13 Private Companies Compete in $13 Million World Bank Climate Auction

Ends Pilot Phase to Focus on Scale-up and Replication.paf-info-2

Auctions bring together buyers and sellers to agree on a price for goods or services that are otherwise difficult to value. In climate finance, reverse auctions can be used to produce the biggest bang for the buck – by engaging private companies to compete against one another for scarce public climate funds to deliver the most emission reductions at the lowest cost.

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Global Growth Edges Up to 2.7 Percent Despite Weak Investment

Public Investment Can Bring Private Investment off the SidelinesWB HQ

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2017— Global economic growth is forecast to accelerate moderately to 2.7 percent in 2017 after a post-crisis low last year as obstacles to activity recede among emerging market and developing economy commodity exporters, while domestic demand remains solid among emerging and developing commodity importers, the World Bank said in a report released on Tuesday.

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What Does It Mean to Be a Woman Entrepreneur in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

STORY HIGHLIGHTSInternally displaced people receiving professional training

  • As a fragile state, the Democratic Republic of Congo is home to two different types of women entrepreneurs — necessity and growth-oriented.
  • Key challenges faced by women entrepreneurs include limited access to finance, lack of support services, inadequate regulations, social prejudices, disproportionate family responsibilities, and lower rates of education.
  • Gender-focused reforms, a growing leasing market, and a new generation of training programs targeting women entrepreneurs can contribute to promoting a vibrant and supportive environment for entrepreneurs in the country.

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Protecting our water sources brings a wealth of benefits

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The Water Blog water

The journey of our water from source to tap is long, and not one we think much about. For most of us, our water starts high in the mountains, hundreds of miles away. From there, water flows across natural and working lands until a portion is channeled to water pipes that move water to our faucets, to farms, and to various types of businesses. Most often we think of those pipes as being our main water infrastructure, but upstream lands play a key role in capturing, storing and moving our water. By conserving these lands, we can better protect our water and generate additional benefits for people and nature.

TCdata360: A Big Addition to the World of Open Trade & Competitiveness Data

WASHINGTON, January 9, 2017—The inequalities that make some countries poorer than trade-data360-frontothers include inequalities of information. To make sound decisions on economic development, policymakers need reliable and—just as important—readily accessible data. That is the concept underlying a new World Bank Group platform called TCdata360, an open platform for trade and competitiveness data from inside and outside the World Bank Group.

TCdata360 combines vetted datasets from more than 20 organizations—including the Bank Group, United Nations, World Trade Organization, World Economic Forum, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development—in an interactive, easy-to-use platform.  Busy policymakers, development practitioners, academics, and industry specialists can use the site to access, compare, and download timely data on some 2,000 indicators related to a wide variety of trade and competitiveness topics such as trade logistics, global value chains, investment climate, entrepreneurship, and the cost of business operations.

TCdata360 provides snapshots of countries’ economic performance on key indicators. 

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Building the foundation for better early childhood care and education in Sri Lanka

­The Little Rose preschool is situated at the base of a fifty-foot high landfill in Cofor-better-early-childhood-care-and-education-in-sri-lankalombo’s Kolonnawa Division. Despite being next to one of Sri Lanka’s largest waste sites, the one room preschool is spotless. Inside, 23 children from ages 3 to 5 sit on colorful plastic chairs, dressed immaculately in ‘Little Rose’ uniforms.

Running a preschool in one of Colombo’s biggest slums isn’t easy, but head teacher R. A. Shalika Sajeevani exudes positivity. “The children don’t always bring snacks, so once a week, I make lunch for all of them at my home. It’s not a big deal – I cook for my own two sons anyway, I just put in a little extra for them,” she says.

Year in Review: 2016 in 12 Charts (and a video)

Between the social, political, and economic upheavals affecting our lives, and the violence and forced displacement making headlines, you’d be forgiven for feeling gloomy about 2016. A look at the data reveals some of the challenges we face but also the progress we’ve made toward a more peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable future. Here are 12 charts that help tell the stories of the year.

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Small Agribusinesses in Mexico Benefit from Online Procurement Platform

Mexico is at the forefront of climate-friendly solutions in various productive sectors.

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In line with the policies of Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), actions have been taken to promote the use of renewable sources of energy in the agricultural sector to decrease the negative impacts on the environment.

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12 moments for water in 2016

2016 has become the year for water. From the World Economic Forum, COP22, to thewater Budapest Water Summit, water has been widely acknowledged as a key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and essential to the climate change solution.

Here are the defining moments of 2016 that put water security and sustainability on the global agenda like never before:

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10 Best World Bank Moments 2016

What will you remember about 2016? At the World Bank Group, it was a remarkable year that included a record IDA replenishment and a landmark speech by Michelle Obama. Get inspired by our Top Ten moments of 2016 and work together with us to help end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in the new year.