Venezuelan Migration: The 4,500-Kilometer Gap Between Desperation and Opportunity

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How many kilometers are you prepared to walk to flee hunger? For Venezuelans, no migracionvenezolana1distance is too great to escape their country’s economic and social collapse.

Latin America has a long history of migration, but today an unprecedented exodus is unfolding. Between 2016 and November 2019, more than 4.6 million men, women, and children have left Venezuela in search of a better future, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Venezuelan migration is the largest human mobilization in the region’s recent history. Migrants are fleeing a humanitarian and economic crisis that has exacerbated a decline in public safety and living standards.

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Now is the time to invest in South Asia’s future

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A few years ago, Binita Biswokarma’s life took a sharp turn for the worse.35161860665_6f3a2b1999_k.jpg

With no skills, relatives, or farmland, the young woman from Kaski, a rural district in West Nepal, struggled to provide for her son’s education, buy food and necessities, let alone repair the roof of her home.

Then came an opportunity to work as a road maintenance worker—and find a way out of poverty.

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Dutch expertise welcome for West Africa coastal management

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Coastal erosion and flooding in West Africa severely threaten communities, livelihoods, bb52c334-fea9-47f6-9eae-b5adc66a491dsafety and investment. There is an urgent need for international partners to mobilise financing through coordinated regional action. The World Bank and Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) are on their way to formalising their partnership to exchange knowledge, expertise and information, and to increase business opportunities for the Dutch water sector. Last week, NWP’s Josephine Damstra attended the first Finance Marketplace in Ivory Coast, which was organised as part of the World Bank’s West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program.

eC2: Lesotho Agriculture Insurance Feasibility Study

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Deadline: 09-Dec-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)scaling-up-innovations-in-agriculture-lessons-from-africa-780x439

The objective of this assignment is to investigate the market potential for smallholder agricultural insurance in Lesotho. It will focus on the identification of insurance providers who would be willing to offer this type of insurance, existing factors that may enhance or limit their ability to enter into this market, as well as the potential for integrating insurance within the priority value chains. The priority value chains for the purposes of this study are grains, dairy, horticulture (fruit/vegetables), poultry, piggery, and fisheries/aquaculture.

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eC2: National Multi-Tier framework Energy Access Household Energy Survey

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Deadline: 23-Dec-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)Survey

A reputed firm with extensive experience in household surveys is sought to conduct the baseline survey on energy access in Burkina Faso using the World Bank multi-tier framework approach to track progress towards SDG7. The survey will be nationally representative and will be administered in both urban and rural localities and will also include community surveys. The firm will work with the World Bank-ESMAP to pre-test, finalize, and implement the survey. Data collection should be carefully monitored to ensure high-quality information. The firm will provide capacity building to Ministry of Energy and National Statistics and Demography Institute (INSD) to ensure continuity on tracking of energy indicators. After completing the fieldwork, the firm will deliver the final dataset and summary report to the World Bank-ESMAP.

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eC2: Vietnam Promote Private Sector Participation in Waterways Operations and Maintenance via Performance Based Contracts (PBCs)

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Deadline: 11-Dec-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) water-pollution-cartoon

The objectives of the assignment are to (i) review the existing regulatory arrangements and recommend specific regulatory revisions that could be undertaken to introduce PBCs in waterways; (ii) analyze and mitigate gaps in the private sector for their active participation in PBCs; (iii) develop PBC bidding template documents for VIWAs future use and identification of waterways that could be used for PBC pilots; and (iv) develop and implement capacity building of VIWA to implement PBCs.

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Business Opportunities Fair Recap & Presentations

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Event details: Washington, D.C. | October 29-31, 2019
World Bank Group's Business Opportunities Fair: Climate-Smart En

The 2019 event focused on climate-smart energy solutions and brought together a diverse group of companies with about 160 participants from around the world interested in the work of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in the energy sector.

The two-and-a-half-day program intended to provide information on the energy sector strategies, priorities, and portfolios of the World Bank Group (WBG) and other IFIs, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

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World Bank Group Youth Summit 2019: Smarter Cities for a Resilient Future

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December 02, 2019 | 8:30 ET, 13:30 GMT  to December 03, 2019 | 18:30 ET, 23:30 GMTHome-Page-Banner-01

Preston, Washington, D.C.

Agenda available here

Cities are places of opportunity: 80% of global GDP is created in cities, helping hundreds of millions lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Over recent decades, cities have become a magnet for talent, investment, and for youth seeking a prosperous future.

The promise offered by cities is driving unprecedented population growth, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Globally, 4 billion people – more than half the global population – live in cities. By 2030, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities, and a third of the world’s population will be housed in cities with 1 million or more inhabitants.

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Emerging and Developing Economies Less Prepared Now for a Deeper Downturn than Prior to 2009 Global Recession: Study

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However, policy toolkit to handle economic shocks has improved index

WASHINGTON, November 20, 2019—Emerging and developing economies are less well positioned today to withstand a deeper global downturn, should it occur, than they were before the 2009 global recession, although they now have more resilient policy frameworks to respond, a new World Bank Group study of the global recession and its aftermath finds.

With multiple risks to global growth clouding the outlook, there is concern whether emerging and developing economies can effectively respond to a deeper economic slowdown as they were able to do during the 2009 global recession. The new study by the World Bank Group, A Decade after the Global Recession, compares emerging market and developing economies’ preparedness then and now, and finds reason both for concern and for optimism.

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BladeRunner Energy Business Opportunities Fair experience

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How participating in the World Bank Opportunities Fair on Climate-Smart

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Paul Vosbeek pitching at the B2B networking session

Energy Solutions is helping BladeRunner Energy to bring micro hydropower to the people: a perspective from Paul Vosbeek, co-founder and CEO of the cleantech startup, BladeRunner Energy.

“I had the pleasure to participate in the biennial Opportunities Fair organized by the World Bank from October 29-31, 2019 with this edition focused on Climate-Smart Energy Solutions.

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