Lack of sanitation is a huge development challenge in Kenya, but also a potentially sizeable market opportunity. The World Bank and IFCs ‘Selling Sanitation’ project worked with large plastics manufacturing firms in Nairobi to design, test, and support market development and distribution of a range of plastic latrine slabs. The products were designed from the consu...

One way the International Finance Corporation (IFC) strengthens the overall business environment is by making excellent training programs available to small and medium businesses. Business Edge is a perfect example. Local partner firms use these interactive learning solutions to train and mentor small...

The Mashreq region and, in particular, the countries of Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon are facing major policy and fiscal challenges to growth and job creation. The Maximizing Finance for Development (MFD) approach aims to optimize the relationship between the public and the private sector.It would achieve...

SMEs around the world are entering a crisis period in light of COVID-19, adding new urgency to understanding firm-level financial behaviors and challenges. At the same time, traditional methods of in-person data collection pose a health risk to both enumerator and firm and contravene social distancing...

The note briefly describes the Associates in Research and Education for Development - ARED - experience, as well as that of the Center for Studies on Research and Development of African Languages - CERFLA - working towards sustaining literacy education, in particular, within the "fulaphones" regions i...

Financial consumers often fail to compare across different products and do not choose the most cost-effective product or the one most suitable to their needs. This is because the decision of which product to purchase may not only involve unfamiliar concepts but also because financial institutions shro...