The World Bank

As digitization transforms our daily lives, it’s also reshaping the future of finance. A growing wave of innovation is using transactional data—like cash flow or purchase history—to assess creditworthiness, especially for small businesses that lack traditional assets. Sophie Sirtaine and Indermit Gill explore how digital data is becoming a powerful tool for financial inclusion, and what’s needed to ensure this transformation benefits everyone. The Banker

Accessing development data just got easier & smarter. We launched #Data360 —The World Bank's hub for social, economic & development insights. We brought together up to 300M data points and 11k indicators into one powerful platform. From GDP growth to climate metrics, education rates to poverty data, it's all here, in one place, ready to power your work. Dive in and explore the data: http://wrld.bg/R1gM50VWwLk

Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is showing signs of resilience, with growth projected to reach 3.5% in 2025 and 4.3% by 2026–2027, driven by rising private consumption and investment as inflation eases. But this momentum is not enough to significantly reduce poverty or meet the region’s development goals. The latest 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖’𝙨 𝙋𝙪𝙡𝙨𝙚 explores what it will take to deliver better governance and real progress for people across the continent. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: ➡️ 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆: Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic outlook is improving, yet growth remains too modest to meaningfully reduce poverty and deliver on the region’s development aspirations. ➡️ 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The median inflation rate declined from 7.1% in 2023 to 4.5% in 2024, and it is projected to bounce back slightly to 4.6% in 2025–27. This was driven by easing supply chain pressures, contractionary policies, and greater currency stability across the region. ➡️ 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀: Governments and citizens need a new social contract—one that boosts spending efficiency and creates the conditions for more and better jobs through fairer taxation, improved public services, and transparent regulations that support business growth. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 to learn how Sub-Saharan Africa can harness its economic momentum to expand job opportunities, strengthen governance, and deliver impact. http://wrld.bg/8HfS50VWwka

Weekly Update: ➡️ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗮 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: As we mark the International Day for Biological Diversity this week, meet leaders from Ecuador to South Africa who are working to strengthen the resilience of wildlife and nature—with support from the Global Wildlife Program. ➡️𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗲𝗯𝘁-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗽𝘀: As liquidity pressures mount for some countries, there’s renewed interest in debt-for-development using a novel strategy for a debt swap operation. Read insights from Pablo Saavedra, Ousmane Diagana, Jorge Familiar, and Junaid Kamal Ahmad. ➡️𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮: In African countries food takes about four times longer in transit than in Europe, exacerbating rising food insecurity. A new World Bank report examines how we can overcome this challenge. ➡️𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀: By combining infrastructure financing with policy reform loans and results-based financing, The World Bank is helping to drive sustainable waste management solutions. 

Jobs are more than just a source of income — they provide dignity, unlock potential, empower women, engage youth, and strengthen communities. Job creation is one of the most effective ways to defeat poverty, grow prosperity, and build stronger, more self-sufficient economies. It also plays a crucial role in promoting global stability and addressing the root causes of unrest and migration. At The World Bank Group, we're supporting countries to create more and better jobs by focusing on sectors with the highest potential for impact and scale. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲: http://wrld.bg/7UIP50VJbQu

𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 | The Spring 2025 Europe and Central Asia Economic Update explores the region's economic outlook amid profound global uncertainty and emphasizes reforms to accelerate growth through entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology adoption. Here are some 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 𝙀𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 • Growth in the developing economies of Europe and Central Asia is projected to slow significantly to 2.5% on average in 2025–26 due to weaker external demand. • Central Asia: Eases to 5.0% in 2025 and 4.4% in 2026, influenced by declining exports and normalized remittances. • Türkiye: Expected to stabilize at 3.3%, reflecting sluggish external demand and tight policies. • Poland: Stabilizes at 3.1%, supported by consumption and EU investments but constrained by trade uncertainty. 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙂𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝 To rebound, the report advocates for the region to boost private sector growth by: • Improving business dynamism and foster private sector development. • Facilitating firm-level innovation and technology adoption. • Strengthening competition policies and deepen financial markets. • Increasing investment in research and development. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 to explore how Europe and Central Asia can navigate uncertainties and build pathways toward resilient, inclusive economic growth.

#GEP2025 presents the first systematic review of the performance of developing economies since the dawn of the century—and assesses their prospects for the next 25 years. As we look toward 2025-26, global growth is expected to stabilize at 2.7% annually. Yet, this highlights a critical challenge: the global economy is settling into a low-growth trajectory, raising concerns about its ability to support sustained economic progress. What does this mean for developing economies? Dive into the findings and insights from the 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱. ➡️http://wrld.bg/U7e050UHSEe

Today’s complex labor market is not only an economic challenge, but also a social one. The World Bank Group’s High-Level Advisory Council on Jobs is aimed at creating jobs on a large scale in five sectors with great potential: agribusiness, health, energy and infrastructure, tourism, and manufacturing. Hear from Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile and Jobs Council co-chair. #WBGMeetings

A recent debt-for-development swap in Cote d'Ivoire, enabled by The World Bank, is helping the country:    ✅ reduce its debt service burden  ✅ improve debt sustainability  ✅ create savings that will be invested in the construction of schools    Learn more from Pablo Saavedra, Ousmane Diagana, Jorge Familiar, and Junaid Kamal Ahmad.

𝗡𝗘𝗪 |  Food insecurity is a persistent global problem affecting hundreds of millions of people each year. The new report 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝘼𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖: 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 confirms the complexity of the problem and focuses on the transport dimension to its resolution. The book explores critical links between transport, logistics, and food security in Africa, with the goal of enhancing the resilience of food systems. Here there are 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 for Africa to leverage transport for food security: •  𝗨𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗼𝗿𝘀. Modernize and upgrade critical seaports to improve efficiency and reduce delays. Key measures include streamlining customs and border controls to reduce both costs and time to enhance the flow of goods. Investing in key regional corridors is critical to efficiently connect surplus and deficit areas. • 𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗧𝗕𝘀.  Tackle NTBs and address inefficiencies in intra-African trade to reduce reliance on overseas imports. Aligning and implementing trade policies, with an emphasis on NTBs within and across regional economic communities, will help lower costs and promote cross-border trade between African states. • 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀. Encourage competition and provide financing for new trucking operators to enter the market. Addressing the common issue of empty running trucks is also crucial. Electronic cargo platforms that match real-time demand with suppliers can help reduce this inefficiency. The evidence is clear: Lowering transport costs by 10 percent could increase trade by 25 percent, boosting regional economies. • 𝗘𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆.  Maintain and upgrade existing roads. Expanding access to all-season roads will connect rural farmers to markets and stabilize food distribution. Develop transportation infrastructure that can endure disruptions caused by severe weather and other hazards. Enhance rural logistics to guarantee efficient delivery of essential inputs, such as fertilizers and seeds. • 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲. Develop modern storage facilities to minimize postharvest losses and stabilize food supply chains. Investment in regional cold chain infrastructure can help reduce food waste. A long-term strategy will invite public-private partnerships to fund storage expansion and operational improvements. 📖 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 to learn how smarter investments and policy reforms can build more resilient, connected, and food-secure communities.