Annual Meetings 2024: Progress and Ambition for the Future

The World Bank Group’s journey to become a better, bigger, and more effective Bank has advanced at a rapid pace. That progress—and a new focus and ambition on jobs—was on full display at the Annual Meetings.

From unveiling a new approach to agriculture to launching ambitious gender goals and a heightened ambition on jobs, the Meetings showcased the momentum of our reform agenda—and  laid out a vision for our next chapter.

“We face a world of unparalleled complexity. Poverty, climate change, conflict, pandemics, these have all got intertwined, and the modern requirements of reconstruction and development call for an institution that is faster, is simpler and is more impactful,” Ajay said Friday in his Annual Meetings Plenary speech. “We're moving in the right direction. There are measurable milestones—streamlined operations, a more impact-oriented institution, and increased lending capacity.”

On Tuesday, Ajay joined US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Zambia’s Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane to reflect on the bold steps the Bank has taken on to be less bureaucratic, faster, and more approachable.

Yellen pointed to four areas of the evolution agenda: mission, incentives, operational models, and financial capacity. “We’ve seen progress in each,” she said.

Zambia’s Musokotwane said client countries are seeing results from the Bank’s evolution: “Is it a Bank that is more listening now than before? I think we are seeing that.  We're engaging, discussing, and agreeing. I think that by itself is something that is very positive.”

The Meetings also highlighted ambitious new targets on agribusiness and gender. The Bank Group is making a strategic pivot to create a comprehensive ecosystem for the agriculture sector. This new integrated approach will bring together all the institution’s resources to offer comprehensive support to an area that is being fundamentally reshaped by climate change, innovations in finance, digitalization, and solutions to fragmentation. The Bank announced a new level of investment—aiming to double its agri-finance and agribusiness commitments to $9 billion annually by 2030.

On gender, the Bank Group took the first steps toward implementing the Gender Strategy 2030, announcing a set of actions and concrete goals that aim to boost economic opportunities for more women. These include a set of targets around broadband, social protection, and access to capital for women. By 2030, the Bank Group aims to enable 300 million more women to use broadband, support 250 million with social protection programs, and provide 80 million more women and women-led businesses with capital. Achieving these goals will unlock essential services, such as finance and education and job opportunities, for women while addressing a critical constraint to entrepreneurship.

The meetings also highlighted recent moves that will generate around $150 billion in additional financing capacity over the coming decade and unveiled the new WBG Scorecard, which goes from 150 items to 22 indicators, and is more oriented on output, not just on input.

The International Development Association (IDA) was another consistent theme throughout the Meetings. As a critical partner for the countries most in need, IDA wields powerful weapons against poverty—affordable financing and development knowledge.

The Meetings saw Spain announce an early financial pledge of €400 Million to IDA, representing a 40% increase in its commitment. The announcement comes weeks ahead of the final 21^st replenishment meeting in December. Spain joined Denmark, which announced a 40% increase in pledge in September.

The Meetings also provided a moment for the Bank to turn the page and look to the future. In his plenary address, Ajay outlined how the Bank is poised to embark on the next phase of its mission—ensuring that job creation is an explicit aim—not just a byproduct—of projects.

In emerging markets, 1.2 billion people will become working-age adults over the next 10 years and they will enter a job market that is projected to offer spots for just 420 million of them. To help close that gap, the Bank has launched a high-level council aimed at finding solutions to generate jobs for young people. Led by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore, and Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, the council met for the first-time during the Annual Meetings and discussed the importance of pursuing innovative ideas to create jobs.

“The best way to put a nail in the coffin of poverty is to give people the hope, the optimism, the dignity of a job,” Ajay said.