A poor regulatory environment can drastically hold back innovative energies within an economy, provide opportunities for corruption, and hamper economic growth and poverty reduction. In the past decade, regulatory reform has become an important policy priority in many countries and there is a growing body of experience and expertise. This course aims to deepen participants’ understanding of the key elements of successful regulatory reform strategies, approaches, tools and institutions. Through the sharing of experience, the course will also present participants with best practice of how other countries have managed and implemented regulatory reforms. Detailed information can be found on the brochure.

Please click here to view the agenda for this event.

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China, Singapore and Malaysia are among the East Asian countries that have successfully adopted the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) model to enhance foreign direct investments and develop globally competitive industrial clusters. The Chinese experience of Shenzhen has enjoyed phenomenal success, and Malaysian and Singaporean investors have a wealth of experience and are currently developing and managing SEZs within and across borders. In Sub-Saharan Africa, many countries have embarked on SEZ development strategies ranging from industrial zones to more complex growth poles and clusters. A number of these zones are already operational while others are in various stages of planning and implementation

Organized by the Finance and Private Sector Department in the Africa Region (AFTFP) in partnership with the World Bank Institute (WBI), the East Asia and Pacific Region (EAP), and other parts of the World Bank Group and external partners, this experience exchange program will bring together high-level representatives of African governments with Asian counterparts as a platform for knowledge sharing between the two continents. [More...] 

The World Bank’s overall development strategy emphasizes two pillars for long-term growth and poverty reduction: improving the investment climate and empowering and investing in people. Improving the investment climate for the private sector is basic to the development of enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and farms, and the growth of employment opportunities which is crucial for sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. The Investment Climate Capacity Enhancement Program was established in 2003 jointly by the World Bank Institute (WBI) and World Bank Private Sector Development (PSD) Vice Presidency to support the implementation of this corporate priority.

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