Other Infrastructure Study
341 items available
Permanent URI for this collection
Items in this collection
1 - 10 of 21
-
Publication
Nigeria Digital Economy Diagnostic Report
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-01)As the biggest economy in Africa with one of the largest youth populations in the world, Nigeria is well-positioned to develop a strong digital economy. This would have a transformational impact on the country. In order to reap the benefits, Nigeria needs to focus on accelerating improvements in five fundamental pillars of a digital economy: digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital financial services, digital entrepreneurship and digital skills. The Nigeria Digital Economy Diagnostic report identifies key challenges and opportunities of leveraging the digital economy for diversified and sustained growth. It provides an assessment of the state of Nigeria’s digital economy around the five foundational pillars. The report also offers specific, actionable recommendations to the government and private sector stakeholders to further Nigeria’s development of each pillar. The report was produced in the context of the Digital Economy (DE4A) initiative, an African Union initiative supported by the World Bank Group, which aims to digitally connect every person, business, and government in Africa by 2030. -
Publication
South Africa Digital Economy Diagnostic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-01)South Africa is one of the digital economy leaders on the African continent, but lags developed countries. In this context, the digital economy for Africa targets appear within reach for South Africa, although efforts need to be maintained. Launched in 2018 through a collaboration between the African Union (AU) and the World Bank, the digital economy for Africa initiative aims to ensure that every individual, business, and government in Africa will be digitally enabled by 2030. South Africa can also play a leading role for regional digital development, particularly within the context of the recently signed continental free trade area (CFTA) agreement, as well closer to home in the Southern Africa development community (SADC) and common market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) context, following on the East Africa single digital market as an example. South Africa can assist by leading the agenda to harmonize customs, disseminating best practices to other countries around issues such as data regulation, improvement in the ecommerce environment, promotion of Africa wide payment systems, and the provision of an even stronger regional hub for tech entrepreneurs. In this context, the South African government is aiming to pass several reforms across core elements of the digital economy, recognizing the need for new policy directions and preparing for the fourth industrial revolution (4iR). While South Africa’s wealthy households have broad access to quality and relatively affordable internet, people earning less than South African rand (ZAR) 7000 a month are largely unconnected. This report reviews how the digital divide affects the foundations of the digital economy and provides policy options for bridging the divide. This report will provide a diagnostic and offer recommendations on the five foundations of the digital economy in South Africa. The report will examine challenges concerning digital infrastructure, public digital government platforms, digital financial services, digital entrepreneurship, and digital skills. -
Publication
Tunisia Infrastructure Diagnostic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12)Tunisia’s has made significant investments in infrastructure, which has contributed to economic growth. The investments have enabled reasonably good access to basic infrastructure services. While access rates are high, the relative quality of Tunisia’s infrastructure has deteriorated significantly over the last ten years. State-owned enterprises (SOEs), which dominate the infrastructure sector, receive considerable subsidies and incur notable financial losses. Overall, there is a heavy reliance on external borrowing to fund infrastructure investment, which creates contingent liabilities, and enhances foreign exchange and macro-economic risk. Chapter one provides an overview of Tunisia’s infrastructure performance; chapter two discusses each sub-sector in more detail in terms of achievements and challenges; chapter three looks at historical trends in spending followed by a scenario analysis of investment needs with anecdotal examples, and discusses the present macro-economic and fiscal constraints; and chapter four presents possible action items for further discussion with the Tunisian government. -
Publication
Digital Economy for Africa: Country Diagnostic of Senegal
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06-03)The rapid technological advancement is now disrupting the global economy and creating new business and development models, offering countries opportunities to leapfrog over traditional paths for economic growth. Over the past years, digital technologies have been spreading throughout the world at a faster pace than previous waves of technological innovation, re-shaping consumer behavior, social interaction, businesses and governments. The digital economy (DE), which encompasses a wide range of new applications of information technology in business models and products, can spur economic growth, productivity and employment and, with appropriate policies to mitigate inherent risks, has a potential to support inclusive outcomes. In this global context, digital transformation of the economy has become a major objective for the government of Senegal (GoS). This report provides a snapshot of the state of DE in Senegal and uses several World Bank tools and international best practices to provide actionable recommendations to the GoS. -
Publication
Managing Risks for a Safer Built Environment in Malawi: Building Regulatory Capacity Assessment
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06)In a rapidly urbanising world, Malawi remains one of the least urbanised countries in Africa. Approximately 16.7 percent of Malawi's population live in urban areas. Nevertheless, the country is urbanising at a moderate rate of approximately 3.7–3.9 percent per year. If growth continues at this rate, by 2030, approximately 20 percent of the population will be city dwellers, reaching 30 percent in 2050. This urban growth has the potential to improve economic opportunities and living conditions across Malawi. This is particularly significant given that approximately 69 percent of the population are living under the international poverty line of 1.9 US Dollars/day in purchasing power parity terms. However, challenges are also associated with this shift and concentration of population. With urbanisation comes a substantial amount of new construction. In Malawi, much of this new construction has occurred in cities and towns with limited capacity to ensure the structures in which people live, work and gather are safely sited and built to withstand chronic stresses (i.e. fire and spontaneous collapse) and disaster shocks (i.e. earthquakes and floods). In Lilongwe, for example, estimates indicate that 76 percent of residents live in informal settlements. These settlements are generally characterised by a lack of access to publicservices, tenure insecurity and inadequate housing. Malawi is impacted by a wide range of hazards, particularly droughts, floods, landslides, wildfires and earthquakes. Malawi is also vulnerable to recurrent and chronic risks. Large building fires in recent years include the LL and Mchinji Markets and the Mulanje Bus Depot in 2016 and the Area 13 and Zomba Market in 2018. In many ways, Malawi is at a crossroads: the regulatory decisions made now will significantly impact the longterm safety, productivity and resilience of the built environment in rural and urban areas. With its low base and moderate rate of urbanisation, Malawi is wellpositioned to formulate plans to maximise the benefits and to manage the challenges of urban agglomeration. -
Publication
Nepal Energy Infrastructure Sector Assessment
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03)The purpose of this report is to identify how to maximize finance available to Nepal in the electricity sector. This report identifies financing needs and constraints for the energy sector in the short to medium term and outlines a road map for overcoming these constraints and seizing opportunities to gradually achieve a sectoral transformation. The report forms part of the World Bank Group’s Infrastructure Sector Assessment Program (INFRA-SAP). -
Publication
New Perspectives on Results-Based Blended Finance for Cities
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019)There is clear evidence on the need for cities to rapidly scale-up their investments in climate change mitigation programs and build strong foundations for climate-resilient communities. Investing in low carbon infrastructure and climate resilience can generate competitive returns and is crucial for preventing a reversal of the development gains made in low-income countries up until now. Overcoming the barriers in financing climate-smart infrastructure in cities means adjusting their currently unattractive and inadequate risk-return investment profile. Our analysis explains that well-targeted concessional funding can derisk the financing structure of a project and turn a typical non-bankable project to financial viable one. Additionally, it makes the case for results-based blended finance approaches that strengthen the accountability in project development by linking financing to the achievement of measurable, pre-agreed results. Addressing the lack of creditworthiness, the limited accountability and capacity in institutions and service delivery practices should be at the center of urban investment strategies. The report highlights the need for technical assistance and capacity building programs that will support cities bring order to their financing and accounting practices, support shadow credit ratings and help them become creditworthy. It is estimated that only 20 percent of the 500 largest cities in developing countries are considered creditworthy. Cities and development partners face a common challenge: Making the most effective use of available public finance instruments and disburse scarce public (concessional) funds in a way that maximally leverages private sector co-investments. -
Publication
Ghana Digital Economy Diagnostic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019)Universal adoption and effective application of digital technologies are expected to characterize economies of the future, shaping their ability to succeed in the global marketplace and offer a better quality of life for their citizens. Disruptive technologies are already altering traditional business models and pathways to development, yielding significant gains, increased convenience, as well as supporting better access to services for consumers. In 2016, the digital economy was worth an estimated 11.5 trillion dollars worldwide, equivalent to 15.5 percent of global GDP. It is forecast to reach 25 percent in less than a decade, far outpacing the growth of the ‘traditional’ economy (Huawei and Oxford Economics 2016). Mobile money is driving financial inclusion, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the number of accounts doubling to 21 percent between 2014-17. African e-commerce is also rapidly growing, at an estimated annual rate of 40 percent. Over the past five years, there has been a tenfold increase across the region in the supply of new intermediaries such as incubators, accelerators, and technology hubs, amongst others, numbering more than 400 across Africa today. The digital economy in Africa is expected to grow to over 300 billion dollars by 2025 (McKinsey 2013). Ghana has made substantial progress on financial inclusion, due in large part to growth in DFS. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex, the share of Ghanaian adults (over 15 years of age) with a formal financial account increased by 42 percent between 2014 and 2015. As a result, nearly 6 in 10 adults had formal access in 2017. With mobile account ownership increasing by nearly 200 percent between 2014 and 2017, mobile money has become the preferred payment alternative to cash when measured in terms of transaction volumes. In May 2018, the Bank of Ghana mandated that all mobile money providers connect to GHLink, with full interoperability between mobile money providers and banks introduced in December 2018. -
Publication
Building the Resilience of WSS Utilities to Climate Change and Other Threats: A Road Map
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-12-29)Water supply and sanitation (WSS) utilities are expected to become increasingly susceptible to the expected impacts of climate change. WSS utility planners and engineers have dealt with natural climate variances and disaster planning as part of the design process for many years. However, the traditional methods for these plans have not considered the deep uncertainty surrounding many future conditions, which are further exacerbated by climate change. To help utilities incorporate resilience and robustness in their choices, this road map proposes a process in three phases that can inform the design of strategies necessary to WSS services provision. The road map builds on the understanding that climate change is most often an amplifier of existing uncertainties (many of which are threats), and, as such, should not be evaluated as a stand-alone impact. The approach reveals the strengths and vulnerabilities of investment plans concisely and helps utilities invest robustly by identifying near-term, no-regret projects that can be undertaken now, while maintaining flexibility in pursuing additional actions adaptively as future conditions evolve. These results can be achieved both with a qualitative exploration and a quantitative assessment, depending on the context and the resources available. -
Publication
Innovative Business Models for Expanding Fiber-Optic Networks and Closing the Access Gaps
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-12)The increasing importance of the Internet, not only for tasks related to information search, storage, and sharing, but also for connecting people and business, domestic and international trade, education, entertainment and social interactions, has led governments around the world to include Internet connectivity in their priority policy agendas and infrastructure plans. Today, access to the Internet is no longer a luxury, but is increasingly considered an essential service, as important as building transportation and utility networks. However, more than four billion people, overwhelmingly in developing countries, still lack Internet access. For the past decade, policy makers have sought ways to best create an enabling environment to direct national resources and engage the private sector to effectively expand access to the Internet. In doing so, policy makers and regulators face a unique combination of priorities, resources, market structures, and geographies that will affect their national plans. Experience shows that no one-size-fits-all approach exists, but past and current experience can be analyzed for common factors contributing to success or failure to support similar endeavors in the future. This report reviews and provides guidance on innovative business models and approaches to the deployment of high-speed broadband networks and highlights global trends related to terrestrial spectrum resources that can be leveraged to meet expected future demand and close existing Internet access gaps. It is intended to serve as a reference tool to help policy makers and regulators assess alternatives for infrastructure deployment and adopt decisions tailored to their country’s circumstances and needs.