World Bank Group

The World Bank Group is a family of five member-owned international institutions that supports development through finance, guarantees, investment-dispute mechanisms, knowledge and technical assistance. Its central mandate is to reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity by directing public and private capital towards productive, socially beneficial and environmentally sustainable development.

Public-sector development finance

The World Bank consists specifically of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. Their assistance can support physical and social infrastructure, institutional reform and policy-based development programmes.

• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) lends mainly to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries, drawing much of its finance from international capital markets.
• The International Development Association (IDA) provides grants and highly concessional credits to the poorest countries, supported substantially by member contributions, repayments and market borrowing.
• Both institutions combine financing with research, policy advice, technical assistance and capacity-building.

Mobilising private capital

The Group seeks not merely to supply official finance but also to reduce risks and mobilise private investment where markets alone provide insufficient capital.

• The International Finance Corporation (IFC) finances and advises private enterprises in developing countries, including through loans, equity investment and mobilisation of other investors.
• The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) encourages foreign direct investment by providing political-risk insurance and credit enhancement against specified non-commercial risks.
• These institutions aim to make development projects commercially viable while producing wider economic and social benefits.

Investment-dispute framework

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) provides facilities for conciliation and arbitration of investment disputes between states and foreign investors. It does not provide development loans, but supports an institutional environment for cross-border investment.