2024 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings

The 2024 IMF-World Bank Group (WBG) Annual Meetings took place in Washington, D.C., from October 21 to 26, drawing together leaders from around the world, as well as country and civil society representatives, to address the future of international cooperation.

This year’s Development Committee Paper is titled “A Future-Ready World Bank Group“. It presents a bold roadmap for strengthening WBG’s mission and adapting its operations to the evolving needs of its client countries. Key challenges such as shifting demographics, rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the rise of emerging economies, climate change, and global geopolitical shifts are transforming the world in ways that require innovative responses.

Key Fact Figures

• WBG is collaborating with governments in more than 100 developing countries to enable digital economies.
• WBG’s digital lending portfolio comprised a record 53 active projects, representing $5.6 billion in total net commitments as of June 2024.
• Key initiatives include building and enhancing digital and data infrastructure, ensuring cybersecurity and data privacy for institutions, businesses, and citizens, and advancing digital government services.

To drive and track progress toward more robust development outcomes, WBG launched its new Scorecard a core accountability tool introduced to measure how WBG delivers on the new mission announced a year ago to end extreme poverty and boost prosperity on a livable planet. This scorecard tracks WBG’s delivery across 22 key results indicators. It also provides qualitative analysis through Results Narratives. These short notes discuss key constraints governments face in delivering outcomes, and highlight how WBG support for policy reforms, institutional strengthening, knowledge, and market creation contribute to better and more durable development outcomes. Read the Results Narratives on digital services and digital connectivity.

Each year, we hand-pick for you key events and announcements in digital for development from the WBG Annual Meetings. Below are the four events to catch up from this year’s edition:

Leveraging Satellite Technologies for Education, Health and Rural Economic Development

This Knowledge Café discussed lessons and experiences in working with the Satellite Industry to support SDGs in Emerging markets. Speakers engaged with the audience on how satellite internet technology can directly support development outcomes, by enhancing digital connectivity in underserved and remote areas while supporting digital education, healthcare, emergency response and economic development.

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Bridging the AI Divide: Unlocking Opportunities for Developing Economies

This Knowledge Café discussed new research on AI adoption in developing countries, exploring its impact on economic growth and labor markets. Discussions showcased high-impact AI use cases and sparked debate on policy and regulatory approaches to harness AI for inclusive, resilient, and sustainable growth.

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Women Transforming the World

This flagship event unveiled new targets to accelerate the use of broadband internet, social protection programs, and access to capital for women by 2030 – the first steps toward implementing Gender Strategy 2030. The Bank will prioritize investments in countries with the largest connectivity and financial gaps, emphasizing gender equality in digital inclusion; expand social protection programs by investing in digital social registries; and leverage digital cash transfers.

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Agriculture and Food as an Engine of Sustainable Growth and Jobs

At this event, WBG announced a strategic pivot in its approach to agribusiness with a goal to create a comprehensive ecosystem for the industry. The shift will combine a new way of working with a new level of investment – doubling its agri-finance and agribusiness commitments to $9 billion annually by 2030. The new approach arrives as four trends are fundamentally reshaping the agribusiness landscape: climate change, innovations in finance, digitalization, and solutions to fragmentation.

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