Private capital mobilization is gaining ground, but progress varies widely across sectors and markets. Drawing on WBG-wide data, cross-regional lessons, and private-sector experience, this café explores where mobilization is working, where gaps remain, and how new financial instruments can shift the focus from reporting outcomes to shaping them.

Sustained growth depends on productive firms that can enter, grow, compete, and innovate. This café examines how policies and private capital can foster business dynamism, unlock investments, and expand financing for high-potential firms, and what it takes to create more and better jobs.

Sixty years of World Bank Group lending and investing show that infrastructure in emerging markets and developing economies delivers strong returns, yet private capital stays on the sidelines. This session argues the binding constraint is missing information rather than risk, and what it would take to turn evidence into a market signal that moves private capital at scale.

Data centers are essential infrastructure for the digital age, but attracting private investment takes more than better regulations. Private investors need a credible business case before committing capital. This café reveals the public sector's realistic role on how targeted reforms and catalytic financing help viable projects clear the barriers that prevent investments. 

The skills the labor market rewards are shifting faster than education systems can follow. AI arrived in classrooms before the policies did, and students are already using it. The disruption is also the opportunity. AI could deliver what education systems have long wanted and rarely afforded: personalized learning, well-supported teachers, and skills development at scale. This session looks at how countries move from scattered pilots to systems that are genuinely ready, without trading away equity, privacy, or quality.

Developing countries cannot meet their energy and jobs goals without a major scale-up in transmission investment, and public financing alone cannot close the gap. Drawing on global experience with independent power transmission, the session examines factors that can make this model scalable and affordable.

Secure and tradable water rights can attract private investment and create lasting economic opportunities and jobs in complex river systems. This café explores how market institutions and trading arrangements evolved in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin to deliver economic gains while increasing ecosystem services, with actionable insights for river basins worldwide.

Private investment in developing economies has declined despite efforts to mobilize capital. Reversing this trend requires stronger financial systems that can channel savings into productive investment and better support private sector growth. Drawing on the World Bank Group's new Financial Development Data (FinData), this session brings policymakers and investors to explore the reforms needed to strengthen financial systems, improve investment conditions, and unlock private capital for sustainable development.

Industrial parks can be powerful engines of investment, trade, and jobs, but only where they meet rising investor and supply-chain expectations. Drawing on a growing global portfolio of eco-industrial park engagements across five regions — with the potential to support hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions in investment — this café convenes experts on what makes parks competitive.

Across education, health, and skills, private providers already play a central role, yet evidence on outcomes is often contested. This interactive session weighs new research on what works, examines which policies and regulations matter most, and asks how governments and private providers can deliver better together.

Private capital moves at the speed of trust. Transparent rules, responsible conduct, and effective public-private collaboration can create a virtuous circle that attracts investment and strengthens public revenues. Through practical examples of scalable knowledge tools that support tax, mining, and business climate reforms, this discussion explores what it takes to build such trust and create a sound enabling environment for investment.

The next pandemic will not wait. COVID-19 showed the cost for developing countries of arriving late to vaccines: avoidable deaths and trillions in economic losses. This session brings together three perspectives—financing, vaccines, and health systems—to make the case for a more coordinated, faster, and more equitable global response. 

Vast infrastructure and housing financing gaps persist in EMDE local currency markets, as private lenders require credible credit-risk enhancement with sovereign participation. Pioneering programs show how well-structured vehicles with a layered capital stack and participation by governments and development partners can de-risk investment and have high catalytic effect to mobilize private investment at scale, lowering sovereign contingent liabilities.

Catalytic equity offers a real opportunity to unlock private investment in frontier markets, but private investors rarely move first without protection against early losses. In this session, industry leaders share practical lessons from the Frontier Opportunities Fund on how catalytic equity mobilizes capital, creates jobs, and strengthens the investment ecosystems these markets need to grow.

Demand for critical minerals is surging, but skills shortages limit how much local prosperity that wealth creates. In this session, mining executives, governments, and financiers discuss how companies co-finance and co-deliver training with public and private education systems, and explore partnerships that turn investment into lasting skills and jobs.

Most farmers in developing economies never reach an extension agent, leaving advice scarce and costly to deliver. Early deployments of "Small AI in a Box" show how digital advisory tools can reach farmers and agribusinesses affordably, opening scalable models for investment and inclusive rural employment.

Amid global volatility, Latin America and the Caribbean achieved more resilient growth than many anticipated. The region's improved economic performance has helped strengthen investor confidence and support private investment. Behind this progress are difficult regulatory reforms that improved the business environment and laid the foundation for more and better jobs. Senior policymakers will discuss the reforms that unlocked these gains and what it will take to preserve them.

Investment flows where confidence and trust exist. This session explores how access to effective dispute resolution mechanisms can give investors the assurance they need to commit capital, and how dispute prevention can sustain the conditions that keep investment flowing over time.

Pension funds hold vast pools of largely untapped long-term capital that could be invested in EMDE local currency assets critical for economic growth and job creation, including MSMEs, infrastructure and housing. Recent pension fund reforms, coupled with innovative investment strategies and instruments show how well-designed frameworks can unlock domestic institutional capital and mobilize long-term private capital at scale on a sustainable basis.

Trade corridors are critical to growth, competitiveness, and job creation, but infrastructure alone does not deliver results. Performance depends on how transport systems are governed, financed, and operated. Using the Middle Corridor as a practical case, this session explores how railway reform can mobilize private investment, improve reliability, and unlock trade-led growth.

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Portfolio approaches enable banks and development partners to align investments with country priorities, attract private participation, and strengthen partnerships. This session highlights how portfolio de-risking strategies can unlock private capital and generate jobs at scale. It draws on practical examples and lessons.

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Affordable devices, data, and reliable connectivity are essential to turning internet access into economic opportunity. Yet millions of Africans remain priced out due to high costs, limited competition, taxes, and gaps in infrastructure and skills. This session examines the policy, advocacy, and investment choices shaping affordability and reforms needed to unlock jobs across Africa. 

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What does it mean for multilateral development banks, clients, and development partners to work in a mission-oriented way? This session brings together theory and practice to explore how institutions set priorities, generate knowledge through delivery, and strengthen finance, partnerships, and development results, as countries drive their own trajectories and the global landscape rapidly shifts. 

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This session unpacks the true cost of agricultural subsidies, assesses who benefits, and explores how they can be repurposed for greater impact. Drawing on the perspectives of global experts and reform leaders, it examines practical options to better align subsidies with productivity, sustainability, and development outcomes. 

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By leveraging private capital through insurance and catastrophe bonds, countries can sustain economic activity, protect jobs, and accelerate recovery after disasters. This session explores how risk-layered strategies (combining insurance and capital market instruments) can strengthen disaster financing, highlighting reforms, partnerships, and lessons from country experience.

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Regional power markets can lower costs, boost productivity and jobs, and strengthen regional cooperation. This session explores the opportunities, policies, regulations, and financing mechanisms needed for integration. It highlights how cross-border electricity markets can attract private investment while preserving energy security and advancing shared prosperity. 

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This session explores how jobs measurement approaches across institutions matter for better policy and operational decisions. Highlighting emerging opportunities for alignment across institutions, it examines how comparable yet adaptable metrics can strengthen policy dialogue, inform program design, and help scale effective approaches to job creation.

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Human capital progress is stalling, and sometimes reversing, despite decades of investment. This session explores what is missing by shifting focus to where people live and work. It examines whole-of-government approaches, the private sector’s role, and practical options to improve outcomes so that people grow up healthy, learn well, and support investments that lead to more and better jobs. 

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Digital innovators and lenders are transforming Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) finance through technology, data, and new business models. This session explores how policies, digital public infrastructure, and partnerships can scale these approaches responsibly (from alternative data and open finance to embedded and supply chain finance, and new capital market solutions) to expand access to credit and support job creation. 

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AI has enormous potential to accelerate development outcomes, but only if adapted to local contexts, limited resources, and high-stakes environments. This session explores what it takes to build AI systems that are accurate, trusted, and actionable for development decision-making. 

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Jobs are the surest pathway out of poverty, but creating them at scale requires strong foundations, smart policies, and private investment. This Café introduces the World Bank Group’s ongoing work to develop a harmonized Jobs Indicator — the first tool designed to connect reforms and investments with employment outcomes. The discussion will highlight why measuring jobs matters, share emerging lessons, and explore how better data can drive action and expand opportunity.

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Water reuse is a powerful yet underutilized driver of job creation and economic growth, strengthening the industries that underpin economies—from agriculture and manufacturing to energy—and enabling them to expand production, attract investment, and deliver more employment opportunities. This Café explores how scaling water reuse, through new technologies and digital innovations, can unlock more jobs while advancing water security and universal access.

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How can smallholders be assured access to the finance needed to improve their operations, grow their businesses, and build better livelihoods and jobs? This discussion will highlight evidence-based financial innovations that can increase resilience and productivity for smallholder farmers and vulnerable communities, helping create jobs and boost food security.

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Disasters disrupt all forms of economic activity. They wreak havoc on infrastructure assets and basic services. Overnight, businesses go bust, smallholders farmers and vulnerable populations lose all their assets. Unemployment levels rise, often leading to chronic poverty. While a complex challenge, the session will explore the elements of an approach that can provide a pathway, using practical examples to elicit a framework for response, including insurance solutions and disaster preparedness. 

The world faces a global labor imbalance: youth job shortages in some regions and worker deficits in others. Global Skill Partnerships (GSPs) offer a solution by training workers in surplus countries for jobs in shortage sectors abroad. This Café explores how GSPs can deliver a triple win through skills investment, managed mobility, and private sector engagement.

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In an age of AI and uncertainty, creating the perfect match—aligning education with tomorrow’s jobs—is urgent. How do we rethink education to equip the next generation with the right content and skills, delivered in the right way? Join the World Bank’s Education Global Director, youth, and private sector on unlocking opportunities and building pathways to future work.

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Investments in infrastructure, people, and natural capital have too often been made in silos—a clinic here, a bridge there, a skills center somewhere else—without systematically linking them to jobs opportunities. Today, every World Bank Group operation is expected to demonstrate a clear line of sight to jobs. This Café will explore how WBG core analytical products such as the Country Growth & Jobs Report (CGJR) or the Country Private Sector Diagnostics (CPSD) can help to translate that vision into practice—moving from analysis to action and ensuring that diverse stakeholders bring their knowledge to bear. Senior representatives from the World Bank and the private sector will discuss practical ways to align investments across sectors to maximize their impact on job creation.

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What if your next health investment could also create thousands of jobs? This Café explores how countries can leverage health systems and health value chains to drive job creation—especially for youth and women—while expanding access to care. Join us to learn how public spending on health can unlock inclusive growth, attract private investment, and deliver long-term economic returns.

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Funding high-growth firms is a major challenge in developing countries. Venture capital provides a pathway, but it is often constrained by policy environments, market gaps, or financing conditions. This Café convenes researchers, IFC investors, and private-sector leaders to map key bottlenecks, share lessons, and chart actionable steps to expand effective venture capital investment across these markets.

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Debt-for-development swaps can help countries tackle liquidity challenges while advancing sustainable development. This Café will bring together Spain, the World Bank, and a partner country to discuss how these transactions work and how to structure them effectively. The discussion will highlight opportunities for greater knowledge sharing and cooperation. It will also mark the launch of the Global Hub for Debt Swaps for Development, a platform to exchange experiences and foster practical know-how.

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What does it take to Mainstream Innovation in Development? Innovation is essential to sustaining and amplifying development impact. The journey to translate innovative ideas into real-world outcomes is challenging. Join us to discuss what innovation means in development, why it matters now more than ever, and what we can learn from successful efforts to mainstream innovation.

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Africa’s mineral wealth offers vast potential for jobs and growth. This Café will examine how Africa’s untapped mineral resources can be converted into broad‑based employment, higher incomes, and resilient local economies. It will cover recent trends in mineral discoveries across Africa, highlighting both challenges and opportunities. Experts will explore strategic investments in extraction and processing, while sharing lessons and countries' experience in expanding value addition —using minerals to strengthen infrastructure, linking resource-rich regions to key markets, supporting local suppliers, and developing diversified economic corridors to boost job creation.

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This Café explores how Small AI can deliver transformative impact in developing countries. Participants will learn from real-world case studies, examine enabling foundations, and discuss how Small AI provides a pragmatic pathway for developing countries to accelerate digital transformation, build AI readiness and drive the future of jobs.

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Powering data centers can drive economic transformation, creating quality jobs and inclusive growth in emerging markets. This Café explores how to enable an ecosystem for job creation using renewable energy, grid modernization, and energy efficiency to meet soaring demands from data centers for cloud services and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through new World Bank research and case studies, experts will share best practices and actionable policies to power data centers to unlock job creation across the digital services economy and AI innovations.

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In the wake of crisis, how do we rebuild? Some economies bounce back with new firms, new ideas, and new jobs. Others cling to old habits and the status quo. This Café explores what drives that difference, how to drive innovation, and what it takes to turn shock into opportunity.

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Cities in Africa and many parts of Asia are expanding fast, offering immense potential for job-rich growth. Join this Café to examine how smarter urban governance, land and mobility reforms, and pragmatic expansion planning can convert rapid urbanization into more and better jobs, as well as the lessons these fast urbanizing regions can take from the successful experiences of other countries. Drawing on emerging flagship insights, speakers and participants will co-create actionable ideas to ensure "urbanization with growth" and scale inclusive, productivity-boosting urban strategies.

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As international investment in infrastructure projects in EMDEs dwindles and foreign exchange risk rises, the infrastructure financing gap remains in the trillions of dollars. Through compelling insights from WBG knowledge/country programs and international private investors, this Café will decode proven pathways and interventions to stimulate an action-oriented dialogue on scaling local infrastructure financing solutions ––spurring the economic wheel for sustainable growth and job creation.

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This Café will discuss the partnership between the World Bank Group (WBG) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the critical role of higher education in driving jobs in the energy sector. It will focus on practical knowledge generation, talent development, and implementing scalable solutions. Anchored in the WBG–HBCU–African Centers of Excellence (ACE) partnership, the discussion will show how universities bridge research and practice to address energy challenges while creating economic opportunities.

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The success of the energy transition hinges on strong power utilities that light up homes and powers businesses, playing a crucial role in building modern economies and reversing climate impacts. This session examines current utility performance challenges in Bank client countries and the threats and opportunities to utility performance, and highlights solutions to support utilities in navigating the energy transition. 

In a world challenged by climate change, food insecurity, and conflict, economic inclusion programs are crucial for supporting the poorest and most vulnerable. Our sessions highlight the evidence for economic inclusion programs to create jobs, raise incomes, and build resilience for the most vulnerable

The World Bank is scaling up action under an ‘all of methane’ strategy to accelerate the triple wins of reducing methane emissions - limit global warming in the near term, enhance resilience, and empower livelihoods of the most vulnerable. This session will present recent experiences and best practices from county-led programs focusing on methane abatement in rice production, livestock, waste management, and other sectors. 

This session provides detailed insights into how data is being used to inform decision-making at country level by providing best available data on current and projected climate risks and greater transparency around food and nutrition security challenges.  

Digital solutions are strengthening climate resilience and supporting low-carbon development, from early warning systems to precision agriculture and emergency cash transfers. This Knowledge Café presents opportunities to leverage digital technologies for climate action while also greening the sector.

Efficient cross border payments are essential for commerce and remittances, yet they remain costly, slow, and have limited reach. Recent data highlights the sizeable disparities between advanced and developing economies in terms of costs. Our panel shares effective domestic strategies and discuss the future agenda for improving cross-border payments.

Users across the public and private sectors are actively experimenting with how to best leverage AI to enhance their operations. We highlight examples of impactful work on several problem-driven applications, underscoring the growing significance of AI in operational enhancement.

One-tenth of the world’s population already lives in a country with high or critical water stress. We explore how the Bank Group plans to accelerate transformation of the sector and increase the levels of financing required to meet Sustainable Development Goals SDGs.

Developing countries’ limited capacity to raise revenues through taxes is restricting their ability to invest in priority areas such as health, education, and infrastructure and contributing to mounting public debt. We review recent efforts to reform consumption-based taxes, learn from successful reform experiences, and discuss obstacles to reforms.

Lifting the world’s poor from cooking poverty is an urgent development issue and pivotal to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. We showcase the role clean cooking can play in the energy transition while also providing income-generating opportunities and how developing and integrating planning instruments must be at the center of this process. 

The World Bank Group has over 20 years of experience in assisting clients to monetize their emissions reductions, to help finance broader climate and development goals. Our panel discusses key lessons and experiences from the Bank in creating the right incentives through results-based climate finance to generate marketable high-quality emissions reductions.

Experts from the World Bank, MIGA, and IFC will share recent transformational projects using WBG guarantees that have effectively contributed to private capital mobilization (PCM) in a fiscally sustainable manner. Learn how examples of WBG guarantees and loans leveraging private capital can be replicated across various sectors, such as energy, transport, digital, water, and social infrastructure. 

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains widespread with wide repercussions, including deteriorating physical and mental health, reduced access to education and jobs, and worse human development and economic outcomes for survivors and their children. We share evidence of effective public and private sector approaches in GBV response and prevention, drawing on a 10-year retrospective.  

Experts predict there is an over 50% chance that another pandemic of the magnitude of COVID-19 will hit us within the next 25 years.  We engage the Café audience on topics including what types of investments are needed to get countries to the right level of preparedness, how to measure progress and impact, and how the Pandemic Fund is helping.

30-45 Minutes
Presenter: Luis Benveniste, Global Director  ̶   Education

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30 minutes
Presenter: Juan Pablo Uribe, Global Director  ̶    HNP

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30 minutes
Presenter: Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva, Global Director  ̶   POV

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30 Minutes
Presenter: Mona Haddad, Global Director  ̶   TIC

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30-45 Minutes
Presenter: Niels Holm Nielsen, Manager of the GFDRR

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45 Minutes
Presenter: Guangzhe Chen, INF VP and Demetrios Papathanasiou, Global Director  ̶   EEX

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45 Minutes
Presenters: 
Nicolas Peltier, Global Director  ̶ Transport
Binyam Reja, Practice Manager, Transport
Romuald Wadagni, Benin 
Emmanuel B. Nyirinkindi (IFC)
Frannie Leautier, SBI Investment 

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45 Minutes
Presenter: Christine Qiang, Global Director  ̶   Digital Development  

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30 Minutes
Presenter: Iffath Shariff, Global Director  ̶   SPJ

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