New generation of targets: Changing the development game

At the recent 111th Development Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C., global finance and development leaders acknowledged a critical juncture: the world is at a tipping point. Wars, weather shocks, economic insecurity, and persistent inequality demand more than incremental action—they demand a shift in ambition. 

The World Bank Group is responding to this call by not only scaling up financing and deploying new instruments but by setting transformative targets that drive systemic change and demand real outcomes, such as more and better jobs. 

As President Ajay Banga emphasized, "We must be impatient for impact." 

The focus should be on transforming lives sustainably, inclusively, and equitably. In essence: Don’t just score. Change the game.

Building momentum through transformational targets

The concept of a target-driven organization is well-established, with recognition that combining a clear mission with transformational targets can reshape organizational capabilities. 

A mission provides the anchor that guides strategy, shapes behavior, and sustains collective action even amid uncertainty. However, a mission alone is insufficient. Thoughtfully designed targets translate ambitions into measurable steps, creating a bridge between aspiration and action, and building momentum for sustained progress.

Transformational targets, those that stretch ambition beyond what is easily achievable, are particularly powerful. Unlike operational metrics or output quotas, they encourage organizations to innovate, collaborate, and adapt. They help align dispersed teams toward a shared goal, break down institutional silos, and concentrate resources where they can have the greatest impact. Over time, transformational targets generate the internal momentum necessary to keep pushing forward, even when facing setbacks or complexity.

For the World Bank Group, the most meaningful outcome is the creation of good jobs and expanded economic opportunities. Our Scorecard is central to this shift away from a focus on outputs and towards a commitment to outcomes. It serves as both a compass guiding transformational targets and a standard setter, demanding that every project, intervention, and policy reform be judged by the outcomes it delivers, not merely by activities completed. The jobs indicator in the Scorecard will be introduced later this year.

Pushing the limits: Beyond traditional targets

The World Bank Group’s focus on targets is not new. We’ve set clear, binding commitments for instance during multiple replenishments of the International Development Association (IDA) to build schools, connect communities, vaccinate children, and more. These targets were delivery promises, and the institution’s credibility was tied to meeting them. 

But the new generation of our targets is different. They are calls to fundamentally change how the institution works and delivers, with job creation positioned as a central outcome of all our efforts.

In this model, targets serve to stretch ambition, catalyze innovation, and integrate services across sectors. Lessons from IDA remind us that success requires balancing country demand with institutional ambition, ensuring that bold goals are grounded in local realities, not imposed from above. True transformation happens where the two meet, and where investment in energy, health, digital access, agriculture, and resilience are intentionally designed to unlock jobs, incomes, and entrepreneurial opportunity for millions.

Creating jobs: The ultimate pathway to prosperity

Each transformational target set by the World Bank Group serves a dual purpose: advancing a key development theme while driving job creation as a foundation for lasting prosperity. 

Here’s a closer look at our new generation of targets, which together form an integrated strategy:

• Mission 300: Connecting 250 million people to electricity in Africa powers economic growth and enables job creation across every sector. Through a “One World Bank Group” approach, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and IDA finance national electrification programs, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) expands off-grid solutions, and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) mitigates investment risks — showing how the system moves together to spark opportunity.

• Health services for 1.5 billion people: Quality health services don't just save lives,  they unlock workforce productivity and local health-sector jobs. IDA, IBRD, and IFC combine forces to strengthen public systems and scale private providers, while MIGA reduces barriers to health sector investments.

• Social protection for 500 million people: Robust safety nets do more than protect—they help households invest, take risks, and participate in labor markets. This target strengthens pathways from social assistance to economic opportunity.

• Broadband access for 300 million women: Digital inclusion empowers women with access to education, finance, and entrepreneurship, which are engines for local job creation and economic growth.

• Capital support for 80 million women entrepreneurs: Expanding access to finance for women-led businesses unleashes a powerful job multiplier effect, fueling small business growth and community prosperity.

• AgriConnect: Modernizing agriculture boosts rural incomes, resilience, and job opportunities, particularly for youth and women, turning food systems into engines of employment.

• Climate finance at 45 percent: Investing in climate resilience creates immediate jobs in construction, energy, and infrastructure while safeguarding livelihoods against future shocks.

Changing the rules: A collective effort

The World Bank Group is setting the right course. Yet to fully deliver on the institution’s vision of a world free of poverty on a livable planet, this transformation must extend beyond us. The multilateral development system must also evolve.

Encouragingly, signs of that evolution are already emerging, offering a glimpse of what is possible. Institutions are moving to harmonize their approaches to outcomes measurement, evident in the growing alignment around climate finance definitions and the tracking of private capital mobilization. They’re also establishing shared priorities through new memoranda of understanding, signaling a readiness to work side-by-side rather than in parallel.

The opportunity before us is real. The responsibility is, too. The next frontier is not just setting ambitious targets individually but changing the game collectively: working as one system to deliver outcomes at the scale the world demands. 

As Ajay Banga reminded us during the recent 2025 Spring Meetings, "The world will not wait for us to get comfortable." Neither should we.