Missions are an integral part to working with the World Bank and understanding how it functions. They give companies the opportunity to meet decision makers, ask questions and attend seminars such as a “procurement” seminar which could provide you with the information to help to win future World Bank Projects.

Missions are also useful to build or expand your World Bank network. It’s especially good to visit after having successfully executed a project for the World Bank, both to point at a track record, as well as show them you are still very much interested. Lastly, missions are a way to talk to other companies and potential partners, to learn about their best practices and get to know your competition. A mission we recently co-organized was the Energy sector mission to the World Bank, IDB, USAID and MCC in Washington, DC, which took place May 4 – 7, 2015. It was a joint mission involving companies from Canada, United States, Austria, France, Spain, the Netherlands and other countries. It was a successful endeavor with a total of 86 companies attending. The theme of this energy mission was “Integrating Sustainable Energy in Global Development”. Sectors and themes of missions are decided by the expertise and interest of the companies from the organizing country, matched with the interest of the World Bank. The energy mission took place at the World Bank headquarters in DC. Even though we believe it is beneficial to meet WB staff at HQ, a lot of decisions are actually made in the country of project execution. This means that knowing World Bank staff in local country offices is as important as knowing people in Washington DC. We believe that with today’s technology we can create both a more effective and cheaper way of doing missions. After all, unless you are looking to design a project, speaking to people at the World Bank HQ office is the means, while winning the tender to execute a project locally is the end goal.

Therefore, we are planning on organizing a digital mission at the end of the year. The mission will give Dutch professionals the opportunity to interact with World Bank staff to discuss latest technologies, approaches and solutions, without having to travel to DC. Instead, a mission can be organized to the borrowing country to further discuss the needs and possibilities on the ground.

To win tenders and work with the World Bank it is important that you build a network with World Bank staff in the country you would like to be active in. Gaining project experience is key in winning other tenders as it is very difficult for companies without a track record to win. World Bank staff appreciates a problem solving mentality when talking to a company, so it is useful to refer to projects you have executed in countries that the World Bank is active in.

We hope we have sparked your curiosity and intrigued you into wanting and hearing more from us. Keep following us and stay tuned to be part of our future World Bank missions.