The World Bank Group has announced the inclusion of Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Group, among other prominent figures, as new members of its Private Sector Investment Lab, which is dedicated to job creation.
Additionally, the World Bank has welcomed the CEO of Bayer AG, Bill Anderson, the Chair of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and the President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Mark Hoplamazian, as new members.
Naija News reports that on Wednesday, the World Bank Group revealed the initiation of the next phase of its Private Sector Investment Lab, which aims to implement effective solutions on a larger scale.
This new phase also broadens the Lab’s membership to incorporate industry leaders with expertise in job creation within developing economies, directly aligning with the Bank’s intensified focus on job creation as a fundamental aspect of development.
“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,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.
“This isn’t about altruism, it’s about helping the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns, and lift people and economies alike. It’s central to our mandate.”
In the past 18 months, the Lab has convened leaders from international financial institutions to pinpoint the most significant obstacles to private sector investment in developing nations and to explore viable solutions.
This effort has culminated in five key focus areas that are now being incorporated into the operations of the Bank Group.
As the Lab transitions into its implementation phase, it is also broadening its membership to encompass private sector leaders from essential sectors for job creation, including infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and manufacturing.
“These industries have a proven ability to translate investment into broad-based employment and economic opportunity”, the Bank said.
“We are grateful to the original Lab leaders who helped us deliver strong results in the initial work period.”
Banga said: “Now we’re building on that foundation—bringing in additional leaders from sectors that are central to job creation and moving from ideas to implementation.”
“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: regulatory and policy certainty; guarantees, as the most widely used and understood instrument to address political and credit risks; foreign exchange risk; scaling different forms of equity; and creating an asset class and liquid market to attract institutional funds.” Shriti Vadera, Chair, Prudential plc.. and Chair, Private Sector Investment Lab
“The World Bank Group is leading the way with initiatives to grow economies and create opportunities in emerging markets around the globe. As President Banga has said, the private sector will play a pivotal role in this transformation, and I am delighted to join the PSIL alongside other distinguished business leaders. 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,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair, Bharti Enterprises.
“I am honoured to join the Private Sector Investment Lab during its next phase focused on implementation. Together, businesses and the WBG can unleash job creation in emerging markets by managing the risks and realising the opportunities for the next generation growing up in low and middle-income countries,” Bill Anderson, CEO, Bayer AG, noted.
The Lab’s founding members included senior executives from AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Ninety One, Ping An Group, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group. Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential plc, chairs the Lab.
