Africa is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty. While many countries were successful in reducing poverty during the years before the pandemic,…

Camilla Holmemo, Christian Bodewig, Robert S. Chase, Suleiman Namara |

Data from the Global Findex Database indicate that the percentage of adults with bank accounts in Ethiopia has more than doubled since 2014 to reach 46%. However, despite this growth, financial…

Leora Klapper, Marlon Rolston Rawlins |

When education is relevant to real-world situations, it can be a powerful tool for reshaping the continent's climate and economic landscape. Reforming the education systems should begin by…

Timothy Dziedzom Amaglo-Mensah, Eliane Mbende |

Guatemala has the seventh highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world, and between 2019-2021 56% of the population faced food insecurity.

Aída Romero, Viviana Perego, Javier Romero Haaker |

In this blog, we highlight two projects that leveraged data-driven policymaking processes and simulations.

Kerina Wang, KCP Program Management Unit (KCP PMU) |

Expanding broadband infrastructure and improving data governance will help Cameroon take full advantage of the ongoing digital development revolution.

Tata Dinyuy Bolivian |

This blog is a biweekly feature highlighting recent working papers from around the World Bank Group. This entry introduces 5 papers published from April 1 to April 15 on various topics, including…

Marcelo Buitron, Policy Research Working Paper team |

No sector, least of all any in my own country, has been spared the horrors of COVID-19 (coronavirus). In Cameroon, the data from a National Statistical Institute study conducted in June 2020 gave…

Laurence Okalia |

As part of its commitment to support Ethiopia’s plan to open up the telecom sector, the World Bank is preparing a new Digital Ethiopia Foundations project and invest some $200 million in the…

Ousmane Dione |

The pandemic has hit Ethiopia's women entrepreneurs particularly hard. To help them weather the crisis, the World Bank is piloting a new app that will streamline and optimize small business…

Fawah Ngeniform Akwo, Salman Alibhai, Sharmista Appaya, Rachel Coleman |