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Netherlands for the World Bank

Tag Archives: Business

Taking the pulse of business: COVID recovery and policy implications

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As the global economy gradually finds its way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded each day of the fragility of recovery  – threatened by new variants, outbreaks, and case spikes. It’s also a recovery that is uneven and unequal. Many low- and middle-income countries continue to face high levels of transmission as well as bottlenecks to vaccination, which contribute to business activity remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

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Economic inclusion programs: A springboard out of extreme poverty

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As the world grapples with the pandemic, the new State of Economic Inclusion peileaderreport points to paths out of poverty for the poorest and most vulnerable.

For the first time in two decades, extreme poverty is rising around the world, as COVID-19 threatens to erode years of hard-won progress.   The World Bank estimates that the economic fallout from the pandemic may add as many as 150 million extreme poor by 2021. Women, children, displaced populations, and people with disabilities have been particularly hard hit.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced gender inequalities around the world

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COVID-19 has seriously impacted the global progress towards gender equality, with women around the world continuing to face laws and restrictions that hinder their economic opportunity, according to the latest Women, Business and the Law 2021. Reforming laws toward gender equality must be a priority as governments look to recover from COVID-19.
 
WBL21

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Tracking an Unprecedented Year for Businesses, Everywhere

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Woman worker in leather goods factory in Bogota, Colombia

Woman worker in leather goods factory in Bogota, Colombia

  • Nearly every business in the world has been affected by COVID-19—in different ways. While one-fourth of companies saw sales falling 50 percent in October-January from pre-pandemic levels, a third said their sales increased or stayed the same.
  • To capture the impact of the pandemic on firms’ performance, the World Bank launched ongoing surveys with more than 120,000 firms in over 60 countries. The assessment is expected to help inform recovery efforts.
  • Developing countries have introduced multiple support programs, but businesses most affected by the shock—small firms and those in poorer countries—were the least likely to receive government support.

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How have women’s legal rights evolved over the last 50 years?

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Today, women have just three-quarters of the legal rights of men. In 1970, it was less womanthan half. The Women, Business and the Law 2020 report presented results from our recent effort to document how laws have changed since 1970. This exceptional dataset has already facilitated ground-breaking research that shows that a country’s performance on the Women, Business and the Law index is associated with more women in the labor force, a smaller wage gap between men and women, and greater investments in health and education. We hope that sharing the data and reform descriptions on our website will lead to more evidence that will inspire policymakers to change their laws so that more women can contribute to economic growth and development.

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eC2: Women Startup/Acceleration Program in High-tech Sector

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Deadline: 16-Mar-2020 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

WBGs Advisory Project aims to design and deliver startup/acceleration program for afghanistan-school-gender-girlscompetitively selected women-owned SMEs in high-tech sector in three regions. It will consist of a mix of individual and group mentoring, coaching and technical advisory aimed to improve business skills, investment readiness, and soft skills (negotiation, confidence, pitching, and so on) of beneficiaries as well as access to larger business networks and funding. The program will also include a series of networking events, aimed at expanding women-owned SMEs linkages to financial institutions and new business networks. Particular focus will be placed on creating links between women-owned SMEs and (1) financial institutions to address accessing to finance constraints; and (2) large firms/corporates to facilitate women integration in supply chains and access to business networks. The expected impact is the improved performance of women entrepreneurs in terms of revenue, funding obtained, jobs created.

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eC2: Support to the identification and implementation of priority reforms in the agribusiness sector in Guinea

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Deadline: 24-Jun-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

The Investment Climate (IC) in Agribusiness project is a pillar of the IFC-World Bank imagesAction Plan to promote the agribusiness sector in Guinea. The World Bank Group recently assessed the main constraints and opportunities for the development of the agribusiness sector in Guinea.
The IC in Agribusiness project aims to improve the business climate for agribusiness through the implementation of targeted reforms aimed at unlocking investments high potential value chains and improving investments retention and generation. To implement these reforms, a dialogue mechanism to mobilize government and business community’s commitment is needed.

The IFC seeks to hire the services of a Consultant to support the identification and implementation of priority reforms for the agribusiness sector in Guinea. The Consultant will help drive the reforms on the Guinea agribusiness sector and will work closely with the designated teams within to implement these reforms.

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eC2: Solar PV generation at Central de Abastos, Mexico

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Deadline: 18-Jun-2019 at 11:59:59 PM (Eastern Time – Washington D.C.)

Determine viable Business Models for the establishment of a photovoltaic energy solar-wind (CC0) Pixabay-Kenueonegeneration project at the Central de Abastos in Mexico City. This project will include the installation of solar panels and internal interconnection, as well as connection to the public network in common areas (existing ceilings and current roofless parking areas) with the objective of generating clean energy.

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