ARTICLE
Digital Technologies Are a Useful Yet Underutilized Tool for African Microenterprises
How smartphones and computers improve performance for African micro-sized businesses — but not enough for most to use them.
Results - 25 of at least 101 items found
Apr 6, 2023
Digital Technologies Are a Useful Yet Underutilized Tool for African Microenterprises
How smartphones and computers improve performance for African micro-sized businesses — but not enough for most to use them.
Feb 15, 2023
Making Sustainability-Linked Bonds More Impactful
To maximize the impact of sustainability-linked bonds and maintain recent market growth, how they are structured and regulated needs to evolve, IFC research finds.
Feb 7, 2023
Want More Investment in African Infrastructure? Think Better Quality Institutions
An IFC study finds that improvements in governance and regulatory quality could boost private investment in African infrastructure by up to 0.8% of GDP over 4 years.
Nov 9, 2022
Adapting to Natural Disasters in Africa: What’s in it for the Private Sector?
A study on private sector investment opportunities that respond to increasingly frequent and severe floods and droughts in Africa.
Oct 12, 2022
Trade Finance in West Africa
This report provides new evidence on the size and nature of the gap between demand and supply of trade finance in Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal.
Report | English, Français | 81 pages | October 2022
Sep 11, 2022
A Climate Opportunity for the Private Sector
How to design voluntary carbon markets to attract corporate investors, drawing on lessons learned from IFC’s forests bond which matured in 2021, is discussed.
Article | September 2022
Jun 23, 2022
Gauging Appetite of African Institutional Investors for New Asset Classes
The market for alternative asset classes is examined in a joint study by IFC, the African Development Bank, and the Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership.
Jun 8, 2022
Emerging Market Green Bonds
The latest developments in emerging market and developing economy green bonds are outlined by IFC in a report with Amundi, a leading European asset manager.
May 11, 2022
Banks Show Strong Signs of Recovery from the Pandemic
Despite some positive economic signs as the pandemic begins to recede, financial institutions in emerging markets face multiple new risks, a new survey finds.
English | 8 pages | 2022 IFC
Feb 10, 2022
AI-Enabled Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)—The Next Frontier for Global SaaS Start-Ups from India
This report, developed by IFC and Stellaris, examines the growing potential of India’s AI-led software as a service (SaaS) start-ups and analyzes the role that the country, which is already a leader in the global software ecosystem, can play in an AI-led future. India is well-positioned to be at the forefront of the AI revolution. By 2030, AI applications and services together have the potential to create $500 billion of market value and almost 5 million jobs. The report is based on an industry-wide study and insights from the AI4Biz Challenge, organized to identify and recognize groundbreaking, early-stage Indian AI SaaS companies.
English | 80 Pages | IFC 2022
Jan 18, 2022
Sustainability-Linked Finance—Mobilizing Capital for Sustainability in Emerging Markets
Sustainability-linked finance is designed to incentivize the borrower’s achievement of environmental, social, or governance targets through pricing incentives. Launched in 2017, it has now become the fastest-growing sustainable finance instrument, with over $809 billion issued to date in sustainability-linked loans and bonds. Yet these instruments are still nascent in emerging markets, which represent only 5 percent of total issuance to date. This note shares examples of recent sustainability-linked financing, including several involving IFC in various roles, to highlight how investors can utilize these new instruments in emerging markets and mitigate greenwashing risks.
English | 8 Pages—January—Note 110 | IFC 2022
Jan 13, 2022
Banking on FinTech in Emerging Markets
Despite near-universal access to financial services in advanced economies, financial exclusion is stubbornly persistent in many emerging markets, leaving huge swaths of low-income populations unbanked or underbanked. FinTech companies, which apply innovative technologies to deliver such services in new ways, have begun to tap into the enormous unmet demand that this represents. These companies are starting to thrive in emerging markets, though regulatory issues, particularly weak consumer protection measures, remain to be resolved in many countries. If these can be overcome, and more progress toward universal access to digital infrastructure can be made, FinTechs will continue to scale and spread.
English | 8 Pages—January—Note 109 | IFC 2022
Dec 17, 2021
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Using a Corporate Scorecard to Drive Greater Investment Impact
In 2018, IFC’s shareholders authorized a capital increase of $5.5 billion, the largest increase in its history. The capital increase was based on a strategy that emphasizes creating markets and mobilizing private capital, and came with ambitious operational undertakings designed to ensure IFC’s place at the forefront of development finance, and to reinvigorate development in the world’s most challenging environments. To help implement these hefty undertakings, measure progress, and motivate staff, IFC took a fresh look at how the Corporation uses operational targets to achieve strategic goals and overhauled its corporate scorecard. Institutions seeking to implement a transformational strategy, as well as impact investors and development finance institutions balancing financial and impact objectives, can learn from how the revamped scorecard balances risk-taking with prudence, innovation with traditional business priorities, and speed with governance, to drive greater investment impact.
English | 8 Pages—December—Note 108 | IFC 2021
Nov 18, 2021
Municipal Broadband Networks—Opportunities, Business Models, Challenges, and Case Studies
The accelerated use of digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of high-speed Internet access. Yet a large share of adults in emerging markets still live in cities where the availability of high-speed Internet is limited. There is a strong case to be made for municipal broadband networks, which are fully or partially facilitated, built, operated, or financed by local governments, often in partnership with the private sector. There are three basic models for creating and operating these networks, and every network must work in the unique context of the city it will serve. But if they are well implemented, these models can offer digital access to city residents, help close the digital divide, and create opportunities for private sector players in both advanced and emerging markets.
English | 8 Pages—November—Note 107 | IFC 2021
Oct 28, 2021
Financing Deep Tech
Deep tech companies—those built on advances in biotechnology, robotics, electronics, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technologies—aim to solve complex social and environmental challenges. Today the majority of deep tech companies are being launched in developed countries, yet the solutions they can provide are applicable globally. Many of these solutions are especially critical to emerging markets, as the intractable challenges of climate, health, and connectivity, among other issues, disproportionately affect these nations. Addressing these challenges is a strategic priority for development finance institutions and governments worldwide, so financing deep tech companies and boosting deep tech ecosystems in order to deliver new solutions globally is a pressing matter. Doing so, however, requires substantial capital and carries a higher degree of risk than ordinary venture investments. This note examines the process of financing a deep tech company, including the benefits an
English | 8 Pages—October—Special Note 1 | IFC 2021
Oct 14, 2021
Creating Housing Markets in Emerging Market Economies
At the beginning of the 20th century less than 15 percent of people across the globe lived in cities. This figure has risen to 50 percent (4.4 billion people) today and will exceed 66 percent (7.7 billion) by 2050.1 There is a significant shortfall of housing to meet the needs of people moving to cities, most of whom have limited resources but strong hopes for better educational and employment opportunities. Direct public provision of housing is not affordable for most national governments, so more than 1.6 billion people will struggle to secure housing by 2025. Addressing this under-provision of housing will require connecting capital with low-income urbanizing populations, including solutions to make the private sector more responsive to the investment opportunities that urbanization presents.
English | 8 pages — October — Note 106 | IFC 2021
Aug 2, 2021
Investing for Impact: The Global Impact Investing Market 2020
A comprehensive IFC assessment of the global impact investing market with estimates of market size, including publicly and privately managed impact assets.
Jul 2, 2021
Blended Concessional Finance—The Benefits of Transparency and Access
Blended concessional finance, the combination of commercial finance from the private sector and development finance institutions (DFIs) with concessional finance from public and other sources, is increasingly being used by DFIs to support developmentally important projects where normal DFI or commercial finance is not available because of the high risks involved.
English | 8 pages—July—Note 105 | IFC 2021
Jun 17, 2021
Enabling A Competitive Mobile Sector in Emerging Markets Through the Development of Tower Companies
Sharing mobile network infrastructure through specialized companies called towercos is a business model with the potential to accelerate access to quality mobile connectivity for individuals and businesses in emerging markets. A significant number of developing countries have yet to adopt this model, however, and many others continue to struggle with competition issues within their tower markets. This note provides the rationale and policy options for a light regulatory regime that can enable the entry and sustainable development of a dynamic market for towercos in emerging markets. The note also discusses the evolution of the towerco model into small cells and distributed antenna systems, both of which help enable high-speed mobile connectivity technologies like 4G and 5G.
English | 8 pages—June—Note 104 | IFC 2021
May 18, 2021
Private Sector Initiatives in Forced Displacement Contexts: Constraints and Opportunities for Market-based Approaches
The number of forcibly displaced persons has been rising in recent years, and many displacements have become protracted. However, public resources available to assist individuals and families have dwindled, exacerbating already strained situations. Amid this backdrop, private sector initiatives have emerged to help create jobs both for displaced people and their host communities. While market-based approaches in refugee contexts are still new, initiatives in several countries have demonstrated the valuable role that private sector firms and investors can play. This note discusses examples of these market-based initiatives, related challenges, and conflict-sensitive approaches for overcoming these challenges. The note also discusses the important role that development agencies can play in de-risking private sector development through market-creating strategies, partnerships, and blended concessional finance.
English | 8 pages—May—Note 103 | IFC 2021
Apr 28, 2021
Enabling Private Investment in 5G Connectivity in Emerging Markets—An Assessment of Challenges and Policy Options
This note proposes a high-level framework to assess challenges and policy options to enabling private sector-led investment in 5G connectivity in emerging markets. 5G is the latest mobile network technology and it has the potential to provide high-speed Internet connectivity and enable digital transformation across multiple sectors of an economy. The proposed framework leverages industry data to articulate the digital divide and benchmark the enabling environment for 5G connectivity in emerging markets. The note concludes with recommendations on policy options and business strategies, drawing from early experiences in advanced markets and major opportunities and challenges in emerging markets.
English | 8 pages — April —Note 102 | IFC 2021
Apr 15, 2021
Blue Natural Capital: Enhancing Business Outcomes and Sustainability of Coastal Tourism Markets
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism industry particularly hard, affecting livelihoods and exacerbating some pressures on the natural capital resource base. Supporting the tourism sector recovery is an opportunity to Build Back Better, ensuring that business investments lead to a sustainable and resilient shared-growth pathway that is good for tourism and the natural capital on which it depends. Further sustainable management of the Blue Economy could more than double its economic contribution to global GDP. Therefore, the “new normal” must deepen the consideration of Blue Natural Capital and its dynamic relationship with economic sectors across coastal landscapes and markets. The experience of the State of Palawan in the Philippines is explored in this note. It serves as a useful model for weighing the opportunities and challenges typical of coastal tourism areas and exploring natural dependencies therein.
English | 8 pages — April —Note 101 | IFC 2021
Apr 12, 2021
Promoting Impact by Creating Markets: Management and Measurement
This 100th EM Compass note explains why it is important to “create markets” to promote development, and how development finance institutions and impact fund managers can draw on IFC’s Anticipated Impact Measurement and Monitoring system to assess the contribution of their investments to both market creation and project outcomes.
English | 8 pages—March—Note 100 | IFC 2021
Mar 19, 2021
Artificial Intelligence in Emerging Markets
The latest trends in AI and how investors, clients, and governments can harness its full potential in emerging markets while minimizing its risks is explored.
English | 148 pages | IFC 2021
Mar 8, 2021
How Firms Are Responding And Adapting During COVID-19 And Recovery
The COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable firms and individuals in emerging markets, especially women and low-income populations. These groups faced significant challenges to growth and prosperity before the pandemic, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated their plights, resulting in even wider global inequities, including a further increase in global financial and digital divides. The private sector has already begun to respond to the crisis—in sectors such as digital infrastructure, trade, power, and tourism, and with methods that cut across sectors, such as inclusive business models, disruptive technologies, social bonds, and private equity. This proves that businesses can play a vital role in amplifying the public and humanitarian response to the crisis, while supporting recovery and driving strategic growth going forward, and setting the stage for “building back better” post crisis. This report highlights opportunities for businesses in emerging markets t
English | 136 pages | IFC 2021
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ARTICLE
Digital Technologies Are a Useful Yet Underutilized Tool for African Microenterprises
How smartphones and computers improve performance for African micro-sized businesses — but not enough for most to use them.
-
ARTICLE
Making Sustainability-Linked Bonds More Impactful
To maximize the impact of sustainability-linked bonds and maintain recent market growth, how they are structured and regulated needs to evolve, IFC research fin
-
ARTICLE
Want More Investment in African Infrastructure? Think Better Quality Institutions
An IFC study finds that improvements in governance and regulatory quality could boost private investment in African infrastructure by up to 0.8% of GDP over 4 y
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ARTICLE
Adapting to Natural Disasters in Africa: What’s in it for the Private Sector?
A study on private sector investment opportunities that respond to increasingly frequent and severe floods and droughts in Africa.
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REPORT
Trade Finance in West Africa
This report provides new evidence on the size and nature of the gap between demand and supply of trade finance in Côte D’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal.
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ARTICLE
A Climate Opportunity for the Private Sector
How to design voluntary carbon markets to attract corporate investors, drawing on lessons learned from IFC’s forests bond which matured in 2021, is discussed.
-
REPORT
Gauging Appetite of African Institutional Investors for New Asset Classes
The market for alternative asset classes is examined in a joint study by IFC, the African Development Bank, and the Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership.
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REPORT
Emerging Market Green Bonds
The latest developments in emerging market and developing economy green bonds are outlined by IFC in a report with Amundi, a leading European asset manager.
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ARTICLE
Banks Show Strong Signs of Recovery from the Pandemic
Despite some positive economic signs as the pandemic begins to recede, financial institutions in emerging markets face multiple new risks, a new survey finds.
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REPORT
Investing for Impact: The Global Impact Investing Market 2020
A comprehensive IFC assessment of the global impact investing market with estimates of market size, including publicly and privately managed impact assets.
Results - 125 of at least 132 items found
Feb 8, 2017
Private Provision of Education: Opportunities for Emerging Markets
The private sector plays an important role in emerging market countries with limited education capacity by providing quality schooling at all levels. By strengthening connections between education providers and private enterprises, it helps equip students with skills needed for successful employment, thereby creating additional potential for development. Private firms also play multiple roles in supporting public education by publishing learning materials and developing assessment tools and educational software, building and maintaining schools, and enabling financial support for students in need of it.
English | 6 Pages - February - Note 32 | IFC, 2017 |
Feb 1, 2017
Improving Emerging Markets Healthcare Through Private Provision
The role of private enterprise in healthcare is to complement and support improvements to public healthcare, not to supplant it. Private providers are the primary source of care for the world’s poorest people and their record is often as good as or better than that of public providers. As low and middle-income economies grow and resources become more widely available, competition and consumer choice offer substantial potential to improve the reach, quality, and efficiency of both private and public provision.
English | 6 Pages - February - Note 31 | IFC, 2017 |
Jan 25, 2017
Masala Bond Program -- Nurturing a Local Currency Bond Market
The financing needs of emerging markets are enormous. Sectors such as infrastructure, small business, and housing are vital to a nation’s sustainable development and require substantial financing support. Since these sectors primarily generate revenues in local currency, foreign currency financing may incur a mismatch that can expose emerging market borrowers to exchange rate risk in times of high volatility. Local currency bond issuance is a significant potential option that avoids such risks and can support private sector investment in productive sectors of emerging markets.
English | 3 Pages - January - Note 30 | IFC, 2017 |
Jan 18, 2017
Toward a Framework for Assessing Private vs Public Investment in Infrastructure
Significant additional resources from the private sector will be needed for infrastructure in emerging market countries if the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved. Scaling up the role that private firms and investors play in infrastructure provision will require a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of public versus private provision, including the issues and incentives that need to be considered in order to find the right balance between the two.
English | 6 Pages - January - Note 29 | IFC, 2017 |
Jan 11, 2017
The Importance of Local Capital Markets for Financing Development
Rudimentary markets for capital—for raising money and investing—exist in even the world’s remotest places. Yet they are often speculative ventures prone to fraud. Prudent macroeconomic management, regulation, investor protection, and innovation are necessary to transition them into modern, efficient, well-functioning markets capable of serving the needs of investors, entrepreneurs, borrowers, and lenders alike.
English | 6 Pages - January - Note 28 | IFC, 2017 |
Dec 22, 2016
How Banks Can Seize Opportunities in Climate and Green Investment
Climate change presents risks and opportunities for the financial sector in both emerging and advanced economies. Financial institutions cannot afford to be outside of the transition path to low-carbon economies. Energy subsidies, emission standards, and carbon prices will all have a direct impact on the financial positions of these institutions’ clients, making climate risk an important element of any credit decision. Yet there are also significant opportunities for financial institutions to provide innovative financing products for energy efficiency upgrades, renewable power generation, green buildings, green transport, and climate-smart agriculture and architecture. And there is a growing community of investors seeking new climate and environment friendly opportunities.
English | 6 Pages - December - Note 27 | IFC, 2016 |6 | IFC
Dec 13, 2016
Private Provision of Infrastructure—Opportunities for Emerging Markets
Infrastructure delivers basic services critical to sustainable economic growth, improved living standards, and shared prosperity. The traditional role of financing and operating infrastructure projects has been shaken up in recent decades by the emergence of Public-Private Partnerships. Designed and implemented correctly, these partnerships can bring greater efficiency and sustainability to the provision of public services such as water and sanitation, electric power, transport, and telecommunications.
English | 6 Pages - December - Note 26 | IFC, 2016 |6 | IFC
Dec 5, 2016
Mobilizing Private Climate Finance - Green Bonds and Beyond
The international market for green bonds—securities that raise capital for specific climate or environmental sustainability purposes—has experienced tremendous growth and could reach an annual market value of over $100 billion dollars this year. As part of this growth, new market tools, skills, and capital have been introduced into the green bond market to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and more broadly address the problem of climate change.
ENGLISH, 6 PAGES – DECEMBER – NOTE 25 | IFC, 2016 |
Nov 18, 2016
De-Risking by Banks in Emerging Markets – Effects and Responses for Trade
Bank de-risking is a reality. Increased capital requirements, coupled with rising Know-Your-Customer, Anti-Money-Laundering, and Combating-the-Financing-of-Terrorism compliance costs have resulted in the exit of several global banks from cross-border relationships with many emerging market clients and markets, particularly in the correspondent banking business. A subset of this business, trade finance, is also at risk, with potential consequences for segments of emerging market trade. Those involved in addressing the de-risking challenge must focus on compliance consistency and effective adaptation of technological innovations.
English | 6 Pages - November - Note 24 | © IFC, 2016 |
Nov 18, 2016
Energy Storage Business Solutions for Emerging Markets
With the application of new storage capacity technologies, advances in the capabilities of energy networks promise to deliver not only efficiency and productivity gains but also business opportunities for remote areas in emerging countries.
English | 6 Pages - November - Note 23 | © IFC, 2016 |
Nov 1, 2016
Mitigating the Effects of De-Risking on Remittances
Anti-money laundering/combating-the-financing-of-terrorism laws are grounded in reasonable national security concerns—preventing the cross-border flow of funds to terror or criminal groups. But these policies can have unintentional and costly consequences, in particular for people in poor countries. Those most affected are likely to include the families of migrant workers, small businesses that need to access working capital or trade finance, and recipients of life-saving aid in active-conflict, post-conflict or post-disaster situations.
English | 6 Pages - November - Note 22 | © IFC, 2016 |
Oct 3, 2016
Attracting Private Investment Through Power Sector Reforms
Private sector investment is much needed in emerging markets to upgrade energy supplies, but too often power utilities in these markets are uncompetitive. In order to attract private investment, many aspects of how power utilities are operated need to be reformed. With their experience in helping to structure and finance successful infrastructure projects in emerging markets, development finance institutions are well positioned to support emerging market government efforts to translate power sector reforms into private investment.
English | 4 Pages - October - Note 21 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 30, 2016
Mitigating Private Infrastructure Project Risks
Private sector financing is essential to bridging the infrastructure gap between emerging markets and developed countries. Given the risk profiles of many of these projects, however, private investors are reluctant to help finance important infrastructure investments. Now, new packages of financial and advisory products offered by development finance institutions are substantially improving these risk profiles, making them viable for private investment even in very challenging environments.
English | 4 Pages - September - Note 20 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 30, 2016
Creating Mobile Telecom Markets In Africa
Mobile telecommunications has many benefits, from linking communities and citizens to mobile applications that bring financial services to the unbanked and help farmers improve crop yields. Yet at one time it looked as though Africa’s mobile sector might fare as poorly as its fixed line system did. Instead, an appropriate mix of regulation and competition, investment, and affordability allowed mobile phones and broadband access to flourish.
English | 4 Pages - September - Note 19 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 29, 2016
Seven Sisters: Accelerating Solar Power Investments
In the face of high and volatile fossil fuel prices the government of Jordan launched an aggressive national strategy to increase production of privately financed, commercial scale renewable energy. This pivot was initially met with skepticism from developers and financiers. Yet by aggregating seven small, individual solar power projects into a single, standardized financing structure—the Seven Sisters—the country was able spread costs, shorten timelines, and ultimately attract the necessary financing and developers to make the effort a reality.
English | 3 Pages - September - Note 18 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 29, 2016
How to Scale Solar Power Generation in Emerging Markets
Solar power is an increasingly affordable, quick-to-build solution for countries in need of additional electricity generation. Yet many emerging markets face challenges to developing photovoltaic projects, as small project sizes and lengthy negotiations increase costs and timelines. Scaling Solar, launched by the World Bank Group in 2015, addresses these issues by providing an easy-to-follow process to plan, procure, and launch grid-connected solar projects using private sector financing within two years of engagement. It offers governments the tools to quickly increase energy generation at stable low tariffs and allows developers to bid on well-structured, standardized projects through a competitive, transparent process that reduces risk and costs—making new markets easier to navigate.
English | 2 Pages - September - Note 17 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 29, 2016
Congo Call Center: Business Amid Fragility
In fragile settings the challenges of building a business are increased by a legacy of conflict, instability, and loss. Institutions struggle to provide basic services, let alone the complex reforms and public goods necessary for an enabling business environment. Despite these substantial obstacles, it is possible to create a sophisticated business in even the most challenging settings. The Congo Call Center is one such example—a formal services firm reliant on costly, imported technology that has grown and prospered in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
English | 2 Pages - September - Note 16 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 27, 2016
How Emerging Market Leaders Can Spur Technological Gains
New technologies help firms in emerging markets make significant gains. But these firms often face barriers to successfully incorporating new technologies into their businesses. Emerging-market leaders, however, can take steps to help firms overcome these barriers, including strengthening regulatory frameworks, improving education, fostering trade, and increasing access to finance.
English | 4 Pages - September - Note 15 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 14, 2016
How To Make Infrastructure Climate Resilient
In emerging markets, climate change threatens infrastructure that is critical for development. Roads, airports, water systems, and power plants are vulnerable to weather changes. Severe storms and major droughts can disrupt economic activity. Because private companies and investors in emerging markets often manage infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships, they will now need to address climate change risks when planning and building these projects. The uncertainty of such risks has made incorporating them into project planning a challenge, but new tools and approaches, including insurance, are helping PPPs better respond to climate risks.
English | 4 Pages - September - Note 14 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 14, 2016
Insurance Options for Addressing Climate Change
Emerging markets are especially vulnerable to threats from climate change. Storms, droughts, and floods jeopardize the livelihoods of farmers, while extreme temperatures limit the ability of workers to be outdoors. Insurance is one tool that can help emerging markets adapt to climate change by heading off threats before they become disasters. Some pilot projects around the world are showing promise in using insurance to help emerging markets reduce the impact of climate change.
English | 3 Pages - September - Note 13 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 14, 2016
New Ways For Cities To Tackle Climate Change
Cities, which are home to half of the world’s population, are on the front lines of climate change. Extreme temperatures, storms, and floods have a higher impact in crowded urban areas. And cities in emerging economies will bear an even greater burden of climate change threats. Given their vulnerability, as well as their ability to affect change, cities will be key players in shaping efforts to lessen the impact of climate change. Now a number of new initiatives are helping urban leaders better assess and respond to climate risks.
English | 4 Pages - September - Note 12 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 14, 2016
How Business Can Insure Against Climate Risks
Insurance plays a vital role in protecting people, businesses, and public institutions against shocks, allowing them to transfer risks and purchase security. Insurers in advanced economies even act as financial intermediaries. In many emerging economies, however, insurance is still in a nascent stage. Yet it has the potential to become a critical tool for businesses to build operations that are resilient to climate change while also providing a source of economic growth. For insurance in emerging economies to take off, the public and private sectors must first lay the necessary groundwork.
English | 4 Pages - September - Note 11 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 14, 2016
How Data Tools Can Assess Climate Risks
Climate change doesn’t just threaten the environment, it poses risks to a country’s businesses and economy. Understanding these risks can be complex, yet there are a growing number of tools that can help businesses analyze how their operations will be affected. In order to integrate climate risk into their overall risk management models, companies will need a thorough understanding of how climate change can affect them. With it, they can then take steps to build resilience into operations.
English | 5 Pages - September - Note 10 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 14, 2016
Innovative Insurance To Manage Climate Risks
Severe storms, record heat waves, intense droughts, and floods—the impact of climate change rises every year and economic and financial losses rise with it. Insurance plays a major role in helping businesses in advanced economies mitigate the consequences of the changing climate and prepare for policy changes ahead. But insurance in emerging markets isn’t yet able to make the same contribution, despite the fact that natural disasters disproportionally affect people and firms in these countries. Recently, however, a number of new business and donor initiatives have begun to create innovative approaches to using insurance to address climate change.
English | 5 Pages - September - Note 9 | © IFC, 2016 |
Sep 12, 2016
How to Stimulate Innovation by Africa's Private Sector
Governments in advanced economies have historically helped spur commercial innovation, particularly as a result of spillovers from defense related research and development. In many emerging markets, however, government lacks the resources or capabilities to do so. In Africa, as in other emerging markets, this has created an opening for private firms to drive innovation. By applying advances in technologies, businesses are enhancing productivity and growth across the continent.
English | 2 Pages - September - Note 8 | © IFC, 2016 |
