World Bank Group

11/13/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/11/2023 18:11

LJD Week 2023 | A Conversation with Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank: Unlocking Private Finance for the Future

Please watch this session here.

Today, people around the world face multiple, concrete, and often overlapping crises - from pandemics and climate change to gender inequality and poverty. The scale of these challenges is beyond the capacity of the public sector alone. The private sector can and should play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable development.

Private sector partnership enables the mobilization of financial resources for implementing large-scale sustainable development projects. By facilitating private capital investment pipelines, governments can tap into substantial capital and expertise of business, channeling resources towards initiatives that promote economic development while ensuring environmental stewardship, social equity and security. These partnerships not only enhance the effectiveness of public sector projects, but also create a sense of shared responsibility, emphasizing the interconnectedness of economic prosperity, social well-being and environmental sustainability in the journey towards a more livable planet.

This Fireside chat will frame the discussions of the Law, Justice and Development Week, where the theme for this year is "Partnering for Impact: Enabling and Mobilizing the Private Sector for Sustainable Development". Furthermore, it seeks to address the following key questions:

1. How can the private sector and development finance institutions partner in new ways to address the most pressing sustainable development challenges that are now seem more formidable in light of the specter of Climate Change?

2. How can the private sector be mobilized effectively, as a partner to governments and Development Finance Institutions?

3. How is the World Bank facilitating private finance through improving business enabling conditions and strengthening institutions?

  • Ajay Banga
    President, World Bank Group

    Ajay Banga is the 14th President of the World Bank Group. He began his five-year term as World Bank Group President on June 2, 2023.

    Mr. Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization with nearly 24,000 employees. Under his leadership, MasterCard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. He was Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He became an advisor to General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021. Mr. Banga served as Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America, a coalition of private organizations that works to advance economic opportunity across underserved populations in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He was previously on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods, and Dow Inc.

  • Sheila Braka Musiime (moderator)
    Deputy General Counsel, World Bank

    Sheila currently serves as Deputy General Counsel for Operations, in the World Bank, after managing the Bank's Africa and East Asia Pacific portfolios. Sheila earned a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University, a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Uganda Law Development Center, and a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School. She serves on the Board of Directors with Redeem International. Prior to joining the World Bank, Sheila had worked as an Associate in a leading law firm in Uganda on commercial transactions and property law issues. At the World Bank, Sheila has worked on the World Bank's lending operations for countries in South Asia, East Asia, and Pacific, Europe, and Central Asia, Middle East North Africa, and Africa Regions. She has also worked on policy issues for the World Bank, including fraud and corruption matters, sovereign guarantees, and general policies for investment lending.

    @BrakaMusiime