Is it possible to #EndPoverty in an inclusive way? As part of our Annual Meetings 2017 Interview Series, we will be meeting with Amanda Farnan, GenUN Georgetown Campus Leader, and Mac Darrow, Representative, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to discuss Inclusive Action: Creating a Better World for Us All. Join us live on Wednesday, October 11th, 4:30 pm. Leave your questions in the comments below.
Want to hear some big ideas on how to #EndPoverty? As part of our Annual Meetings 2017 Interview Series, we will be talking with Raj Rao, Chief Executive Officer of Ford Smart Mobility, about transport mobility. Join us live on October 12 at 3:45 pm. Have a question for Raj? Ask in the comments!
As part of our Annual Meetings 2017 Interview Series, we will be speaking with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim about what countries need to do to prepare for the future. Join us live on Wednesday, October 11 at 2:15 PM. Have a question for Jim Kim? Ask in the comments!
As part of our Annual Meetings 2017 Interview Series, Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of United Nations Foundation will be speaking with World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva to discuss how working with partners can help build resilience and #EndPoverty by 2030. Join us live on Wednesday, October 11 at 10:45AM. Have a question for Kristalina? Ask in the comments!
A high-profile panel on maximizing finance for development, with Dr. Kim, President Kagame of Rwanda, and the CEOs of Standard Chartered, the NZ Super Fund, and the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) of India, was held at Annual Meetings. Key takeaways follow: President Kagame pointed out that the prosperity Rwanda needs cannot come from just the public or the private sector alone, and noted that only when they work together can they maximize finance for development. Renu Sud Karnad of HDFC, agreed that the regulatory framework is often an obstacle for private investment. She explained that IFC was a founding shareholder of HDFC, and it was a leap of a faith as HDFC had no framework when they started. Subsequently, HDFC has built the housing finance market in India and helped create housing industry standards and regulations. Adrian Orr of NZ Super Fund, indicated that there’s a “wall” of money that wants to get into “frontier” markets, but the ...
In the first-ever open Annual Meetings event dedicated entirely to the transport sector, leaders and influencers came together to share their vision for the future of mobility. The premise of the discussion was simple: with transport demand at an all-time high, countries cannot continue to embrace unsustainable policies that keep expanding the carbon footprint of the sector, lead to alarming rates of road fatalities, and leave behind many disadvantaged communities. UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Yeoh opened the session with a powerful statement highlighting the need to move from words to action. While mobility challenges are complex, Yeoh, an acclaimed actress, noted that “it is up to us to write our own script” to create a better tomorrow. She then turned the floor over to a high-level panel composed of Kristalina Georgieva, CEO of the World Bank; Jean Todt, President of the Federation Internationale de l ’Automobile and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Raj Rao, CEO of Ford ...
Follow the event on Twitter: #EmpowerWomen & #IFCmarkets Highlighting the stories of three successful women entrepreneurs, “Taking Women-owned Businesses to the Next Level” focused on the barriers women face when trying to build and expand their businesses. The session featured Nour Al-Hassan, who transformed her translation business from two employees to more than 200; Win Win Tint, who expanded her family’s single supermarket into a leading modern retail company; and Anta Bathily, who worked her way up from the bottom of her father’s poultry business to lead the company’s efforts to diversify into other agribusiness enterprises. Women entrepreneurs not only need access to finance, but they also need access to mentoring, technology, and knowledge, according to a panel discussion hosted by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. Kim was joined on the panel by Ivanka Trump, advisor to the US President, who spurred efforts to create the Women Entrepreneurs Financing Initiative (We-Fi), a new facility backed by 14 countries ...
Several leading technology trailblazers came together to discuss how digital technology is disrupting development and what could be done to level the playing field and harness its benefits. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia discussed how their two organizations could together help grow the inclusive sustainable tourism sector and help entrepreneurs in developing countries gain more income while acquiring new skills. Gebbia discussed the company’s beginnings and highlighted the importance of designing solutions with the end user in mind. He attributed Airbnb’s success to the effort made to understand their customer’s concerns in the initial phase of their growth. The 10-year-old company now has four million listings in 191 countries around the world. They are expanding their model, and recently launched the Open Homes initiative, to help provide shelter to refugees and those affected by natural disasters. They were followed by brief remarks by Philippe Le Houerou, CEO, IFC, on scaling up ...
As the region’s premier event during the World Bank-IMF Annual and Spring Meetings, the State of the Africa Region seminar provides an opportunity to reflect on the main trends shaping economic development on the continent. Attended by the region's leading thinkers and policy makers, the seminar will discuss key challenges and opportunities facing Africa amid a weak and volatile regional and global economic environment. This year’s seminar will have a special focus on meeting the skills challenge of 21st century Africa, exploring how Sub-Saharan African countries can enact system-wide change that will ensure greater efficiency of investments in skills-building and better outcomes for the region’s rapidly growing working-age population.
From severe flooding in South Asia, record-breaking hurricanes in the Caribbean and violent earthquakes in Mexico, to heavy rain and landslides in Sierra Leone – recent disasters have left a trail of devastation across the globe. With more infrastructure likely to be built in the next 20 years than the last two millennia, leaders from the private sector and policy makers will gather on the International Day for Disaster Reduction to explore how we can make these investments more resilient. Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group, will deliver a keynote address. This event is hosted by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery GFDRR), and is part of the ongoing Resilience Dialogue series, which promotes awareness and action for building resilience.
