Private Sector Development, Privatization, and Industrial Policy
101 items available
Permanent URI for this collection
101 results
Items in this collection
Publication Zambia : Country Private Sector Diagnostic(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-22) World BankZambia’s economy is emerging from a debt crisis and has successfully negotiated a debt restructuring with creditors and an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program. This report highlights that, with reforms, significant profitable investment opportunities are available for businesses, which will contribute to better jobs and higher incomes for Zambia’s population. To keep the analysis focused and manageable, the report delves into four specific sectors: mining, solar power, agribusiness, and tourism. Implementing key actions in these sectors can attract up to 21 billion dollars in cumulative new investment between 2025 and 2030, or close to 50 percent above current trends. Up to roughly 80,000 additional formal jobs can be created directly - equivalent to more than 10 percent of formal jobs in 2022. In an upside scenario, as many as 220,000 additional jobs can also be created indirectly in the rest of the economy (with greater uncertainty in the estimates, especially for the indirect impact of mining investments on employment).Publication Creating Markets in Somalia: Unlocking Private Sector-Led Growth at a Critical Juncture of Somalia’s Development - Country Private Sector Diagnostic(Washington, DC, 2025-01-21) International Finance CorporationThis Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) was conducted at a challenging but promising juncture in Somalia’s development journey. Because the Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS’s) fiscal space and institutional capacity to deliver public goods and services are limited, marshaling the private sector for development outcomes is crucial. Thus, there is an urgent need for a diagnostic that explores the most viable path toward the type of broad-based private sector-led growth that will help Somalia move away from its current predicament. To this end, and in line with the established World Bank CPSD methodology, this report provides an impartial assessment of the state of the private sector, analyzes cross-cutting and sectoral constraints to private sector development, recommends policies and reforms to mitigate these constraints, and identifies opportunities for increased private sector engagement in the country. The analysis and recommendations of the CPSD will inform Somalia’s reform agenda despite the scarcity of information in the country. By assessing critical constraints to the private sector and identifying the policies and regulatory reforms needed to unleash private investments with strong development impact, the CPSD lays the foundation for an integrated response that includes both private and public sector perspectives, expertise, and solutions. Thus, the CPSD will inform the World Bank country engagement process in Somalia, with its insights and recommendations aligned with and integrated into World Bank strategic documents like the risk and resilience assessment and the country partnership framework. The CPSD can also be leveraged to inform the Somali government’s broader reform agenda, such as the National Development Plans, and facilitate the engagement of various stakeholders in the process.Publication Yemen - Connecting the Yemeni Private Sector to the World(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-25) World BankThis Private Sector Assessment Report on the Republic of Yemen is delivered as part of the Private Sector Technical Assistance project. The goal of the project is to understand the dynamics of the country’s private sector during conflict; identify constraints to trade, investment, and finance; and propose recommendations for inclusive private sector entry, survival, and growth. The report also includes an overview of the financial sector’s impact on the private sector, especially on the latter’s resilience during conflict. Finally, the report provides structural and policy recommendations that, once implemented by the authorities on both national and subnational levels, would prepare the Yemeni private sector to participate in the country’s post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.Publication Private Sector Opportunities for a Green and Resilient Reconstruction in Ukraine: Synthesis Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-11-02) World BankIn March 2023, the Second Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2) identified $411 billion worth of investments required for Ukraine’s reconstruction. The World Bank Group’s new report “Private Sector Opportunities for a Green and Resilient Reconstruction in Ukraine”, developed in cooperation with Ukraine’s government, assesses the potential for private financing to meet these needs under both a status quo scenario and a scenario with reforms and other sectoral interventions.Publication The African Regional Weather Enterprise: Current Private Sector Landscape(Washington, DC, 2023-10-25) World BankThis study focuses on the role of the private sector in the development and delivery of hydrological and meteorological (hydromet) and early warning services (EWS) in Sub-Saharan Africa within the current landscape of the Africa Regional Weather Enterprise (ARWE). The study begins with a global industry overview of 87 participating companies who either work in or have interest in the region’s hydromet market. It highlights the types of activities, end-user categories, research and development, and focuses on innovation and capacity building initiatives that underpin the key components of the following pages. The study analyzes how private sector actors operate within the framework of national, regional, and international hydromet projects. It makes an inventory of ongoing initiatives that focus on the current status of public-private engagements (PPE) and partnerships for development of the ARWE.This report concludes by drawing on lessons from the positive dynamics and gaps in partnerships and engagements between public and private actors. It supplies 16 recommendations to further improve the ARWE by emphasizing PPE, successfully completing African hydromet programs, and satisfying enduser needs. The recommendations are focused on protecting lives and property while supporting national economies for the prosperity of all.Publication Creating Markets in Eswatini : Strengthening the Private Sector to Grow Export Markets and Create Jobs - Country Private Sector Diagnostic(Washington, DC, 2022-09) International Finance CorporationEswatini is facing multiple challenges. It was already experiencing weak economic growth before the COVID-19 pandemic, a reflection of longstanding, deeply rooted issues such as fiscal unsustainability, declining private investment, weakening productivity and competitiveness, and falling export diversification and complexity, compounded by the impact of climate shocks. It shifted from a private investment–led higher-growth model to a government spending–led lower-growth model after the end of apartheid in South Africa. With weak investment in productive sectors, Eswatini’s job market failed to keep pace with an expanding, younger labor force, leading to a large informal sector. Eswatini’s public sector–driven growth model is unsustainable under current fiscally constrained conditions, and there is a need to reduce and reprioritize public spending. An assessment of existing sectoral data and consultations with Eswatini’s private sector and policy makers suggest that four sectors can help drive the export-led private sector growth model. To return to an export-led growth model, Eswatini needs to increase export competitiveness by advancing regulatory reforms and improvements in trade logistics that include regional collaboration to address trade facilitation constraints. Finally, given the country’s vulnerability to climate risks, policies to foster economic resilience amid extreme weather events (mainly droughts that affect agriculture) and improve disaster preparedness need to be pursued. The private sector must adapt to this challenge and work with the government to improve climate resilience.Publication Creating Markets In Namibia : Creating Resilient and Inclusive Markets - Country Private Sector Diagnostic(Washington, DC, 2022-07) International Finance CorporationSince 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 Creating Markets in Sri Lanka : Private Sector-Led Inclusive Growth from Islands of Excellence: Country Private Sector Diagnostic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-07) International Finance CorporationSri Lanka is a country of paradoxes. With the lowest poverty rates, best social indicators, and highest per capita income in South Asia, Sri Lanka’s economic performance since independence had generally been hailed as a success before the current debt crisis. However, past performance occurred amidst many distortions and an economy less open than its peers, largely reflecting the strong involvement of the state in the economy. Even if this interventionist model of economic policy and the presence of many state-owned enterprises (SOEs) served the country well through the years of conflict and their aftermath, it is no longer sustainable. Indeed, after the rapid growth of the peace dividend in the years post-2009, the economy has faltered and progress on social indicators has stagnated. Many of market distortions remain and have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Understanding how, despite these handicaps, Sri Lanka achieved positive economic and social outcomes in the past provides the building blocks of a realistic, forward-looking growth strategy, one of the objectives of this Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD). The research for this report was conducted prior to the current crisis, but the recommendations remain relevant to implementing public policies that will support private sector-led inclusive and sustainable growth.Publication Creating Markets in Botswana - A Diamond in the Rough: Toward a New Strategy for Diversification and Private Sector Growth - Country Private Sector Diagnostic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-06) International Finance CorporationDiamonds have been at the center of Botswana’s growth miracle for decade - but the urgency to diversify is stronger than ever. Although Botswana’s economy has undergone transformation over the past decades, the shift has been largely into non-tradable services, with limited gains in employment, income equality, and export diversification. In addition, Botswana’s high vulnerability to climate change, which affects all major sectors of the economy, underscores the need to strengthen Botswana’s response to climate factors as a basis for renewed, sustainable growth. A positive growth outlook and steps taken as part of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis response should give the government new impetus to accelerate reforms. Success in diversifying the economy will depend on the decisive implementation of structural measures to increase private sector participation in nonmineral exports and transformative sectors. The dominant role that the government of Botswana still plays in large parts of the economy, particularly through its footprint as a shareholder in companies in the corporate sector, is a critical constraint that inhibits the entry and success of private sector participants. Gaps in infrastructure, access to finance, and skills are additional key constraints to employment and productivity growth. A coordinated approach to financing entrepreneurship and policies to increase uptake of digital finance can help close the gap. Trade barriers are another key cross-cutting constraint for the private sector, and a greener path for the economy can be unlocked by facilitating improved trade in environmental goods and services (EGS). Three key recommendations for the energy sector are as follows. The first recommendation is the fast tracking of instruments to facilitate investment in energy infrastructure development, including independent power producer (IPP) licensing, and procurement guidelines and processes. The second recommendation is the enhancement of the institutional capacity and governance model of the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority (BERA). The third recommendation is the development of credit-enhancement and risk-mitigation strategies and supporting instruments to attract and mobilize private sector investment.Publication Creating Markets in Albania: Taking Advantage of New Trade and Investment Opportunities for a More Robust Private Sector - Country Private Sector Diagnostic(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-06) International Finance CorporationDespite a challenging transition period and a string of adverse shocks, in recent decades Albania has made major strides in raising per capita income and integrating into the world economy. A dynamic private sector has become the engine of Albania’s economic development, and its increasing role continues to offer opportunities for expanding the country’s economic base and promoting faster and more diversified export-oriented growth. Albania is endowed with considerable economic assets, including a strategic geographical position, exceptional natural beauty, and abundant renewable and nonrenewable resources. A politically stable environment, improving governance indicators, and a record of dependable macroeconomic policies have supported the process of European Union (EU) accession, which offers a wide array of opportunities for the development of the Albanian private sector. Because a small domestic labor pool and consumer market limit the potential for economies of scale, sustaining Albania’s economic expansion will require intensifying its integration with the global economy. Despite decades of progress, Albania continues to face serious structural and policy challenges. The country’s economic expansion has not been matched by commensurate improvements in productivity. In this context, the World Bank Group has prepared the following country private sector diagnostic (CPSD) to assist the authorities in their efforts to leverage Albania’s geographic location, natural assets, and improved institutional and policy framework to promote diversification, competitiveness, and robust private-sector-led growth. The analysis highlights the importance of improving the business environment while stepping up investments in technology and innovation. The report explores three critical sectors for accelerating and diversifying growth: agribusiness and food processing, tourism, and automotive manufacturing.