Spring 2022 Newsletter

Two New Cohorts of Scholars Join the Capital Markets Program

Our seventh cohort of IFC-Milken Institute Capital Market Scholars arrived in Washington, DC, August of 2021, followed by our eighth cohort which began the program in January 2022. The Fall 2021 class includes 17 participants from 12 countries (Angola, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, The Gambia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Zambia), and the Spring 2022 class includes 25 participants from 18 countries (Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Uzbekistan). Women make up half of each cohort.

The Spring 2022 Scholars are about to embark on their certificate studies at the George Washington University, and the Fall 2021 class have just begun their internships at a wide range of financial institutions. We would like to thank the following partners for hosting our Scholars this year:

• Cambridge Associates
• EJF Capital, LLC
• Fitch Ratings
• The Global Impact Investing Network
• Harbor Bank
• IFC Treasury
• Millennium Management
• The National Futures Association
• Norbury Partners
• The World Bank
• WorldQuant, LLC
• YAATRA Ventures, LLC

In addition to their coursework, throughout the semester our Scholars hear from a wide range of policy leaders, regulators, and investors on practical topics applied to capital markets. For the Fall 2021 Scholars these virtual supplementary sessions included:

• Weekly IFC–MI Speaker Series with practitioners on topics ranging from the mechanics of capital market infrastructure to blended finance, sustainable capital markets, pensions and long-term investments and impact investing. The recorded sessions are all featured on our password-protected online alumni portal for easy access by program alumni worldwide.
• Regulatory Modules with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on topics ranging from enforcement and examinations to international collaboration and whistleblower protection. The fall semester workshops concluded with deep dives on self-regulatory organizations (led by the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) and derivatives regulation (led by the National Futures Association).
• IFC Technical Workshops, kicked off by a session with John Gandolfo, IFC vice president and treasurer, and IFC Treasury’s senior leadership team. The team discussed their professional journeys and shared career advice. Subsequent workshops covered IFC’s mandate and objectives and how IFC provides local currency to their clients, or how IFC provides market practitioner expertise internally and to external partners to develop their local capital markets.

Looking ahead, we expect a ninth cohort to begin the program in August 2022 and nominations for the Spring and Fall 2023 cohorts will open shortly. To find out more, please contact Kateryna Timina (ktimina@ifc.org) or visit ifcmilkencmp.org.

Spring 2021 Scholars Attend MI Global Conference

One week before their graduation, the entire Spring 2021 cohort attended the Milken Institute’s Global Conference, held in Los Angeles from October 17-20, 2021. Invited by Mike Milken and sponsored by the Milken Institute, this was an incredible capstone to the Scholars’ time in the IFC-MI Capital Markets Program. Our IFC-MI Scholars were able to interact with the Milken Scholars and the Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle, and attend conference sessions related to their areas of expertise. Select Scholars joined as discussants for private sessions and the entire group of IFC-MI Scholars participated in private meetings with:

• World Bank vice president and treasurer Jingdong Hua
• IFC senior vice president of operations Stephanie von Friedeburg
• Milken Institute CEO Mike Klowden