Development Impact Fund

In May, over 200 thinkers, builders, and change-makers from government, the private sector, the World Bank Group, and partners met in Lomé, Togo, to launch Africa LEADS in Western and Central Africa. They brought with them $5.3 billion in IDA, and IBRD, and IFC financing across 20 investments in 11 countries—and rolled up their sleeves to use scientific evidence, behavioral insights, and adaptive delivery methods to amplify potential in their operations.

The workshop marks the launch of the Africa LEADS program. The program offers a framework for projects to (i) collectively Learn from each other and through impact evaluation research; (ii) wire in the ability for projects to Adapt based on this evidence, and (iii) Scale the most effective approaches across the region. The event brought together approximately 30 project teams working on selected World Bank-financed operations in the Eastern and Southern Africa region.