The World Bank Group has officially launched the next phase of its Private Sector Investment Lab, a strategic initiative aimed at mobilizing private capital for development in low and middle-income countries. This new phase includes the appointment of high-profile industry leaders such as Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, signaling a strengthened commitment to job creation through impactful investments.
The expansion of the Lab comes as the World Bank aligns its broader strategy around employment-driven growth, recognizing that sustainable development in emerging markets requires more than public funding alone. By bringing in business leaders with proven track records in large-scale job generation, the Bank hopes to foster investment models that are both profitable and transformative.
Elevating Job Creation as a Central Development Priority
According to the World Bank, the newly expanded Lab includes individuals who lead global firms deeply embedded in sectors critical to employment and economic inclusion—such as manufacturing, energy, agriculture, healthcare, tourism, and infrastructure.
Alongside Dangote and Mittal, the Lab welcomed two other global business figures: Bill Anderson, CEO of pharmaceutical and agriculture giant Bayer AG, and Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Their combined expertise spans high-impact sectors known to create widespread jobs across emerging economies.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga emphasized that the expansion reflects a deliberate move to integrate the Lab’s work across the Bank’s core activities. “With the expanded membership, we are mainstreaming this work across our operations and tying it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving our strategy,” Banga stated. He also added that the initiative is not based on altruism but on building viable pathways for private investors to generate strong returns while also uplifting people and economies.
Consolidating 18 Months of Research Into Action
Banga noted that over the past 18 months, the Lab convened top financial executives to diagnose the major roadblocks hindering private sector investments in emerging markets. Their research led to the development of five core focus areas that will now be embedded into Bank Group operations:
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Regulatory and Policy Certainty: The Bank aims to assist governments in creating stable, investment-friendly regulatory environments. As an example, Banga highlighted the Bank’s efforts to extend electricity access to 300 million people in Africa, an initiative dependent on predictable, upfront policy frameworks to attract long-term private capital.
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Political Risk Insurance: By streamlining its guarantee products, the Bank has increased political risk insurance issuance by 30% compared to the previous year. These guarantees play a key role in mitigating investor fears, and the Bank plans to triple their use by 2030.
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Foreign Exchange Risk: The Lab is prioritizing local currency financing as a tool to deepen domestic capital markets. Last year, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank’s private sector arm, provided one-third of its long-term financing in local currency. The goal is to reach 40% by 2030, thus minimizing foreign exchange volatility risks for investors.
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Junior Equity Capital: The Bank introduced the Frontier Opportunities Fund to absorb early-stage investment risks. Initially funded through IFC income, the Bank plans to grow the fund through contributions from donors and philanthropic sources.
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Securitization: The Lab is partnering with major financial institutions like S&P Global and BlackRock to standardize and securitize investment portfolios. This effort aims to unlock substantial capital held by pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds.
Transitioning From Concept to Execution
Ajay Banga highlighted that this new phase is about moving beyond conceptual frameworks to actual implementation. “We’re building on a strong foundation laid by our original Lab leaders. Now, we are adding new voices from sectors that can drive job creation and economic opportunity at scale,” he said.
These sectors—ranging from heavy industry and agribusiness to hospitality and tourism—are known for their ability to generate employment rapidly and inclusively. The presence of leaders like Dangote, whose conglomerate spans cement, fertilizer, oil refining, and food processing, and Mittal, whose telecom services reach deep into rural Africa and Asia, brings invaluable real-world expertise into the Bank’s development playbook.
Original Lab Contributors and Legacy
The Private Sector Investment Lab was originally composed of executives from major global institutions including AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Ninety One, Ping An Group, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group.
These founding members played a crucial role in identifying the foundational bottlenecks and piloting innovative financial instruments. With their contributions, the Lab laid the groundwork for this more expansive and action-driven phase.
Future Outlook: A New Model of Development Finance
This expanded Lab reflects the World Bank’s broader push toward rethinking development finance by elevating the private sector’s role as a primary engine of growth. As global public funds remain constrained in the post-pandemic era, the focus has shifted to leveraging institutional capital, market incentives, and risk-sharing mechanisms to generate real economic transformation.
The inclusion of top-tier business leaders is expected to strengthen the World Bank’s ability to translate policy into results, attract large-scale investment, and demonstrate that development can be both equitable and profitable.
By embedding these strategies into its core operations and working with influential private sector figures, the Bank is not only driving forward its jobs agenda but also shaping a new global standard for sustainable, private sector-led development.
As the Lab moves from ideas to large-scale implementation, it will serve as a blueprint for other multilateral development institutions looking to unlock private capital and maximize impact in the developing world.
