Paris, June 22, 2023. Today, the World Bank Group launched the Private Sector Investment Lab, a concrete step that is part of a broader effort to develop and scale up solutions that address barriers to private investment in emerging markets.
In emerging economies and developing countries, trillions of dollars are needed each year to make progress toward climate goals, manage climate change risks and fight poverty. The scale of this challenge requires the private sector to engage in a meaningful way, along with the World Bank Group and other development institutions.
The World Bank Group approaches this mission with urgency and determination, using its leadership, knowledge, and resources to deliver tangible results. The work to be undertaken by the Lab will in particular seek to expand funding for the transition, with an initial focus on the renewable energy sector and energy infrastructure. It will depend on work being done by the World Bank to address existing obstacles and prioritize ideas that can be quickly put into practice.
The working group will be tasked with implementing new approaches and recommendations to ensure that the World Bank mobilizes capital in the necessary volume. This includes developing ideas for improving financing structures, looking for ways to better align World Bank Group initiatives with the needs and speed of private financing mobilization, developing approaches to balance and distribute risks among investors, forming new alliances, as well as analyzing other areas in private investment that could be further stimulated. effectiveness.
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, announced the new initiative at the Summit for a New Global Financial Compact with the co-chairs of the Lab: Mark Carney and Shriti Vadera.
Mark Carney is the UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, and Co-Chair of the Glasgow Alliance for Finance for Net Zero Emissions (GFANZ). A former Governor of the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, he is currently Chairman and Head of Transition Investment at Brookfield Asset Management, an international alternative asset manager. Shriti Vadera is the Chairman of Prudential plc, an insurance company and asset manager focused on Asia and Africa. She previously chaired Santander UK and worked in business, finance, development and public policy for nearly 40 years, including as UK Government Minister.
The lab will consist of senior executives from corporate and private financial entities with expertise in finance, investment and business in emerging markets and developing economies. The composition of this team will be announced in the coming weeks. You will work closely with experts from governments, regulators and civil society from all regions and sectors.
Lab members will meet periodically with the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, and with the Directors of the Foundation (Axel van Trotsenberg, Hiroshi Matano, Anna Birdi, and Anshula Kant), on whom they will report directly. the job. Mokhtar Diop, Managing Director of the International Finance Corporation, will oversee coordination and act as a point of contact with the World Bank Group.
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group: For years, the World Bank Group, governments, and other multilateral institutions have tried to mobilize large amounts of private investment in emerging markets, but with little success. Given the urgency, scale, and interconnectedness of the challenges, we must experiment with a new approach, and the World Bank Group must play a central role in this effort by using its resources, pooling capacity, and expertise to more effectively catalyze development. private capital.”
Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and Co-Chair of GFANZ: Investment in emerging markets and developing economies must quadruple. If the situation does not change, nothing will be achieved. Public institutions can and should do more to mobilize private financing, and private funders should work with development partners to create blended financing tools that can be rapidly scaled up. Therefore, I welcome Ajay’s initiative to create the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, which will bring together private financial institutions, multilateral development banks and development finance institutions. I look forward to working with him and Shriti Vadera to help provide this vital component of the transitional financing that the planet needs and its people deserve.”
Shriti Vadera, President, Prudential plc: “I am pleased that Ajay Banga is prioritizing how the World Bank can mobilize and attract private financing for global public goods such as climate transition, growth and poverty reduction, with a focus on implementation and results, to move from promises and commitments to credible implementation. And so I am honored to work with him alongside Mark Carney And I hope, along with many other colleagues in the public and private sectors, to try to make a real impact.”
Contacts:
In the city of Washington: David Theis, +1 (+1) 202-458, [email protected]
In Paris: Laure Lepastier (+33) 6 23 14 17 45 [email protected]
Alexandra Klopfer Hernandez: (+33) 6 65 72 66 56 [email protected]
“Creator. Devoted pop culture specialist. Certified web fanatic. Unapologetic coffee lover.”