The World Bank’s first CEO, Kristalina Georgieva, is moving the bank to encourage more private investment in emerging markets, in addition to its own traditional lending.
As part of its new “relentless focus on results,” the bank is planning to expand pay-for-success initiatives.
Until now, the payers for such “development impact bonds,” or DIBs, have been international donors, as in a small DIB in Palestine tackling youth unemployment that is backed by Sir Ronald Cohen’s Portland Trust. The next step is World Bank support for social impact bonds, or SIBs, issued by developing-world governments themselves, which would foster local ownership of the projects.
Georgieva, who took over major bank operations in January, is working to improve the organization’s agility and collaboration.
“At a time of growing needs and where resources are not quite following, a results focus is even more important,” she told Devex.
This post originally appeared in ImpactAlpha’s daily newsletter. Get The Brief.
Photo credit: EC Audiovisual Service
