Other Infrastructure Study

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  • Publication
    Armenia Firms’ Adoption of Digital Technologies
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-11) World Bank
    This report analyzes the digital technology adoption of Armenian firms based on the findings of the Armenia ICT Survey administered to over 1,900 firms in 2023 by the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia (ARMSTAT), with the technical assistance of the World Bank and support of the European Commission. The survey is comparable with the ICT Usage in Enterprises Survey implemented in EU. It also assesses the technologies used in key business functions following the World Bank Group’s Firm level Technology Adoption Survey. This rich set of data allows for a detailed assessment of the digital maturity of Armenian firms by showing the specific digital technologies adopted by firms and the extent to which firms use advanced digital solutions across core business functions. The findings from the survey were complemented by qualitative case studies to gain further insights on firms’ experiences with technology adoption and the key barriers they face on their path to digitalize.
  • Publication
    Unlocking Local Finance For Sustainable Infrastructure
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-09-20) World Bank
    This study aims to further address gaps in research related to commercial financing challenges in Local Currency Financing (LCF) for sustainable infrastructure. This will include a review of broader financial market challenges with a focus on credit/banking markets. This study is part of a broader program supported by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) to address the challenges in mobilizing LFC commercial lending into infrastructure and climate projects, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and risk sharing facilities in emerging markets. The study has drawn on the work done by the World Bank Group in particular the Infrastructure Finance Practice Group (IFP); Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice (FCI); and the related donor-funded Joint Capital Markets Program (J-CAP) implemented by the Finance Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice (FCI) and IFC. Through this report we expect that policy makers, money and capital market authorities, infrastructure, climate and environment, and private sector infrastructure/climate investors and financial institutions will be better informed to pursue financing options for infrastructure projects through LCF. Specifically, the report provides global knowledge and existing literature on the topic of LCF with a focus on local credit markets, an analytical framework, and actionable insights to navigate the complexities of LCF in infrastructure and climate investments. The study explains the key drivers and enablers/binding constraints for the development of a robust ecosystem for financing infrastructure in local currency (LCY), such as: (i) the scale of private savings in a country; (ii) the ability and willingness of local credit markets to provide long-tenor debt; (iii) the potential for local capital markets to provide finance; (iv) the cost differential between LCY and foreign currency (FX) debt; and (v) capacity for structuring and credit evaluation skills for sustainable infrastructure financing.
  • Publication
    Unlocking the Potential of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Region-specific Perspective - A World Bank-IADB Technical Note
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-06) World Bank
    Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) first came to wider public attention at a session on the future of digital cooperation during the UN General Assembly in 2022. During 2023, international interest in DPI grew during India’s Presidency of the G20. The World Bank defines DPI as foundational and re-usable digital platforms and building blocks such as digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing - that underpin the development and delivery of trusted, digitally-enabled services across the public and private sector. Although India and Estonia are the most often cited country examples of DPI in practice, digital public platforms are also emerging in LAC. This report produced under a joint Memorandum of Understanding between the World Bank Group (WBG) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) aims to help improve digital infrastructure and connectivity to drive stronger results for people living in LAC. Its objective is to highlight the state of the potential for DPI across the LAC region, including understanding policymaker’s awareness and acceptance of DPI, and the maturity of DPI building blocks across the region. It aims to connect a long-standing discussion in LAC around effective digital transformation with emerging global DPI discourse, and at the same time the report explores specifically how, and where, DPI manifests in LAC and how it can be helpful in future.
  • Publication
    Equatorial Guinea Digital Economy Diagnostic
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-22) World Bank
    This report provides an assessment of Equatorial Guinea’s digital economy, as part of the World Bank’s Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) initiative. Prepared to support the implementation of the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa, approved by the African Union in February 2020, the World Bank’s DE4A Initiative aims to help drive Africa’s digital transformation and sets out a bold vision to ensure that every African individual, business and government is digitally enabled by 2030. The initiative leverages an integrated and foundation-based diagnostic framework to examine the development of the digital economy across Africa. Based on this framework, this assessment provides a comprehensive overview of the five DE4A foundational elements in Equatorial Guinea: digital infrastructure, digital public platforms, digital financial services, digital businesses and digital skills.
  • Publication
    Closing the Gender Gap in ID Ownership in Ethiopia: Findings and Recommendations
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-22) Casher, Claire; Clark, Julia
    In Ethiopia, women are 15 percentage points less likely than men to possess a kebele ID, the primary proof of identity document used in the country. This report unveils findings from a study that aims to grasp the reasons behind this gender gap in ID ownership and offers recommendations for overcoming these barriers in Fayda, the new digital ID system launched by the Government of Ethiopia in 2021. Executed by the World Bank in partnership with Ethiopia’s National ID Program (NIDP), the study first uses statistical analysis of ID4D-Findex data to illustrate the nature of the ID ownership gap and its ramifications for women. Subsequently, through desk research and original qualitative data obtained from focus group discussions and key informant interviews, the report delves into four categories of potential reasons for the gap: legal and policy barriers, social and community barriers, economic and procedural barriers, and information and knowledge barriers. In the concluding section, the report offers three key recommendations for integrating gender inclusivity into the Fayda program, drawingfrom the research findings and inputs gathered from qualitative research participants.
  • Publication
    Building Regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Status Review of the Building Regulatory Environment
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-06-20) World Bank; Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
    Buildings should provide safe, comfortable, and healthy environments for people to live and work. They are an essential component of societies and economies, housing critical infrastructure necessary to keep governments and businesses in operation. At the same time, buildings are the first line of defense against natural hazards and climate impacts for the general population. The scope of this report is limited to regulatory frameworks in Sub-Saharan Africa countries, with a focus on buildings rather than on specialized construction types such as infrastructure for water, energy, transport, or communications. The report focuses on the technical aspects of the regulatory frameworks: market and financial solutions fall beyond its scope. Chapter 1 of the report describes the components, concepts, and desired outcomes of building regulatory frameworks. Chapter 2 explains the evolution of the building regulation environment in Sub-Saharan Africa and the region-specific hazards and risks that the regulatory environment must respond to. Chapter 3 presents data on the building regulatory environment for each country in the region. It covers all aspects of the building regulatory cycle: from the legally adopted building regulations that exist, to what they cover, to the implementation of regulations through compliance and enforcement mechanisms. Chapter 4 offers guidance on how to improve and update building regulatory frameworks. Chapter 5 contains region-specific conclusions and recommendations for strengthening building regulatory frameworks because of the analyses carried out in Chapters 3 and 4. Additionally, Appendix A summarizes key data for each country.
  • Publication
    Government Migration to Cloud Ecosystems: Multiple Options, Significant Benefits, Manageable Risks
    (Washington, DC, 2022) World Bank
    Migrating from legacy IT infrastructure and data storage to cloud services can yield enormous benefits for governments: it can save governments money; increase the integrity, quality, and speed with which they deliver services; and provide access to the most advanced analytical tools and cybersecurity features available. These benefits have spurred a shift by governments across the globe away from legacy information technology (IT) systems, and towards cloud solutions, including public cloud services.