Listen to a recap of the 2024 Spring Meetings
From new partnerships and mobilization tools to bold plans to expand access to health services and electricity, the World ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP Group¡¯s drive to become more ambitious and impact-oriented was on full display at last week¡¯s Spring Meetings.
Under the theme ¡°,¡± the meetings showcased the progress the ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP Group has made in transforming itself, speeding up delivery, and working with partners to achieve greater scale.
¡°A better bank, bigger ambition, that¡¯s the game we¡¯re trying to play here,¡± World ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP Group President Ajay Banga told reporters at a briefing just ahead of the Spring Meetings.
The many initiatives announced over the past year to transform the institution allowed the World ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP Group to make ambitious new announcements at the Spring Meetings. On Wednesday, it announced a commitment to provide 250 million people in Africa with electricity access before the end of the decade¡ªa significant expansion of the institution¡¯s earlier goal. At a flagship event with Ajay, the African Development ¶¹ÄÌÊÓƵAPP said it would support an additional 50 million.
The effort could be a life-changing for people in Africa: right now, 600 million people on the continent don¡¯t have access to electricity. That¡¯s a significant barrier to health care, education, productivity, digital inclusion, and job creation. Connecting 250 million people to electricity will require $30 billion of public-sector investment and a commitment to regulatory changes. , will play a critical role. At the same time, the push to expand electricity access could unlock $9 billion in private sector investment opportunities in distributed renewable energy.