The Future of Financial Inclusion

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Financial inclusion 2.0. – creating more inclusive, resilient, and green futures

In recent years, the world has faced many unprecedented shocks and stresses that have exacerbated existing development challenges—all of which have disproportionate impacts on the most vulnerable, especially women and girls. People living in poverty constantly juggle an evolving set of risks and crises in their daily lives. However, the additional challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, climate change, conflicts, and other shocks have intensified poverty and inequality. The World Bank now projects that 7% of the world’s population—more than half a billion people—will remain in extreme poverty in 2030 (Figure 1). The World Economic Forum predicts that the timeline to close the global gender gap1 has increased by a full generation (from 99.5 years to 135.6 years).

figure 1

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Annual Meetings: World Bank Events

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The World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings are back this year from 800d55482b8a001430e9bd85208db430e8752f1021f4bcb1d0087a3ce4d82684October 9-15, and we hope you’ll join us! 

Live from Marrakech, Morocco, the 2023 Meetings focus on what it will take to end poverty on a livable planet. Events will explore the new playbook we need to respond to intertwined global challenges. What solutions have worked on the ground in developing countries? How do we boost jobs, digital infrastructure, and climate action?

Mark your calendar and sign up for email reminders to join our public events online. This is your opportunity to interact with central bankers, ministers, private sector executives, civil society representatives, youth leaders, academics, and others on issues facing our world today. Ask questions to our experts and join the conversation with the hashtag #WBmeetings, as we bring you our events in English, Arabic, French and Spanish.

 

 
 

 

How to scale up renewable energy investments

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Dependence on fossil fuels in many countries leads to a vicious cycle of increasing costs,virtuous cycle1 higher energy prices for consumers, more pollution that impacts people’s health, and higher greenhouse gas emissions that endanger the planet. In contrast, transitioning to renewable energy can unlock a virtuous cycle that produces lower-cost electricity for consumers, builds resilience, and helps mitigate climate change. 

However, renewable energy projects do not materialize, and countries remain trapped in the vicious cycle. This happens despite the fact that many developing countries have some of the best solar and wind resources in the world. So how can we support governments to break free from fossil fuel dependency and catalyze the virtuous cycle for clean energy?

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Announcing winners of the fifth World Bank and Financial Times youth blog competition

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It’s been a complicated—and often frustrating—few years for students all over thethumbnail_2023_ft-wb_blog_winners_-_framed world. The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly changed the way children around the world learn.  Remote classes. Closures. Masks. It was a lot to deal with, and the long-term consequences could be severe.

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Reforms could boost World Bank lending to developing countries by nearly $190 bln -study

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WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Reforming the World Bank’s approach to risk could unlock nearly $190 billion in additional urgently needed lending for developing countries without jeopardizing its AAA credit rating, a study commissioned by the Rockefeller Foundation found.

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Tackling Food Insecurity

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Stories of resilience from Madagascar, the Central African Republic, and Egypt