The World Bank Group on Wednesday announced the inauguration of the next phase of its Private Sector Investment Lab(PSIL), focused on implementing proven solutions at scale.
This is contained in a statement issued by the World Bank Online Media Briefing Centre made available to the media on Wednesday.
The statement said the new chapter also expands the Lab’s membership to include private sector leaders in sectors critical to job creation in developing economies.
It said these sectors included infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and manufacturing.
“These industries have a proven ability to translate investment into broad-based employment and economic opportunity.
“This aligns directly with the Bank’s sharpened focus on job creation as a core driver of development.”
Ajay Banga, World Group President was quoted as saying, “with the expanded membership, we are mainstreaming this work across our operations and tying it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving our strategy.
“This isn’t about altruism, it is about helping the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns, and lift people and economies alike. It is central to our mandate.”
The Lab brought together leaders from global financial institutions over the past 18-years to identify the most pressing barriers to private sector investment in developing countries and to test actionable solutions.
The statement said that the work had now been consolidated into five priority focus areas that were being integrated across the Bank Group operations and they include, Regulatory and Policy Certainty.
Others are Political Risk Insurance, Foreign Exchange Risk, Junior Equity Capital and Securitization.
It listed the new members of the Lab to include Bill Anderson, CEO, Bayer AG and Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair, Bharti Enterprises.
Others are Aliko Dangote, President and CEO, Dangote Group, and Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
The statement said the Lab’s founding members included senior executives from AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, and Ninety One.
Others are Ping An Group, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group.
It said the Lab is chaired by Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential Plc.
The statement quoted Shriti Vadera, Chair, Prudential Plc. and Chair, Private Sector Investment Lab as saying, “We are grateful to the Lab leaders who helped deliver such important results in the first phase.
“We welcome our new members’ support in continuing our focus on five key areas.”
The statement also quoted Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair, Bharti Enterprises, as saying, “The World Bank Group is leading the way with initiatives to grow economies and create opportunities in emerging markets around the globe.
“I have seen firsthand the power of connectivity to transform lives by creating opportunities for businesses to grow and communities to thrive.
“I hope that the successes of the telecommunications sector will be valuable as PSIL embarks on the next stage of its important work,” he said.
