Category Archives: WBG News & Reports
Chart: 47 million people are connected to a mini grid
A mini grid is an electric power generation and distribution system that provides electricity to a localized community. Mini grids will be critical in achieving universal electricity access by 2030. According to a new World Bank report “Mini Grids for Half a Billion People: Market Outlook and Handbook for Decision Makers”, mini grids are often the most economically viable solution for remote areas with high population density and demand and where extending the main grid is prohibitively expensive.
Afghanistan, Myanmar, India and Nepal have the highest number of mini grids, followed by China, Philippines, Indonesia. Analysis by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) shows that
Mini Grids for Half a Billion People: Market Outlook and Handbook for Decision Makers
STORY HIGHLIGHTS 
- Mini grids have the potential to provide electricity to as many as 500 million people by 2030, with the right policies and about $220 billion of investment to build around 210,000 mini grids.
- Over the past decade, mini grid costs have declined significantly, while the quality of service has increased. The per kWh cost of mini grid electricity is expected to decrease by two thirds by 2030.
- Significantly more mini grids will need to be deployed in the top 20 electricity access deficit countries – from 10-50 mini grids currently deployed each year per country to over 1,600.
To balance debt and development, transparency and purpose are key
Unsustainable debt. Debt distress. Debt trap. These dire terms are once again back in the
headlines, just a decade after the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.
In the past five years alone, public debt in the poorest countries has increased from 36 percent of GDP to 51 percent of GDP. In addition, debt-service ratios in some countries are rising at an alarming pace, threatening countries’ ability to invest in much-needed infrastructure, education, health and many other needs crucial for lifting their citizens out of poverty and achieving the international community’s Sustainable Development Goals by their 2030 deadline.
2019 Embassy Klompen Cup
Every year at the end of spring as the summer is about to be upon us the Netherlands 
Embassy World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank Liaisons organize the annual networking event “Klompen Cup”. It is a street soccer 4-on-4 tournament, 10 minute games played right outside the embassy. We assemble teams with (Dutch) colleagues from the respective institutions; World Bank Group (WBG), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Inter American Development Bank (IADB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to compete for the coveted “Klompen Cup”.
Launching global consultations on the World Bank Group’s upcoming Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence
April marked the official launch of global consultations to inform the World Bank 
Group’s first-ever Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV). , building on the comparative advantage of the Bank Group in fragile settings. As we embark on this process, the most relevant question for us is how to build on progress made and optimize our interventions to be our most effective on the ground, with special focus on making a lasting difference for the most vulnerable populations. Furthermore, in FCV settings, we know that no single organization can act alone – as the World Bank Group, this strategy is about positioning our analytical, operational, and convening power to contribute to broader international efforts in support of peace and prosperity.
Elsevier: Supporting Higher Education, Science, Technology and Global Competitiveness Globally by Partnering with the World Bank
For over 140 years, Elsevier has supported more than 1,000,000 global scientific and 
academic communities in their pursuit for new and verified scientific knowledge through access to peer-reviewed content, strategic research management tools, and capacity-building activities that promote and celebrate world-class science.
Over the last 12 years, Elsevier has closely collaborated with partners such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Dutch Organization for Internationalization in Education (NUFFIC) to support activities in emerging economies to enhance higher education and research, develop better science and technology, and improve local competitiveness. These efforts have allowed Elsevier and, specifically, the World Bank, to co-launch several regional and country initiatives and research metrics and evidence to contribute to promotion of discussions on research investment and collaboration.
Report: Women, Business and the Law 2019- A Decade of Reform
Women, Business and the Law measures global progress toward gender equality in the 
law. Topic notes and related research provide further analysis of the data. To gain new insight into how women’s employment and entrepreneurship choices are affected by legal gender discrimination, this study examines ten years of Women, Business and the Law data through an index structured around economic decisions women make as they go through different stages of their working lives.
New International Partnership Established to Increase the Use of Energy Storage in Developing Countries
A global partnership convened by the World Bank Group to fost
er international cooperation to adapt and develop energy storage solutions for developing countries
VANCOUVER, May 28, 2019 – On the occasion of the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial and 4th Mission Innovation Ministerial, a new international partnership has been established to help expand the deployment of energy storage and bring new technologies to developing countries’ power systems. The Energy Storage Partnership (ESP) comprises the World Bank Group and 29 organizations working together to help develop energy storage solutions tailored to the needs of developing countries.
Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2019
STORY HIGHLIGHTS 
- Global electrification rate reached 89 percent; the number of people without electricity access dropped to around 840 million, compared to 1 billion in 2016 and 1.2 billion in 2010.
- Under current policies, an estimated 8 percent of global population will not have access to electricity in 2030, 90% of them will be in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Stronger political commitment, long-term energy planning, increased private financing and adequate policy and fiscal incentives will be crucial to achieve universal access.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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