"Ministers discuss how to grow their way out of poverty"

Inclusive growth and poverty reduction took center stage at Raising the Bar: What Works to Reduce Poverty and Spur Growth, where ministers representing low- and middle-income countries join World Bank Group President David Malpass to share successes, challenges and ideas to spur growth. 

Mohamad Al-Ississ, Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and State Minister for Economic Affairs, stresses his country’s growth despite the Syrian refugee crisis. Niger’s Minister of Planning, Aïchatou Boulama Kané, touts the 3Ns initiative that is tackling rural poverty and hunger. Kenya’s Central Bank Governor, Patrick Njoroge, highlights the revolution in financial inclusion due to digital technology, pointing out that 90% of transactions happen on mobile phones.

Al-Ississ and Njoroge agree that reforms can pay dividends in the medium to long term, but in order to give people hope in the short term, countries need to address unemployment, help small businesses, and ramp up social protection and human development. Kané focuses on ways to transform the rural economy and increase women’s economic inclusion. Davis Malpass speaks about the importance of trade facilitation and stresses the need for debt transparency.