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Sep 28, 2020

The Impact of COVID-19 on Disruptive Technology Adoption in Emerging Markets

This note presents examples of how disruptive technologies have been employed in emerging markets during the COVID-19 crisis; discusses market trends that may heighten the role of disruptive technologies in emerging markets post crisis; and reviews risks to and opportunities of faster adoption of disruptive technologies in emerging markets.

English | 17 pages | 2020 IFC

Sep 24, 2020

Lessons for Electric Utilities from COVID-19 Responses in Emerging Markets

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic shutdown have severely depressed electricity demand across the globe, with acute consequences for the revenues and financial health of utilities, as well as smaller providers of utility services and off-grid companies. In many places, utility service providers also must manage the inability of consumers to pay for their services. Government support has been forthcoming, but utilities need to work closely with policymakers to ensure that programs are carefully designed in order to maintain ongoing system reforms, competitiveness, and affordability, and avoid long-lasting market disruptions. These support measures should avoid redundancy among sectors and ensure that resources are efficiently allocated and that welfare improvements are fairly distributed across the country in a sustainable manner. Investors must also understand changes to utilities’ finances and should work to support further reforms.

English | 8 pages - September - Note 90 | IFC 2020

Sep 21, 2020

Powered by Women - Business Case for Gender Diversity and Equality in Nepal’s Hydropower Sector

This Powered by Women report was developed by International Finance Corporation (IFC) as part of its commitment to mainstream gender into its programs. By building the Business Case for Gender Equality and Diversity in Nepal’s Hydropower sector, this report provides the foundation for the Powered by Women Initiative to help companies promote business growth and efficiency and enhance sustainability through increased gender diversity.

50 pages | © September 2020 IFC | Complimentary

Sep 16, 2020

Digital to Equal Case Studies

Digital to Equal Case Studies

Sep 11, 2020

Factsheet: Women's Insurance Program

Women in emerging markets often lack insurance protection, exposing them to risks when they want to launch a business or need to pay for a healthcare emergency. This factsheet present an overview of IFC's unique role as a strategic partner to the insurance sector through technical advice and investments.

English | 2 pages | 2020 IFC

Sep 9, 2020

Enhancing Employee Productivity & Well-Being in Challenging Times: A Gender-Smart Guide to Remote Work for Employers & Managers

This guide provides employers and managers with resources to conduct a gender-smart situational analysis to understand how the pandemic may be affecting genders differently. It offers guidance on implementing inclusive remote-work practices.

English | 2 pages| IFC 2020

Sep 9, 2020

COVID-19 Economic Impact: Sub-Saharan Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to trigger a severe economic contraction in Sub-Saharan Africa. IFC is working with existing clients in the region to evaluate where our support is needed most.

English | 2 pages | 2020 IFC

Sep 8, 2020

Artificial Intelligence in Emerging Markets—Opportunities, Trends, and Emerging Business Models

This report explores the latest AI applications and trends in emerging markets and includes several examples of how AI is expanding opportunities and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It also sheds light on how investors, clients, and governments can harness its full potential while minimizing its risks—when managed effectively and with safeguards in place, AI can facilitate private investment to reduce poverty and improve lives at a pace inconceivable only a decade ago.

English | 117 pages | IFC 2020

Aug 28, 2020

Social Bonds Can Help Mitigate the Economic and Social Effects of the COVID-19 Crisis

Social bonds have become an increasingly popular fixed-income product since the Social Bond Principles were published in 2017, and their growth and popularity have accelerated in recent months due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting need for new funding avenues to address the unforeseen economic and social disruptions. Since the outbreak of the crisis, global issuances of social bonds have risen considerably, and an increasing number of market participants have turned to IFC, a prolific and experienced issuer of social bonds, for advice on how to set up Social Bond Programs and Social Bond Frameworks. The hope now is that social bonds can become a significant method for financing projects that mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the current health crisis, and that the growing use of and interest in these bonds can be sustained post-crisis.

English | 8 pages – August – Note 89 | IFC 2020

Aug 27, 2020

Creating Markets in Senegal: Country Private Sector Diagnostic

Addressing the constraints for greater private sector development will stimulate good jobs, growth and post COVID-19 recovery in Senegal. To do so, this CPSD identifies economywide policies and key interventions in Agriculture and Agribusiness, Education, Tourism and Housing.

English | 102 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 25, 2020

Tackling Childcare:The Business Case for Employer-Supported Childcare in Vietnam

Employers in Vietnam, especially those in high-growth sectors like export-oriented manufacturing and banking, are looking for ways to attract and retain works as the labor market tightens. This study explores how forward-looking employers tackle the challenge by investing in childcare support for their employees.

Aug 24, 2020

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Cement Industry

As the COVID-19 outbreak has slowed construction in many countries, the industry has seen lower demand for its products, leading to overcapacity. Cement companies are largely expected to survive the crisis, but they must strengthen their sustainability and competitiveness. Companies must also reduce their carbon emissions for their long-term viability; with the cement sector generating 7 to 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, pressure is growing for the industry to achieve carbon neutrality.

Aug 24, 2020

What African Industrial Development Can Learn from East Asian Successes—The Role of Complexity and Economic Fitness

This note highlights the East Asian lessons that African nations, and Ethiopia in particular, are putting to use. These include focusing on competitiveness in select industries, acquiring know-how from global leaders, seeking foreign partners and investment, and developing a national strategy to create the industries of the future. The application of these lessons is also of interest to private investors, as it can allow them to identify the economies utilizing Economic Fitness analyses and thus offer opportunities for growth and investment.

English | 8 pages – August – Note 88 | IFC 2020

Aug 24, 2020

Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis on Private Equity Funds in Emerging Markets

This note assesses how Private Equity Funds in emerging markets may evolve as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, focusing in particular on the Growth Equity and Venture Capital (VC) asset classes. It also discusses how selected “megatrends” may impact these two asset classes in the medium term, along with opportunities for the industry and for enhanced DFI support.

English | 14 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Airbnb’s Home-Sharing Trainings

In 2018, the global travel platform Airbnb partnered with the World Bank and the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission to hold home-sharing training sessions in India. This case study explores how the program developed training modules aimed at improving women's ability to engage with guests and unlock the value of their homes.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: DiDi Chuxing’s Inclusive Workplace Programs

For companies operating in the platform economy, gender dividends are particularly relevant as they are well placed to benefit from increased innovation and improved product and service design for closing current gaps. Global mobile transportation platform DiDi Chuxing realized that women in China face several barriers to equal employment. This case study highlights the company’s efforts to recruit and support more women in the tech sector through the DiDi Women’s Network.

English | 4 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Elo7 Grows its E-Commerce Platform by Helping Women Become Digital Entrepreneurs

Women comprise the majority of Brazilian online marketplace Elo7’s users. As part of IFC’s Digital2Equal initiative, Elo7 surveyed 1,000 sellers to better understand the needs women entrepreneurs. This case study highlights the survey’s key findings and how Elo7 utilized the insights to develop targeted tools and content aimed at helping women entrepreneurs professionalize their sales efforts in the digital world.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Facebook’s Use of Sex-Disaggregated Data to Design Targeted Programs for Women

In partnership with the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Facebook’s Future of Business (FOB) surveys have gathered insights from millions of small business owners across 97 countries. This case study highlights Facebook’s approaches and explores how insights from FOB surveys informed the development of programs which support women-owned enterprises’ participation in the digital economy through digital skills and business training.

English | 4 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Giraffe Sheds Light on South Africa’s Gender Income Gap

As part of IFC’s Digital2Equal initiative, South African recruitment app Giraffe analyzed salary figures from 122,000 job applicants on the platform. The findings, which are covered in this case study, reveal wage discrepancies between men and women across different sectors in South Africa. They also show a widening wage gap at the bottom of the distribution curve, indicating that low-income women earn significantly less than their male counterparts compared with women in middle- and high-income brackets.

English | 2 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Google’s Internet Saathi Program

Global technology company Google launched Internet Saathi—a program that seeks to encourage rural women in India to develop and pass on digital literacy skills in their communities—in collaboration with Tata Trusts. The program has helped more than 30 million women learn about the internet in over 290,000 villages across 20 states in India, with over 20,000 villages added in the past year. This case study explores the opportunity to expand women’s access to information and addresses some of the social norms that exacerbate digital divides in India.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Grab’s Safer Everyday Tech Roadmap

Southeast Asian super app Grab initiated the Safer Everyday Tech Roadmap, aimed at raising the bar for safety standards in transportation. This case study explores the importance of safety as a key concern for women users of ride-hailing services and Grab’s design-centered approach in responding to these concerns.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Jumia’s Women and Youth Empowerment Program

In 2019, African e-commerce company Jumia sold products to more than 6 million consumers across the continent, with an estimated transaction or lead every two seconds. However, growth of e-commerce in Africa is hindered by low connectivity, particularly among women. In Jumia’s home market of Nigeria, only 21 percent of women and 38 percent of men have formal internet access. This case study highlights Jumia’s Women and Youth Empowerment Program—an initiative that aims to build the local e-commerce market in Nigeria by equipping women and Nigerians younger than age 30 with the training and support needed to help them earn additional income through eCommerce.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Lazada Empowers Mothers by Supporting “Mompreneurs”

For Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Lazada, working with mothers is an opportunity to support entrepreneurs who struggle to start and grow ventures. Through its “Mompreneur” initiative, the company reached thousands of working mothers. This case study explores how a pilot in the Philippines demonstrated positive impacts that have led to plans for replication in other markets.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Lynk Addresses Inclusion in the Informal Sector

Kenyan work platform Lynk connects blue-collar workers with job opportunities and provides a platform for artisans to showcase and sell their products. As part of IFC’s Digital2Equal initiative, Lynk realized it could support women’s entry into high-paying but male-dominated industries. This case study highlights how Lynk’s approach allowed it to gain a better understanding of the challenges and needs of women who use the platform and helped the company to develop training and financial support schemes.

English | 3 pages | 2020 IFC

Aug 14, 2020

Digital2Equal: Mercado Libre’s Inclusive Policies Fuel Women’s Intrapreneurship and Entrepreneurship in Latin America

Twenty years after its founding in Argentina and expansion into 18 countries, Latin American e-commerce site Mercado Libre supports an estimate of 600,000 families. This case study highlights how Mercado Libre’s approach to diversity and inclusion helped increase the proportion of women employees in information technology (IT), management, and senior leadership roles. The company fosters an inclusive culture, nurtures IT talent, and provides women access to technology education. It also shows how a dedication to building diverse teams has inspired equally mindful approaches to creating a better enabling environment for the women entrepreneurs who use the platform.

English | 5 pages | 2020 IFC