Impact investing has seen a boost in popularity during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic due to increased awareness of climate change and social challenges such as unequal access to healthcare and racial and gender inequality. In 2020, the market saw an increasing level of maturity compared to...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which began as a health crisis in early 2020, has rapidly evolved to become an unprecedented economic crisis affecting global, national, and regional economies and billions of individuals around the world. This report analyzes the widespread implications of...

Blended concessional finance is the combination of concessional funds from development partners with commercial finance from development finance institutions (DFIs) and private sources. These resources can be used strategically to help mitigate risk in challenging emerging markets and attract...

Artificial intelligence (AI) - the science of making machines act in rational, intelligent ways is rapidly making inroads into business operations and society. AI is already being applied in many areas of our lives, with high penetration in financial services followed by e-commerce, healthcare,...

The structure of the Ukrainian biomass-to-energy market is taking shape. The supply side of the market is represented by the forestry and wood processing companies and crop and animal farms that are sources of biomass. Pellet producers process available waste into pellets. Boilers for burning...

This report summarizes the experiences of 19 companies from across the region. Each of the case studies highlights the key corporate governance changes made and the positive impacts that resulted, as reported by the company. The companies represent various countries, sectors, types, and sizes....

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to theunderstanding and discussion of how the costs andbenefits of natural resource development are sharedacross society. This paper presents how IFC, as both aninvestor and a development organization, determineswhether benefits and costs are shared...

The World Bank Group's investment climate project conducted a survey of foreign investors in the Kyrgyz Republic - both those currently operating and those that have terminated their operations for various reasons. The purpose of the survey was to assess selected aspects of the investment policy...

The report's main objective is to provide policy makers, regulators, and the private sector, primarily in emerging economies and developing countries, with a tool for enforcing international best practice and for developing strategies for successful reforms in the area of construction...

The private sector, through investment and job creation, plays a crucial role in a country's fight against poverty. Where an effective private sector is lacking, business registration reform has been shown to be one of the essential first steps toward fostering private-sector growth. The easier,...