The World Bank Group has launched the next phase of its Private Sector Investment Lab (PSIL) initiative, aimed at fostering job creation and economic development in emerging economies. The initiative has expanded its membership to include four prominent business leaders, including Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer AG, Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Dangote Group, and Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. The new members bring expertise from key industries such as infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and manufacturing, which have a proven ability to create jobs and drive economic growth.
The PSIL initiative has been working over the past 18 months to identify barriers to private sector investment in developing countries and test actionable solutions. The outcomes have been consolidated into five key focus areas: regulatory and policy certainty, political risk insurance, foreign exchange risk, junior equity capital, and securitization. The World Bank Group aims to mainstream this work across its operations and tie it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving its strategy.
According to World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, the private sector will play a pivotal role in economic transformation, and the PSIL initiative will help the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns and lift people and economies alike. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, expressed his delight in joining the PSIL alongside other distinguished business leaders and hopes that the successes of the telecommunications sector will be valuable as the initiative embarks on its next stage of work.
The expansion of the PSIL initiative is a significant step towards achieving the World Bank Group’s goal of creating jobs and driving economic growth in emerging economies. With the addition of new members from key industries, the initiative is well-positioned to provide actionable solutions and support the implementation of proven solutions at scale. The World Bank Group is committed to working with the private sector to create a path to investments that will deliver returns and drive economic growth, and the PSIL initiative is a crucial part of this effort.