Farah Hussain is Head of Sustainable Finance and ESG Advisory Program at the World Bank Treasury based in Washington DC, leading the World Bank’s sustainable finance and Environmental, Social and Governance technical assistance program for emerging markets. Farah helps develop sustainable capital markets, including developing policy frameworks, supporting capacity building, and facilitating the issuance of sustainable financial instruments such as green and social bonds as part of the World Bank Group’s efforts to promote sustainable investment solutions. She led the World Bank’s engagements in Malaysia, Fiji, Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil, Colombia, Romania and Nigeria that resulted in the issuance of the first green sukuk in the world; first green bonds and sustainability bonds issued by sovereign issuers in different regions. She authored the World Bank Guide on How to Develop a National Green Taxonomy for emerging market regulators and led the development of green and sustainable finance taxonomies in Malaysia, Colombia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, etc. She has been instrumental in developing Green and Social Bond Guidelines across the world, including the ASEAN standards, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Russia, Morocco, etc.
Farah participates in global sustainable finance related initiatives, including the Network for Greening the Financial Sector (NGFS). She is the author of a number of seminal guides on sustainable finance such as the World Bank Guide on Management and Reporting of Green Bond Proceeds; How to Develop a National Green Taxonomy for Emerging Market Regulators, Engaging with Investors on ESG – A World Bank Guide for Sovereign Debt Managers, Just Transition Taxonomy, and Trends in Allocation and Impact Reporting. She contributed to the Asian Development Bank’s The Sustainability of Asian Debt and wrote the chapter on green taxonomies in the NGFS publication Enhancing Market Transparency in Green and Transition Finance.
Before joining the World Bank Treasury in 2010, Ms. Hussain worked for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group that provides guarantees to attract investors and private insurers into difficult operating environments such as the world’s poorest countries.Before joining the World Bank Treasury in 2010, Ms. Hussain worked for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group that provides guarantees to attract investors and private insurers into difficult operating environments such as the world’s poorest countries.
Product expertise:
Sustainable Finance & ESG Advisory
Regional focus:
Global