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About infoDev: A World Bank Group Program to Promote Entrepreneurship and Innovation

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About infoDev:

infoDev was a World Bank Group multi-donor program that supported entrepreneurs in developing economies. Founded in 1995 as an ICT-for-development research leader, infoDev transformed to become a global partnership that worked at the intersection of innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship to create opportunities for inclusive growth. From 2012 through 2022, infoDev worked on accelerating the growth of agribusiness, climate technology, and digital startups and catalyze entrepreneurial ecosystems in developing countries. The program supported several fragile and low-income countries across South Asia, Africa, and Latin America to promote competitiveness, employment, sustainability, inclusive growth, and development within these sectors and regions.  View impact stories >>

infoDev was comprised of three partnerships: the infoDev Multi-donor Trust Fund (MDTF), Climate Technology Program (CTP), and the Entrepreneurship Program for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC).

  • infoDev MDTF: An eight-year, $25.5 million program managed by the World Bank Group and supported by Sweden, Norway, Italy, Finland, and Korea, the infoDev MDTF built enabling ecosystems for growth-oriented entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) within the digital and agro-processing sectors in focused regions. These efforts mobilized $3.4 billion in additional World Bank lending operations.
  • Climate Technology Program: Supported by the World Bank and the governments of Australia, Denmark, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and the UK, Climate Technology Program helped high-growth, clean-tech companies commercialize and scale the most innovative private sector solutions to climate change. Through its Climate Business Innovation Network, the program convened local and global institutions to promote the diffusion of innovative business models across borders, crowd in public and private financing into climate innovation, share market insights, and build and strengthen local clean-tech-supporting institutions, such as the Climate Innovation Centers.
  • EPIC: The Entrepreneurship Program for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC) helped build a supportive ecosystem for high-growth and sustainable enterprises throughout the Caribbean. The seven-year, $20 million program was funded by the government of Canada and implemented by infoDev and the World Bank Group. Download program brochure (2015) | frequently asked questions (2016)


Selected Knowledge Products:

Flagship Report:

Climate Technology:

Digital Entrepreneurship:

Agribusiness Entrepreneurship:

Access to Finance:

Women's Entrepreneurship:

Entrepreneurship Program for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC):