Ajay Banga has been shaking up the World Bank in the four months since he took over as president.
The former Mastercard CEO says it’s time to “write a new playbook” for the lender, one which tackles poverty and creates jobs while also addressing the “intertwined” and “perfect storm” of global crises, including widening inequality, pandemics, food insecurity, and of course, climate change.
One of his first moves has been expanding the bank’s mission statement, which refers to the twin goals of alleviating poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Instead Banga, who was born in India and is the first person of color to lead the institution, wants the bank “to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet,” he wrote in his first email to staff in June.
About the author
Sophie Edwards
Sophie Edwards is a Devex Contributing Reporter covering global education, water and sanitation, and innovative financing, along with other topics. She has previously worked for NGOs, and the World Bank, and spent a number of years as a journalist for a regional newspaper in the U.K. She has a master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies and a bachelor's from Cambridge University.
