achieving sustained economic growth and generating employment in the next few years.
Ru-Net Holdings Ru-Net owns controlling stakes in a number of Russian information technology (IT) and Internet businesses.  The company has a two-pronged strategy which consists of: (i) developing a portfolio of majority owned Internet companies with extremely high growth potential; and (ii) creating a leading systems integration company to serve the Russian domestic market.  Consolidated revenues for 2000 were approximately US$1 million.  On a pro-forma basis (following three recently closed acquisitions) the Ru-Net group is projecting revenues of approximately US$25 million for 2001.   The combination of a strong management team, controlling stakes in a number of Russia''s leading IT companies, and the support provided by the company''s existing international institutional investors, positions Ru-Net as one of the most promising firms in the Russian information economy.  Ru-Net''s website is located at www.ru-net.ru.       This IFC project would support a group of local entrepreneurs that is building an internationally competitive IT services company offering value added to domestic firms.  It would also represent an excellent opportunity to finance a company providing value added software services to companies in the developed world from a production base centered in Moscow.  The company currently employs approximately 250 employees, all of whom are located in Russia.  IFC''s participation would be critical to bringing in other investors in the proposed round that have concerns regarding country risk.  In addition, by learning from its other IT service company investments across the world, IFC will be able to bring its global knowledge to help Ru-Net in its growth strategy.          Russia is in the midst of developing the skills base necessary to be able to compete in high-technology exports.  This investment will support efforts to catalyze growth and development through high-end services exports, creating quality jobs but also acting as an important symbol of the benefits of continued reform, opening up, and support for education.  The project will have significant developmental impact by: (i) potentially creating hundreds of IT related jobs in Russia; and (ii) helping to train skilled technology workers in Russia by exposing them to best practices from U.S. based technology firms.  There is, at present, a shortage of qualified managers in the IT sector in Russia.  This is a significant bottleneck to further development of the Internet and Internet applications across the Russian region, since most companies (particularly SME''s) do not have access to U.S. and European technology expertise at the present time.
Egar Technology Egar is a financial technology company founded in March 2000.  The company develops highly specialized capital markets and risk management information systems, including off-the-shelf software products and customized solutions and consulting services.  Egar targets trading and risk management departments of large banks, corporate treasuries, and specialized smaller and middle market financial institutions.  The company blends Russian software development and mathematical talent, and US business development and managerial know-how.  The Russian base of the project gives Egar a competitive cost structure and access to professionals with highly developed quantitative skills which are critical to the development of risk management tools. The purpose of the proposed project is to improve product development and R&D, expand its Russian development centers, build up sales and marketing infrastructure, and its working capital needs.    Russia is in the midst of developing the skills base necessary to compete in high-technology exports.  This project will support efforts to catalyze growth and development through high-end services exports, creating quality jobs, and acting as a symbol of the benefits of continued reform, opening up support for education and partnering with western organizations and professionals.  The project will have significant developmental impact by potentially creating hundreds of IT related jobs in Russia.  The company currently employs about 100 people in Moscow and has recently opened a second development center in Nishny Novgorod.  In 2004 Egar expects to employ about 350 people in Russia.  Egar will also contribute to train skilled technology workers in Russia by exposing them to best practices from U.S. based technology firms.  There is, at present, a shortage of qualified managers in the IT sector in Russia.  This is a significant bottleneck to further the technological development across the country, since most companies , particularly small and medium enterprises, do not have access to U.S. and western European technology expertise.  Finally, Russia and Eastern Europe will also be important target markets for Egar, contributing to the improvement in the efficiency of financial institutions in this region through providing state-of-the-art technology and services.    IFCs investment would support a company that creates intellectual property and provides highly specialized software services to companies globally, from a production base centered in a developing country with highly qualified human resources.  IFC would play a critical role in bringing in other investors, for the current as well as potential future rounds because of concerns regarding country risk.  The scarcity of capital available for projects such as this, from private U.S. sources, is demonstrated by the fact that the company has only been able to raise financing from a Russia based institution funded by USAID.  Finally, IFC would bring its global knowledge of financial institutions as well as software services industry.
Kulon Yugros The proposed project involves a construction and operation of a top quality logistics warehouse and office facility of 51,202 square meters near the city of Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol region of Russian Federation by ZAO Kulon-Yugros (the Project).  The Project will consist of two phases of approximately equal amounts of leasable space. Upon completion, all the facilities of the Project will be leased out to a number of tenants (e.g., retailers, wholesalers, distributors and logistics companies) under long-term (3 to 7 years) lease contracts. The Project addresses the issue of undersupply of quality logistics warehousing facilities in Mineralnye Vody region. The Project would have a strong demonstration effect as the first international standard warehouse in the region. It would improve competitiveness and efficiency of the manufacturers and distributors using the facility. New jobs will be created by ZAO Kulon-Yugros and its tenants. The final consumers would benefit from a potential increased choice and cost savings arising from improved operating efficiencies and availability of high quality warehousing space for the storage and distribution of goods. The government would benefit through taxes paid by the Project and infrastructure improvement facilitating logistics and trade and thus attracting new business in the region.
KKS-Group Project The project involves KKS Group (KKS), an independent utility providing space heating and hot water to customers in the Tula and Kemerovo regions of Russia. The project consists of: (i) improving the efficiency of existing KKS assets through capital expenditures; (ii) expanding KKS activities through acquisition and leasing of municipal heating assets; and (iii) developing and operating a combined heat and power plant for an international industrial customer located in the Tula region. The proposed IFC investment will help to: (i)	Improve heat service for customers in the Tula and Kemerovo regions. KKS will significantly upgrade heating assets with modern technology, therefore improving overall quality and reliability of the service;  (ii)	Ease constraints on municipal capital budgets. KKS will undertake long due investments and capital expenditures on assets formerly owned or currently leased by municipalities; and (iii)	Significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By raising efficiency and reducing losses, the project contributes to the mitigation of climate change.
Ufa Vodokanal The City of Ufa has been undertaking a staged long-term wastewater program, implemented by a municipal company Ufa Vodokanal (UVK or the Company).  The proposed Project will continue the IBRD support to help the Company to complete several on-going wastewater infrastructure investments including the construction of the 3rd wastewater treatment block (Block 3) with daily capacity of 130,000 m3 and the completion of related infrastructure investments (including utility systems, outlet under river pipe line chamber, and grit removals etc.) The IFC loan proceeds would also help refinance a part of the Companys existing short-term debt. The IFC loan, together with the IBRD funding will help complete the well-needed 3rd treatment block construction for Ufa city.  The additional wastewater treatment capacity completed under the Project will eliminate disposal of untreated wastewater within the City, contributing to a cleaner environment and reduced pollution of the river and the surrounding water bodies. It will have a broad reach and help improve overall living standards over the medium term, enabling the City to attract greater private investment as Ufa continues to develop its economy.
The Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund III LP The proposal is to make a $20 million investment in the $350 million Baring Vostok Private Equity Fund III (BVPEF III or the Fund).  The Fund will be managed by Baring Vostok Capital Partners Limited (BVCP or the Fund Manager) and will target investments principally in Russia, Ukraine, and, where opportunities arise, in other CIS and Baltic countries.  The Fund will be structured as a 10-year Guernsey limited partnership with a commitment period of five years.  During the commitment period the management fee is expected to be 2.0% p.a. of total commitments.
Russian Towers The project is to support the development of Russian Towers (the Company), an emerging independent tower operator in Russia, which is building a nationwide network of telecommunication towers to lease the tower space to Russian mobile phone operators.   The privately-owned Company was established in 2009 and is in an earlier stage of development, currently operating about 140 towers. As an independent tower operator, the Company would allow multiple mobile operators to share tower space, creating significant economic and other benefits. The project is expected to have a number of development impacts including the following: (i) improve access to mobile network in rural areas due to a decreased time to market and improved economics of accessing more sparsely populated areas; (ii) enhance the coverage and quality of service in rural areas; (iii) facilitate more economically efficient use of resources, including land and capital investments, due to the reduced need in the number of towers; (iv) reduce the visual burden of multiple towers as well as the carbon footprint (through reduced and/or more efficient use of diesel generators to supply power in rural locations); (v) encourage more competition that, together with lower capital costs and operating expenses of operators, would translate into the lower cost of services to users, and (vi) assist in the creation of direct and indirect (through subcontracting) employment opportunities.
Delta Leasing The project provides an IFC credit line to DeltaLeasing.  The purpose of the investment is to fund DL''s leasing operations, which provide equipment financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in several regions of the Russian Federation.       The proposed credit line would help the company: (i) expand its existing portfolio and client base; and (ii) provide a new source of funding, independent from the company''s main shareholder (TUSRIF).  One of DL''s main business objectives is to move towards private funding sources in order to ensure the company''s growth and future sustainability.      This project serves as an example of how IFC uses its technical assistance efforts to promote investment opportunities, especially in the leasing sector.  Over the past two years, DL has been a recipient of technical assistance from IFC''s Leasing Development Group, IFC''s technical assistance unit, whose aim is to promote the development of the leasing sector in Russia.       The project would have the following developmental impacts:    1) IFC''s financing will be used by Russian SMEs to upgrade capital assets and thereby improve their competitiveness -- currently Russian SMEs have virtually no other sources of funding;   2) DL will channel lease finance to support viable enterprises in economically important, but undercapitalized regions in the Russian Federation.   3) IFC is playing its role of catalyst in providing DL with a chance to establish an excellent borrowing record for the company''s future access to private lenders.
FactorRus Project FactorRus is a greenfield factoring company to be established in Russia by FIMBank of Malta, Transcapitalbank (TCB) of Russia, and IFC as a 40-40-20 joint venture.  FactorRus will provide financing to Russian corporates (mostly SMEs) against assignment of receivables from off-takers/buyers.  As a result of the global financial crisis traditional bank funding is drying up and factoring offers an alternative source of funding for local SMEs. Factoring is still nascent in Russia, and the regulatory framework is developing.  As a result of the current financial crisis, financing for SMEs has become scarce.  Factoring can help fill the gap as it offers short-term funding.  If done properly, factoring is a relatively low risk way of lending to SMEs because the funding is short-term and collateralized by receivables.  In this way, developing factoring in Russia will facilitate economic growth, especially in the SME sector.
Concordia Russia The project consists of construction and operation of a green-field meat processing plant in Kaliningrad, Russia with initial installed capacity of 53,000 ton per year, expandable to 110,000 ton per year, of breaded, molded, and smoked meat products and ham. The project will increase domestic production and reduce Russias reliance on imported meat products. The Project is expected to have the following development impacts:     -  Supporting a South-South investment that transfers best production, management and commercial practices from Brazil to Russia and create wealth for both economies; -  Creating new employments within the project company and along the supply chain;  -  Building production capacity in non-oil sector in Russia, contributing to economic diversification and reducing reliance on imported meat products;  -  Contributing to local community development by improving local infrastructure and social facilities;  -  Benefiting consumers and downstream producers; and -  Contributing to environmentally and socially sustainable private sector development.
Probusinessbank Probusinessbank was founded in 1993 as a full service commercial bank by a group of graduates from the top Moscow universities. The initial capital came from companies in the chemical, construction, food production and machinery industries.     At the end 1999 it had assets of $92 million and equity of $9 million equi  valent. The bank''s business focus is on lending to mid-sized corporates and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  The investment will strengthen Probusinessbank capital base which was seriously eroded as a result of the 1998 crisis in the banking sector. It will also provide long-term funding to support the bank''s business development program, particularly the expansion of lending to mid-sized corporates and SMEs. On a selective basis the bank will also be able to start offering longer maturities to its strongest clients. The investment will be accompanied by a donor-funded program of technical assistance to upgrade the bank''s practices, systems and technologies.       Currently there are virtually no commercial sources of long-term funding for Russian-owned banks, unless they belong to one of the big financial industrial groups. IFC''s financing will strengthen Probusinessbank''s balance sheet and provide resources to expand its lending activities without compromising its independence. The financing will be combined with a program of technical assistance to improve the bank''s operations. IFC''s presence as an investor in the bank may also help it attract foreign strategic investors, once the country conditions improve.    The Russian financial sector is seriously undeveloped and does not function efficiently either in mobilizing or allocating resources. The resulting shortage of financing is a major constraint to the development of the productive sector of the economy. This project will contribute to rehabilitate and restore confidence in the Russian financial sector by helping a viable bank, that has the potential to become a leader in the commercial banking industry and provide credit to help the development of productive enterprises. It will also stand as a model for other similar institutions to follow its lead. The investment will also allow the bank to increase its lending, with longer maturities, to mid-sized Russian corporates and SMEs, thus supporting a sector of the economy which will be a key to achieving sustained economic growth and generating employment in the next few years.
Primorsky Project The proposed IFC investment will help OOO Ava Peter (Ava Peter or the Company) to finance the construction of a new multi-functional medical center in St. Petersburg (the Project). - Improved access to quality healthcare: the Project is expected to increase availability of modern inpatient and outpatient health care services for local population and reduce pressure on public health infrastructure  - Demonstration effect: the local private provider''s expansion into advanced segments of care, together with potential new PPPs with local health authorities building on success of the existing PPP in Kazan will raise awareness and increase attractiveness of healthcare for private investors and financiers - Job creation and retention: the Project is expected to create 450 new jobs, including 350 for medical personnel, contributing to retention of qualified staff in the sector