3 ways to follow World Bank Group activities at the 2019 Spring Meetings

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Our 2019 Spring Meetings is just around the corner and it’s time to get 042418-art_exhabition_preston-086_forganized. Main stage speakers include representatives from top-notch institutions and organizations such as the United Nations, National Geographic, World Trade Organization, Bloomberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, among others.

The Spring Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an event that brings together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.

This year’s events will take place in Washington, D.C., April 8-14, 2019.

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eC2:Fiji Housing PPP – Technical Consultant

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Deadline: 22-Apr-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) Infrastructure_Financing_PPPs_MENA

The Government of Fiji has engaged IFC as transaction advisor to advise on the structuring of a Public Private Partnership to develop affordable and climate resilient housing. The project is proposed to be implemented as a mixed income housing development consisting of both single unit dwellings and units under a strata scheme across a number of sites on Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. To support IFC’s advisory work on the project, IFC is looking to engage an experienced technical and engineering firm to carry out the following key tasks: (i) housing demand and affordability, (ii) development of technical specifications, (iii) project costing and (iv) technical support during the PPP design and bidding process.

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In Bangladesh, new latrines meet a tested business model

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In a tiny hamlet called Shinglab in Gazipur district, around 2 hours from Dhaka, you can shamila-bdsee a cluster of homes made of varying materials depending on the household income.

Shamela Hakeem, 40, lives in a functional mud hut with a tin roof. A widow with no children, she makes around BDT 300 ($3.50) daily as a sweeper at a local factory.

Last year, she decided to upgrade her sanitation facilities and purchased a BDT 10,000 ($118) toilet from a local entrepreneur. She is due to pay off her final installment within the next month.

But why did she decide to invest in a toilet?

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What does the rise of the robots mean for trade?

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Industrial robots, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the face of imagesglobal production and trade. Global sales of industrial robots reached a new record of 387,000 units last year and robot adoption is projected to grow in the coming years. Techno-pessimists fear that developing countries might lose the opportunity to export themselves out of poverty by linking into Global Value Chains (GVCs), as firms in rich countries relocate robot-driven production closer to home.

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The world is going digital—time for the rail industry to jump on board

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Over the last five decades, Rail transport has faced major headwinds. The transformationr of global supply chains has made the logistics business more challenging than ever, with increasing pressure to deliver fast and flexible services at a lower cost. In that quickly-evolving context, freight rail is grappling with fierce competition from road transport—a trend that will only intensify under the effect of disruptive technologies like autonomous trucks and on-demand mobility services. In addition, railways around the world have been hit by significant government budget cuts, limiting their ability to invest in infrastructure or maintain high service standards. Stiff competition from roads, which have the door-to-door delivery advantage have offered added pain.

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eC2: Technical consultant – Electricity Markets

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Deadline: 14-Apr-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

U.S. Electricity Output Rose 6.2% From A Year Earlier

The International Finance Corporation (IFC part of the World Bank Group) is in preliminary discussions with the Government of Northern Macedonia, assess the bankability and support the development of a greenfield pumped-storage hydropower plant.  Within the context of this potential engagement, IFC expects the need to perform a least-cost electricity generation and storage assessment of Northern Macedonia and neighboring countries, and economic analysis of the proposed project, and is seeking expressions of interest from experienced technical consultants (or consortia of consultants) with experience in electricity market design / assessment and renewable power generation.

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eC2: Support on expansion of alternative fuels production and waste management capacity for a major refuse-derived fuel supplier in Egypt

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Deadline: 08-Apr-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) solid waste

IFC’s Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Services team is seeking a consultant to provide support on an assignment for a major producer of alternative fuels for the cement sector (including RDF), or the Client. The Client is planning to expand operations in two governorates. The consultant is expected to support the preparation phase of this project. This gap assessment will help confirm the viability of the client’s business model, strength of the local supply chain and overall waste management operations, as well as the capacity of the Client itself to play the bigger role in integrated waste management operations.

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eC2: Sustainable agri-practices in Ganga basin districts of UP

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Deadline: 15-Apr-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.) agriculture-youth

The consultant will organize 2 workshops each in Varanasi (Location 1) and Sambhal (Location 2) districts of Uttar Pradesh, i.e. a total of 4 workshops. The two workshops in each location comprise (1) Workshop with farmers, community members, local representatives, and (2) Workshop with local government representatives, civil society, private sector and other stakeholders, respectively. The consultant will design the workshops, identify and invite appropriate participants, manage logistics of the workshops, and submit a detailed report to the World Bank documenting discussions in detail and highlighting key takeaways in line with the objectives. The consultant will be hired for a period of 12 weeks.

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Changing impact of weather and climate services in response to changing climate

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Have you ever wondered what your national meteorological agency actually does? I weathering_the_change_web-1suppose it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that they can help you decide how to dress, whether or not to carry an umbrella, or water the garden. But their purpose is so much bigger than that.

National meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs) are responsible for helping people understand, predict and warn of weather- and water-related hazards such as storms, floods, and hurricanes.

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eC2: Enterprise Survey (ES) in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

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Deadline: 08-Apr-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The 2019 Enterprise Survey (ES) in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (ES SurveyBelgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands 2019) will involve implementation of the ES in the countries, collecting information about business environment and firm performance from a representative sample of private sector firms. The ES will require 600 face-to-face interviews in Belgium, 360 face-to-face interviews in Luxembourg and 800 face-to-face interviews in the Netherlands.
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