To mark Women’s Month we’re digging into an often overlooked, but critical sector for the global economy, and for many millions of women: Artisanal and Smallscale Mining (ASM).

From gold, cobalt, copper and gemstones to salt, gravel and quarry rock: artisanal and small-scale mining) has played an active role in national development and international trade over the decades. But as the demand for clean energy and for consumer technology grows worldwide, the need for the metals and minerals which are used in everything from smartphones to solar panels to electric vehicle batteries - is skyrocketing.

In this episode of The Development Podcast we get an insight into the lives of women who work in Artisanal and Smallscale Mining. We hear about the dangers they face, efforts to reform conditions and the wider opportunities to build an inclusive future.

1. Dr Rachel Perks, Senior Mining Specialist, World Bank
2. Blessing Hungwe-Nharara, Zimbabwe Association of Women in Mining Associations
3. Susan Wheeler, Founder of Virtu Gems

[00:00] Introducing the topic: Mining and women workforce

[03:25] Artisanal and small-scale mining: workforce, challenges, energy transition, digital trends

[11:13] Trailblazing stories: The case of Blessing Hungwe-Nharara in Zimbabwe

[18:33] Gemstones, supply chains, and good practices in the public and private sectors

[21:23] The case of Virtu Gem in the jewelry industry

[26:37] Creating a sustainable value chain for all: What the World Bank is doing

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

Many of us take turning on a light switch or connecting our devices to a home Wi-Fi network for granted. If our phones need charging, we plug them in, if we want hot water we boil a kettle. These are things we don’t think about, because we don’t have to. But around 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still live without access to electricity.

In this episode of The Development Podcast, we look at Mission 300, an ambitious plan from the World Bank Group and partners, which will link 300 million people to electricity by 2030.

1. Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group
2. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania
3. Victoria Kwakwa, Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, World Bank Group
4. Andrew Herscowitz, the CEO of Mission 300 Accelerator, established by Rockefeller Catalytic Capital
5. Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO, Axian Group
6. Klaartje Schnade, Co-founder, Mwani Zanzibar
7. Nora Anyidoho, Ghanian Poet

[00:00] Introducing the topic: Powering Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

[03:33] Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit

[06:28] The link between electrification and jobs: Visions of an entrepreneur in Zanzibar

[10:50] Achieving the Mission 300 target

[14:21] Partnerships are key to achieving the targets set by the Mission 300 plan

[20:13] The private sector is a crucial part of the energy puzzle

[28:12] Poem from Ghanaian poet, Nora Anyidoho

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

As the world approaches the quarter way point of the 21st century, we take stock of the last year in development and the challenges ahead. And we return to the work of the International Development Association (IDA), in verse. Join us as we hear from Ayhan Kose, Deputy Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Director of the Prospects Group, and Emi Mahmoud, Poet, activist and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.

[00:00] Welcome and introduction to the topic

[03:45] Global economy and growth despite intertwined challenges

[06:47] Eradicating poverty and boosting shared prosperity on a livable planet

[11:43] Biggest challenges facing low-income countries

[15:32] 2025: Hopes for the next year

[21:22] Emi Mahmoud, Sudanese activist spoken word poet and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s low-income countries. IDA's grants and low-interest loans help countries invest in their futures, improve lives, and create safer, more prosperous communities around the world. Replenished every three years, IDA’s current round of negotiations is scheduled to conclude in December 2024 in a final pledging meeting in Seoul, Korea.

As IDA completes its 21st replenishment, we journey to Korea to hear how the country, which has recently pledged a 45% in its contribution, has gone from recipient to donor. And we’ll learn about some of the development priorities of another donor country, Switzerland.

1. Aki Nishio, Vice President of Development Finance at the World Bank
2. Juyoung Yang, Associate Fellow in the Department of Macroeconomics and Financial Policy of the Korea Development Institute
3. Chantal Felder, Head of the Climate, Disaster Risk Reduction and Environment Section, Swiss Agency for Development and cooperation (SDC)

[00:00] Introducing the International Development Association (IDA)

[03:26] Korea's developmental transformation

[06:25] Visions from the ground on Korea's economic growth

[11:10] How IDA is helping countries to tackle climate change

[17:04] International cooperation: Switzerland's commitment to IDA

[20:14] Hope on the horizon in a context of polycrisis

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

The International Monetary Fund-World Bank Group 2024 Annual Meetings marked a turn of the page to the next phase of our mission: Ensuring job creation—and employment—are not the byproduct of our projects but an explicit aim of them.

In this latest episode of The Development Podcast, we draw on some of the highlights from the Annual Meetings, as well as announcements on creating a new eco-system for agribusiness and boosting economic opportunities for more women.

We hear from Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group; Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance for Zambia; Mabouba Diagne, Minister for Agriculture, Food and Livestock in Senegal; Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, President and CEO of the ONE Campaign; Sandra Ablamba Johnson, Minister and Secretary General at the Presidency of Togo; Adebayo Olawale Edun, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance; and Raj Kumar, President & Editor-in-Chief at Devex.

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[01:33] World Bank's evolution process towards a bigger, better Bank

[04:35] Agriculture and food as an engine of sustainable growth and jobs

[08:17] Accelerating women’s economic opportunities

[11:58] Jobs creation, International Development Association, World Bank Group scorecard

[15:03] IDA21 replenishment

[17:51] Highlights and announcements

[21:04] Cooperation between the Global North and the Global South

[23:03] Climate change and COP29

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

As the old saying goes, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. But of course, what you measure is important too. In this episode of The Development Podcast, we explore how the World Bank Group aims to strengthen its impact with a slimmed-down and focused scorecard.

We’ll hear how the scorecard will better measure and track results, as well as identify areas for improvement. We’ll get to the heart of what it means to measure results, why it matters and how it has gained traction across the development community. We also get snapshots from two projects: one in Mozambique and one in Jordan. Listen now!

1. Ed Mountfield, Vice President, Operations Policy and Country Services, World Bank
2. Lu Shen, Director, Results Management and Aid Effectiveness Division Strategy, Policy, and Partnerships Department, Asian Development Bank
3. Voices from development projects in Mozambique and Jordan

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[01:57] Impact on development projects: Voices from Mozambique and Jordan

[06:51] Introducing the World Bank Group scorecard

[09:53] Scorecard: Measurement, results, and transparency

[14:46] What is impact and why is it important? Targets and SDGs

[17:36] Alignment in measuring impact across all the MDBs: The case of the Asian Development Bank

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

Creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet has been the vision and mission of the World Bank Group since October 2023. But what does it mean for people and planet? We’ve just wrapped up our series of podcasts exploring these crucial questions, and in this episode we bring you some of the highlights from the last year. We take you on a journey around the world from Samoa to Nepal and hear from youth activists, refugees, entrepreneurs, development partners and leaders from the World Bank Group.

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[02:42] Tackling the climate crisis

[05:59] How can we better support refugees?

[11:01] What is a green job?

[14:34] The journey towards gender equality

[17:29] Forests: How can we prosper in harmony with nature?

[20:15] Visions of a young World Bank staff member

1. Abdullahi Mire, winner of the 2023 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award
2. Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank
3. Anubha Shukla, Vice President, D2R, Husk Power
4. Cristián Samper, Managing Director and leader of Nature Solutions at Bezos Earth Fund
5. Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
6. Inger Anderson, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme
7. Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR
8. Manoj Sinha, CEO of Husk Power
9. Maryse Mbonyumutwa, CEO of Pink Mango and Founder of Asantii
10. Nancy Karambo Riungu, a Kenyan entrepreneur and expert tailor working directly with refugees
11. O’Neall Massamba, Transport Unit - Western and Central Africa, World Bank Group
12. Tulshi Suwal, a Nepalese conservationist
13. Valerie Hickey, Global Director of Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy, the World Bank
14. Xavier Devictor, Co-Director of the 2023 World Development Report

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

Does artificial intelligence amount to a dystopian nightmare for the developing world, eliminating jobs and confirming the worse biases across societies? Or could it lead the way to a brighter future, helping to solve critical development issues? We explore the ways in which artificial intelligence is being used across the globe at a grassroots level in India, Papua New Guinea – as well as get the big picture. Join The Development Podcast!

1. Christine Zhenwei Qiang, Global Director, Digital Transformation, World Bank Group
2. Naomi Longa, Seawomen of Melanesia, Papua New Guinea;
3. Fred Munene, “Farm with Fred” farmer and YouTuber, Kenya;
4. Snehal Joshi, Principal, Shikha Academy, India;
5. Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, Director of Product Impact at Google;
6. Petra Molnar, Harvard Faculty Associate, lawyer, anthropologist, and author

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[02:59] Artificial intelligence to protect the coral reefs in Papua New Guinea

[05:50] Artificial intelligence in educational settings in India

[07:36] Artificial intelligence, agriculture, and youth in Kenya

[09:05] How is AI already being used in the developing world and expansion ahead

[11:49] What are the ethical considerations to keep in mind

[13:58] Jobs: Artificial intelligence and labor market

[16:11] Programs and partnerships where AI is taking the lead: The case of Google

[20:35] How AI is currently being used in the context of refugees

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate of 10 million hectares each year and about 12% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to deforestation and forest degradation. But nature provides the foundation for inclusive growth, jobs, food security, ecosystems and human wellbeing. So, what are the economics of biodiversity and how can we achieve growth whilst protecting forests?

Join The Development Podcast on a trip around the globe from Nepal to Costa Rica as we hear from: Dr Tulshi Suwal, a Nepalese conservationist; Valerie Hickey, the Global Director of Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy at the World Bank; Florita Jimenez Martinez, Community Leader in Costa Rica; and Cristián Samper, Managing Director and leader of Nature Solutions at Bezos Earth Fund.

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

1. Valerie Hickey, the Global Director of Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy at the World Bank
2. Cristián Samper, Managing Director and leader of Nature Solutions at Bezos Earth Fund
3. Florita Jimenez Martinez, Community Leader in Costa Rica
4. Dr Tulshi Suwal, a Nepalese conservationist

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[02:55] The relationship between people and the forests in Nepal

[07:07] The link between ecosystems and economic growth

[12:50] How the World Bank works on biodiversity

[16:05] Protecting the forests: Visions from a community leader in Costa Rica

[19:05] Partnerships to preserve biodiversity in forests: Bezos Earth Fund

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.

The 2024 World Bank Group-IMF Spring Meetings took place from April 11-18. The focus for this year was on how the World Bank Group can turn its vision – of creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet – into real impact. This includes becoming a better Bank – one that is faster, more effective, and more ambitious.

In this latest episode of The Development Podcast, we draw on some of the highlights from the week. We hear from Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group; Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General at the World Health Organization; Svenja Schulze, Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany; Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance for Zambia; Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Health, Nigeria; Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO of Axian Group; Reverend Eugene Cho, President and CEO of Bread for the World; and Raj Kumar, President & Editor-in-Chief at Devex.

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you!

1. Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group
2. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General at the World Health Organization
3. Svenja Schulze, Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany
4. Situmbeko Musokotwane, Minister of Finance for Zambia
5. Muhammad Ali Pate, Minister of Health, Nigeria
6. Hassanein Hiridjee, CEO of Axian Group
7. Reverend Eugene Cho, President and CEO of Bread for the World
8. Raj Kumar, President & Editor-in-Chief at Devex

[00:00] Welcome and introduction of the topic

[01:45] World Bank Group: Turning an ambitious vision into impact

[07:16] Scaling up energy solutions and investments

[09:38] Expanding quality and affordable healthcare services

[13:03] In focus: International Development Association (IDA)

[17:41] World Bank's reforms, its vision, and the road ahead

This international development podcast brings together the data, research—and solutions—that can pave the way to a sustainable future. Through conversations focused on revealing the latest data, the best research, and cutting-edge solutions, let us introduce you to the folks working to make the world a better place. Listen and subscribe for free on your favorite platform. And rate our show! ;)

Tell us what you think of our podcast here >>>. We would love to hear from you! 

The World Bank is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for low-income countries. Its five institutions share a commitment to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.