A small open economy, Benin has seen growth that is above average for the region. The volatility of high growth spells combined with low productivity growth has translated into limited gains in income per capita. Following its transition from low-income country to lower middle income country...

A competitive city is a city that successfully facilitates its firms and industries to create jobs, raise productivity, and increase the incomes of citizens over time. Worldwide, improving the competitiveness of cities is a pathway to eliminating extreme poverty and to promoting shared...

Partnership for growth: linking large firms and agro-processing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) presents lessons learned from various models utilized by public and private sector programs to stimulate the growth of agro-processing SMEs through linkages to larger firms in developing...

This World Bank publication provides an overview of mutual funds in developing countries, outlining their role in the financial sector; the different types of mutual funds; the structure of the mutual fund industry; and the industry's interdependency with other sectors such as pension funds and...

The signs of digital technology adoption are evident across Southeast Asia. In big cities, the use of mobile phones for messaging and social media has become ubiquitous. Ride-sharing services and delivery riders using apps to obtain their next booking are changing the face of urban transport and...

Kenya's business environment has been weakening over recent years and this has limited the private sector's ability to grow, create jobs, and contribute to economic development. Competitive domestic markets are necessary to boost Kenya's competitiveness. There are two pillars that sustain...

The Government of the Republic of Zambia aims to transform the economy to support economic growth and facilitate job creation. Central to the transformation agenda is a commitment to open trade regime for agricultural exports and imports. Zambia has a long history of import and export...

Ghana is projected to become hotter and drier in the future (in projections with a 50-year horizon), and the country will continue to experience temperature increases, extreme events like droughts and floods and the increase in frequency and duration of heat waves (World Bank, 2021). The...

Cote d'Ivoire is at a crossroads. Despite good progress over the last decade, recent global economic and health shocks have aggravated existing problems including lack of fiscal space, limited access to concessional and cheap financing, and a fragile political neighborhood. But Cote d'Ivoire now...

The Cambodia Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) provides analysis and recommendations on how Cambodia can achieve sustained development while responding to climate change and the low-carbon transition. Cambodia has high development aspirations, aiming to become an upper-middle-income...