From October 9 to 10, heads of state, private-sector leaders, and civil-society representatives are convening in Côte d’Ivoire for the Economic Development Assembly, an event organized by the government of Côte d’Ivoire, Global Citizen, and Bridgewater Associates with the aim to increase financial investments for eradicating extreme poverty across Africa. There, participants are set to discuss increasing countries’ contributions to the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which provides grants and loans to countries with the hopes of fostering social and economic development.
Replenishing the IDA would provide several economic, social, and security benefits.
In the 1950s, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. It was a major recipient of concessional funding from the IDA. South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in 1960 was just $158, but in 2022 it was $32,254. Within a decade of receiving concessional funding, South Korea turned its economy around, became a donor to the same fund, and is now one of the richest countries in the world. South Korea’s story is a timely and powerful reminder of the transformative potential of international development.
Concessional finance works, and it benefits everyone. Decades of evidence back this. Since it was created by the World Bank, the IDA has helped lift millions out of poverty, fostered inclusive growth, increased school enrollment, expanded health services, built government capacity, and strengthened regional cooperation. The economic devastation created by the COVID-19 pandemic might feel like a thing of the past, but these funds provided life-saving support throughout those years.
And as a result, thirty-six countries have graduated out of being recipients of these funds. Many of them are now themselves donors. But despite that progress, nearly 700 million people still live in extreme poverty today, mostly in Africa. They face unprecedented challenges that the next phase of the fund—which is up for replenishment at the end of this year—can help address.
For example, these funds can help propel job creation and economic transformation. In 2012, according to the World Bank Group, the GDP per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa was $1,819. In 2022, it was $1,701. It’s been a lost decade of African growth. The next decade must be different. With appropriate funds, African countries could invest in an educated and healthy workforce, especially among women and girls, including by introducing measures that reinforce their right to determine when and how many children to have. And African countries don’t have to rely just on concessional financing: These funds can work hand in hand with the private sector arm of the World Bank to create jobs, expand markets, bring clean and affordable energy to the 600 million people who currently go without, and accelerate the digital transition.
Adapting to climate change is also a major challenge that is not contained by countries’ borders. In April, African leaders met in Kenya to discuss the next phase of the fund. Days later, heavy rains covered 80 percent of Kenya, which caused floods, landslides, and significant damage. Nearly 200,000 people were displaced. Extreme weather events like this are increasingly common, especially in Africa. And without urgent action to adapt to them, a further 130 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030. A significant replenishment of IDA would offer more support to countries to help them understand the risks of climate change, protect critical infrastructure, better prepare for crises, and hardwire adaptation into their development.
Adequate funding would also massively contribute to preventing conflict and forced displacement and creating the right incentives for peace. By 2030, nearly 60 percent of extremely poor people will be living in fragile and conflict-affected situations. These countries face overlapping crises, which are pushing forced displacement to record highs. The number of people needing humanitarian assistance has more than doubled since 2018.
This is why African leaders have called for an ambitious replenishment for IDA21. The business case is strong: This funding can leverage capital markets, which would turn every donated dollar into over three dollars of support to low-income countries. And while donor countries face many pressures, it is paramount that these contributions are seen for the strong economic, social, and security benefits they provide for everyone.
That shared responsibility extends to the recipient countries. They must make the necessary decisions (oftentimes difficult ones), implement reforms, and invest their own resources in development priorities. But the World Bank must also play its part. With each replenishment, the fund has become more complex, which has introduced heavy requirements for client countries. The World Bank is aiming to reverse that trend, by shifting our incentives from the loans and money we provide to the development outcomes we can help achieve, to reach the most marginalized people and to ensure that every single dollar goes as far as possible.
Abdoul Salam Bello is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center and executive director of Africa Group II at the World Bank Group board of directors, where he represents twenty-three African countries.
Vel Gnanendran is the executive director of the World Bank Group representing the United Kingdom.

The Africa Center works to promote dynamic geopolitical partnerships with African states and to redirect US and European policy priorities toward strengthening security and bolstering economic growth and prosperity on the continent.
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