IFI offers a wide variety of financial products to private sector projects. In order to be eligible for IFI funding, a project must meet a number of IFI criteria:

It must be in the private sector.
It must be technically sound.
It must have good prospects of being profitable.
It must benefit the local economy.
It must be environmentally and socially sound, satisfying IFI environmental and social standards as well as those of the host country.

A company or entrepreneur, foreign or domestic, seeking to establish a new venture or expand an existing enterprise can approach IFI directly by submitting an Investment Proposal. After this initial contact and a preliminary review, IFI may proceed by requesting a detailed feasibility study or business plan to determine whether or not to appraise the project.

The proposal can be submitted to an IFI industry sector department or to an IFI regional department.