Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Rapid increase in defaults poses a threat to financial stability of the two economies. From a social standpoint, excessive debt can decrease households’ disposable…

Fernando Dancausa, Martin Melecky |

BRD issued first bond for sustainable projects. It rewards borrowers for reaching goals like ESG compliance, funding women-led projects, and affordable housing. The Government of Rwanda used IDA…

Alwaleed Alatabani, Niraj Verma, Miguel Navarro |

This World Bank paper argues that transmission infrastructure is a stable operating asset with proven technologies that have remained largely unchanged for over a century. Furthermore,…

Debabrata Chattopadhyay, Durreh Tabassum |

Banking supervisors in Central Asia need to be prepared for a potentially sharp rise in NPLs. A recent World Bank policy paper assesses the NPL resolution framework in four Central Asian countries…

Emiko Todoroki, Ismael Ahmad Fontan, Fernando Dancausa, Maksym Iavorskyi |

Globally, women earn about 80% of what men earn on average. But the gap is larger in Central Asia: working women earn about 60% of what men earn in Tajikistan, 61% in Uzbekistan, 75% in the Kyrgyz…

Tatiana Proskuryakova, William Seitz |

The Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA)’s origin story has its roots in the Nile Basin. On February 22nd (Nile Day), to celebrate the Nile, the world’s longest river which…

Ai-Ju Huang, Shyam KC |

One striking statistic puts in context the state of education in Africa today. According to the latest State of Global Education Update, nearly 9 in 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa are unable to…

Victoria Kwakwa |

Divine, a young Rwandan girl, is working as a trainee in a clothing manufacturing company. She is very clear that she chose the program because she needs fashion design skills.

Ruth Charo, Rolande Simone Pryce |