Samar El-Sayed – Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, revealed that the volume of private capital successfully mobilized by the Group rose to about $112 billion last year, compared to about $35 billion in the 2022 fiscal year (July-June), representing a threefold increase over that period.
He added in his speech during the events of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in the Thai capital, Bangkok, that this increase contributed to total financing exceeding $230 billion, when adding the amounts provided by the Bank from its own resources.
Banga pointed out that in the months preceding his joining the World Bank Group in June 2023, challenges were immense and resources were limited, which imposed on the Group the necessity to confront these challenges.
He continued that these challenges have not been resolved after the passage of three years, as conflicts continue, fiscal space is increasingly tightening, debt burdens are exacerbating, in addition to the continued high costs of basic commodities, ranging from energy to fertilizers.
He highlighted the demographic challenge, anticipating that about 1.2 billion young people will enter the global labor market over the next ten to fifteen years, while only about 400 million job opportunities are expected to be available.
He noted that the annual meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund over the past three years have witnessed a review of ongoing efforts and targeted plans to address these challenges.
He emphasized that the future of development will remain contingent upon the ability to mobilize public financing, private investment, and technology, and direct them towards the specific needs of each country, stressing the necessity for financing partnerships to evolve in parallel with the evolution of the countries themselves.
He pointed out that his institution successfully reduced the project preparation period from 19 months to 9 months, and curtailed the number of performance measurement indicators from 153 indicators to 22 indicators focusing directly on the developmental impact.
He noted that the Bank restructured its balance sheet, which enabled the provision of additional lending capacity exceeding $100 billion through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development over ten years.
