World Bank Expands Investment Lab to Boost Jobs

The World Bank Group today announced the launch of the next phase of its Private Sector Investment Lab, focused on implementing proven solutions at scale. This new chapter also expands the Lab’s membership to include industry leaders with experience generating jobs in developing economies, aligning directly with the Bank’s sharpened focus on job creation as a core driver of development.

“With the expanded membership, we are mainstreaming this work across our operations and tying it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving our strategy,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “This isn’t about altruism—it’s about helping the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns, and lift people and economies alike. It’s central to our mandate.”

Over the last 18 months, the Lab brought together leaders from global financial institutions to identify the most pressing barriers to private sector investment in developing countries—and to test actionable solutions. That work has now been consolidated into five priority focus areas that are being integrated across Bank Group operations:

● Regulatory and Policy Certainty: Supporting governments in creating stable regulatory frameworks. For instance, the effort to connect 300 million people in Africa
to electricity relies on upfront policy clarity to attract long-term capital.

● Political Risk Insurance: Streamlined guarantee instruments has led to a 30% increase in issuance compared to last year—enhancing investor confidence and
helping the Bank meet its goal of tripling the use of guarantees by 2030.

● Foreign Exchange Risk: Scaling local currency financing to deepen domestic capital markets. Last year, IFC committed one-third of its long-term financing in local
currency—with a goal of reaching 40% by 2030.

● Junior Equity Capital: Launched the Frontier Opportunities Fund to absorb early- stage risk. Initially capitalized with IFC income, the fund will grow with donor and
philanthropic contributions.

• Securitization: Collaborating with institutions such as S&P and BlackRock to standardize and securitize portfolios, unlocking capital from pension funds, insurers,
and sovereign wealth funds.

As the Lab enters its implementation phase, it is also expanding its membership to include private sector leaders in sectors critical to job creation—such as infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and manufacturing. These industries have a proven ability to translate investment into broad-based employment and economic opportunity.

New members of the Lab include:

• Bill Anderson, CEO, Bayer AG
• Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair, Bharti Enterprises
• Aliko Dangote, President & CEO, Dangote Group
• Mark Hoplamazian, President & CEO, Hyatt Hotels Corporation

“We are grateful to the original Lab leaders who helped us deliver strong results in the initial work period,” Banga said. “Now we’re building on that foundation—bringing in additional leaders from sectors that are central to job creation and moving from ideas to implementation.”

The Lab’s founding members included senior executives from AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Ninety One, Ping An Group, Royal Philips,
Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group. The Lab is chaired by Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential plc.

“We are grateful to the Lab leaders who helped deliver such important results in the first phase. We welcome our new members’ support in continuing our focus on five key areas: regulatory and policy certainty; guarantees, as the most widely used and understood instrument to address political and credit risks; foreign exchange risk; scaling different forms of equity; and creating an asset class and liquid market to attract institutional funds.” Shriti Vadera, Chair, Prudential plc. and Chair, Private Sector Investment Lab

“The World Bank Group is leading the way with initiatives to grow economies and create opportunities in emerging markets around the globe. As President Banga has said, the private sector will play a pivotal role in this transformation, and I am delighted to join the PSIL alongside other distinguished business leaders. I have seen firsthand the power of connectivity to transform lives by creating opportunities for businesses to grow and communities to thrive. I hope that the successes of the telecommunications sector will be valuable as PSIL embarks on the next stage of its important work.” Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair, Bharti Enterprises

“I am honored to join the Private Sector Investment Lab during its next phase focused on implementation. Together, businesses and the WBG can unleash job creation in emerging markets by managing the risks and realizing the opportunities for the next generation growing up in low and middle income countries.” Bill Anderson, CEO, Bayer AG