Private Sector Development, Privatization, and Industrial Policy
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Publication
Creating Markets In Namibia : Creating Resilient and Inclusive Markets - Country Private Sector Diagnostic
(Washington, DC, 2022-07)Since achieving independence in 1990, Namibia’s remarkable growth has been fueled by foreign direct investment and enabled by prudent economic management. Since 2016, however, growth has declined steadily and the economy fell into recession, exposing the vulnerability of Namibia’s economic growth model to external and climate shocks. These challenges were exacerbated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, an economic slowdown in neighboring South Africa, worsening terms of trade on the back of declining global demand and commodity prices, a decline in Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenues, and the effects of crippling droughts on agricultural and industrial production. Namibia has very high levels of poverty and inequality, which are largely driven by high levels of unemployment. The primary objective of this Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) is to identify near and medium-term reform opportunities to revitalize the private sector and help reposition Namibia’s growth on a green, resilient, and inclusive trajectory. This CPSD explores priority reform opportunities to address five cross-cutting bottlenecks: (1) enhancing the role and performance of the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector through a more effective competition policy environment; (2) strengthening implementation of the public-private partnership (PPP) framework to expand private investments, especially in infrastructure; (3) leveraging the potential for digital transformation of the economy; (4) addressing inefficiencies in logistics and trade facilitation; and (5) tapping opportunities in the water sector for green and resilient growth. The diagnostic then looks in depth at three sectors prioritized by the Namibian government - renewable energy, climate-smart agribusiness, and housing, and provides recommendations for reducing sector-specific bottlenecks to stimulate growth potential. -
Publication
Can Venture Capital and Private Equity Work for You? Six Simple Steps to Guide SMEs in the Western Balkans
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-04-02)Access to finance is ranked as one of the constraints on businesses in the Western Balkans region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). Across the region, up to 99 percent of enterprises are small or medium-sized (SMEs). SMEs are a primary source of economic growth, innovation, and most importantly, job creation in the region. To attract funding from investors and grow their businesses successfully entrepreneurs need the necessary skills to become investment ready. However, in the Western Balkans, entrepreneurs lack investment readiness for different reasons, including lack of knowledge about the availability of external sources of finance; hesitation to surrender partial ownership and control of their business; and lack of knowledge of how to sell their ideas to potential investors. This guide is targeted at SME owners and managers of SMEs in the Western Balkans who are interested in developing their businesses and are considering whether venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) could be an option. -
Publication
Malaysia’s Experience with the Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Masterplan: Lessons Learned
(World Bank, Malaysia, 2020-02)Productivity-enhancing measures play a pivotal role in Malaysia’s aspirations of becoming a high-income economy. Malaysia has enjoyed an impressive growth performance over the past few decades, with growth rates of at least 7 percent per year for more than 25 consecutive years. However, with the rise of other emerging economies, notably China and India, Malaysia has faced challenges in pivoting away from a ‘low-cost, high-volume’ strategy towards a ‘high-value’ one. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a crucial component of Malaysia’s strategy to become a high-income nation. As SMEs account for all but 1.5 percent of firms and the bulk of production and employment, they are central to Malaysia’s objective of becoming a high-income economy. SMEs form the bedrock of the private sector and innovation and can contribute to growth by supplying multinationals or accessing international markets directly. Despite their critical importance, the share of Malaysian SMEs in GDP (32 percent) and total exports (16 percent) was far lower than competitors in 2010. At the time of preparation of the Masterplan, the export share was more than 20 percent lower than that in countries such as the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even the US, and there was also scope for greater sectoral and geographical diversification. It was recognized that specific policies to enable favorable conditions for SMEs to flourish were needed so that they can easily expand into fast-growing markets and increase the production of knowledge- and innovation-based products and services. -
Publication
Scaling Up Ecosystems for Small Businesses in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Analysis Based on Data from Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, Matadi, and Goma
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-01)Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) dominate the private sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and can serve as an engine of growth and job opportunities for the country. To support the growth of MSMEs and increase employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, the DRC government prepared a SME Development and Growth Project with support and funding from the World Bank Group (WBG). To better understand the challenges particular segments of MSMEs face, WBG with support from the competitive industries and innovation program (CIIP) conducted a MSME ecosystem analysis in four project locations in the DRC: Kinshasa, Goma, Lubumbashi, and Matadi. The study leveraged a diverse range of data collection channels and methods to capture deep, detailed, and meaningful insights on formal and informal MSMEs in the DRC. Overall, the MSMEs report a positive revenue growth trend in the past five years. This increase is linked to growth in domestic demand and improved quality of suppliers. The key conclusions and recommendations reflect the needs of various types of MSMEs and the international experience of policy responses that are adapted on their needs: simplify and make more transparent the policy environment; address market and institutional gaps to foster private investment in the MSMEs; strengthen and expand the base of opportunity entrepreneurs; devise innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges; pilot approaches to address MSME skills gap at scale; and pursue integration into national market and value chains. Recommendations from the multi-stakeholder dialogues about the SME ecosystem will support the implementation of the SME Growth and Development Project but can also be applied more broadly and inform the design of government policies and reforms. -
Publication
The Additionality Impact of a Matching Grant Program for Small Firms: Experimental Evidence from Yemen
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02-05)Matching grants are one of the most common types of private sector development programs used in developing countries. But government subsidies to private firms can be controversial. A key question is that of additionality: do these programs get firms to undertake innovative activities that they would not otherwise do, or merely subsidize activities that will take place anyway? Randomized controlled trials can provide the counterfactual needed to answer this question, but efforts to experiment with matching grant programs have often failed. This paper uses a randomized controlled trial of a matching grant program for firms in the Republic of Yemen to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting experiments with well-designed programs, and to measure the additionality impact. In the first year, the matching grant is found to have led to more product innovation, firms upgrading their accounting systems, marketing more, making more capital investments, and being more likely to report their sales grew. -
Publication
Islamic Republic of Pakistan : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, Volume 1. Key Findings and Recommendations
(Washington, DC, 2014-03)The diagnostic review for Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy (CPFL) provides a detailed assessment of the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework in four segments of the financial sector: banking, microfinance, securities, and insurance. The review took place in response to a request for World Bank technical assistance in the field of financial consumer protection made by Pakistan's Ministry of Finance (MoF), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The review consists of two volumes. Volume one summarize the key findings and recommendations of the review and Volume two presents a detailed assessment of each financial segment compared against the good practices for financial consumer protection. The key findings and recommendations in volume one cover five areas: (i) the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for consumer protection; (ii) disclosure; (iii) business practices; (iv) dispute resolution mechanisms; and (v) financial education. Priority recommendations are outlined in table one; a more detailed list of recommendations is included in annex one. -
Publication
Sierra Leone Growth Pole Diagnostic : The Growth Poles Program
(Washington, DC, 2013-08)This First Phase Report on Sierra Leone growth poles is the result of a 9 months consultative process led by the Office of the President which specifically requested that the output of this diagnostic be in an engaging format. The fundamental concept of growth poles is that they exploit agglomeration economies and spillover effects to spread resulting prosperity from the core of the pole to the periphery. At the basis of this theory is the assumption that economic development is not uniform over a region. Rather, it concentrates around a geographic feature or economic hub. In particular, it frequently concentrates around a key industry, around which linked industries develop. A growth pole can be used to nurture direct and indirect linkages from the flagship industry to supporting sectors, which vastly expands the employment generation potential of new investments in said flagship industry. The expansion of this key industry implies the expansion of output, employment, related investments, as well as new technologies and new industrial sectors. -
Publication
Armenia : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, Volume 1. Key Findings and Recommendations
(Washington, DC, 2012-06)The objectives of the diagnostic review of consumer protection and financial literacy for Armenia are: (i) to assess the existing financial consumer protection framework, by reviewing laws, regulations and practices in Armenia compared to international good practices; and (ii) to provide recommendations on ways to improve consumer protection and financial literacy in Armenia. The review provides a detailed assessment of the institutional, legal and regulatory framework in four financial segments, namely banking, non-bank credit institutions, securities, and insurance. Many key steps have already been taken in financial consumer protection, especially at the regulatory and institutional levels. Regarding the institutional framework, adequate resources need to be allocated to the consumer protection team and modern supervisory tools should be made available. Consumer organizations should be strengthened and motivated to assist the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) in market monitoring. In terms of consumer disclosure, the CBA should issue regulations that require financial institutions to provide clear, understandable, timely, comparable and standardized information to consumers. In the area of regulation of business practices, the CBA should require that sales agents are well trained and should test them regularly. All financial institutions should regularly analyze the complaints received and the analysis should be provided to the CBA. The Steering Committee for the National Strategy of Financial Education should become the key body to manage financial education in Armenia. -
Publication
Zambia - What Would it Take for Zambia’s Copper Mining Industry to Achieve Its Potential?
(World Bank, 2011-06-01)This report is part of a series produced by the World Bank's Africa Finance and Private Sector Development Unit (AFTFP). This report explores the potential contribution that the copper mining industry could make to jobs and prosperity in Zambia, and what it will take to achieve this potential. Copper has for many years played an important role in Zambia's economy, and the performance of the economy has followed the fortunes of copper mining closely. This report investigates the role copper mining could play in achieving the government's objectives of increasing economic growth and jobs in the future. Although 40 percent of the country has not been geologically surveyed, Zambia is recognized by the international mining industry as having good mineral potential. Zambia possesses 6 percent of known world copper reserves. According to the highly-respected Fraser Institute survey of mining and exploration companies, Zambia ranks 26th out of 79 jurisdictions worldwide for mineral potential. In Africa, only the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burkina Faso have appreciably higher mineral potential scores. -
Publication
Croatia : Diagnostic Review of Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, Volume 1. Key Findings and Recommendations
(Washington, DC, 2010-02)As financial markets develop and deepen, one of the key issues for a fair, open and efficient market is effective consumer protection and financial literacy. The European Union takes the approach that an effective regime of financial consumer protection should allow consumers to have access to: sufficient information to make informed decisions about their financial choices; cost-effective recourse mechanisms to redress violations of financial service contracts; and programs of consumer education and financial literacy that empower them to understand their financial rights and obligations. This review has found that the quality of consumer protection in financial services in Croatia has improved in recent years. In particular, the approval of the 2007 Consumer Protection Act incorporated many of the EU Directives related to financial consumer protection. In addition, the National Council on Consumer Protection was established in 2008 to advise the Government on its national strategy for consumer protection in the coming years. A nation-wide baseline survey of financial literacy would provide useful information in designing programs in financial education and consumer awareness. As pioneered in the United Kingdom, financial literacy surveys can identify which part of the population is most vulnerable to financial abuse. The baseline survey should be segmented by age, gender, geographic area, household income, and formal education. After a period of three to five years, a follow-up survey could be done to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs of financial education and consumer awareness.