Sustained private investment in fragile environments often comes down to whether businesses can keep operating through disruption. In Haiti, Caribbean Bottling Company S.A has had to navigate fuel shortages, supply interruptions, and periods when production could not continue. In this #IFCTrendlines episode, CFO Tamara Guerin Barrau describes how the company has adapted in real time to maintain operations, respond to demand, and continue hiring. With support from The World Bank Group, including IFC, these efforts have helped CBC grow to employ around 600 people while continuing to invest in its operations. The conversation highlights the practical decisions behind sustaining jobs and keeping businesses moving forward in a highly constrained environment. 🎧 Listen now and subscribe: http://wrld.bg/nypn50ZjGfA
600 jobs held together through fuel shortages and supply interruptions is a more honest measure of development impact than most disbursement figures capture. What's harder to see in a podcast segment is the underlying instrument — was this working capital financing, trade finance, or something structured specifically for continuity risk? Naming the instrument would matter more than the jobs figure, because it's what other fragile-market operators could actually copy.
Operating in challenging environments requires more than financial resources, it requires resilience, disciplined decision-making and the ability to adapt quickly when assumptions change. From a CFO perspective, maintaining business continuity depends on understanding risks early, protecting liquidity, and aligning operational decisions with long term value creation. Companies that can navigate uncertainty effectively are not only preserving operations, they are strengthening their capacity to grow when conditions improve.
Poland’s Ponzi schemes involving GetBack SA and Saturn TFI devastated the lives of more than 28,000 victims. These schemes operated through parts of the PZU ecosystem, Poland’s state-treasury-controlled banking and insurance conglomerate, raising serious concerns about systemic failures in financial oversight and accountability. Years after the collapse of these schemes: • Victims are still fighting for justice and compensation • Whistleblowers report ongoing retaliation and intimidation • No senior officials have been held accountable • Key financial oversight institutions and the central bank remain under political influence Even after the 2023 change of government in Poland, victims report no progress toward addressing the systemic failures that allowed this crisis to occur. The PZU Victims Alliance calls for urgent international attention and action: • Independent oversight of Poland’s financial supervision institutions, including NBP and KNF • Full asset recovery and fair compensation for the 28,000+ victims • Accountability for the systemic failures that enabled this crisis 28,000 victims. Years without justice. @PZUVictimsAlliance
It is too risky and unsafe to have any business there.
Finance Access Info. In such challenging environment, businesses need more than access to finance. A combination of tailored non-financial support (business advisory, mentoring, customized product design, and market access strategies), and flexible financing is essential to strengthen resilience first, and then foster sustainable growth. Priority should be given to enterprises operating in essential goods and services, as they are more likely to remain resilient while continuing to meet the population's most pressing needs.