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Several times over the years I’ve covered the World Bank, I’ve had the opportunity to interview Axel van Trotsenburg, who recently retired from his role as second-in-command at the bank. He was undoubtedly a giant at the institution with a deep passion for its work and deep networks throughout its operations.
There are competing views of van Trotsenburg, with some saying he is “an indispensable insider” and others calling him an “immovable force,” as Sophie Edwards reports for Devex. He was described as both inspiring and overbearing. Insiders also often said he liked to talk — and that I can confirm.
World Bank insiders described van Trotsenburg as someone deeply dedicated to the bank and its mission to eradicate poverty, but some also said he had blocked institutional reforms over the years. As a result some thought he might be removed when bank president, Ajay Banga, took the job in 2023 with a clear reform agenda.
“Internally, he was a guy stuck in the past, but his value was so incredible in terms of funding and keeping the donors happy that Ajay kept him on,” a source tells Devex.
And he was effective at raising money for the bank — he’s credited with raising hundreds of billions of dollars, including through overseeing numerous replenishments for the International Development Association, the bank’s fund for low-income countries.
His retirement will certainly mean a loss of institutional knowledge. Alexia Latortue, former U.S. Treasury lead on the World Bank, tells Sophie that it is “a huge loss, but it’s also healthy.”
His departure raises questions about greater change where restructuring and other reforms are underway and who will feel the leadership void. As Sophie reports, this could give Banga more room to operate. Anna Bjerde will take on the operations portfolio, with Paschal Donohoe, a former Irish finance minister who recently joined the bank serving as managing director and chief knowledge officer.
Read: The post-Axel era at the World Bank (Pro)
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Speaking of Anna Bjerde, she is on a multicountry tour of Nigeria, Angola, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia. My colleague Ayenat Mersie caught up with her to talk about the bank’s approach on the African continent.
The bank has embraced a model of country-owned compacts, including through its Mission 300 program aimed at bringing electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030. It is looking to replicate that compact model in its AgriConnect initiative to transform smallholder farming, create jobs, and improve food security, with plans to launch about 40 compacts in the coming weeks.
“We do believe it’s a very practical, country-led, country-owned, tangible way of working together and prioritizing what needs to be done,” Bjerde says.
Also keep an eye out for the World Bank’s announcement of its new approach to water, sanitation, and health at the African Union Summit this week. And no surprise: It will also employ a compact model.
Read: Country compacts are a ‘game-changer’ for the World Bank, says Anna Bjerde (Pro)
See also: Inside the World Bank’s plan to boost jobs by investing in agribusiness
+ Bjerde came in at No. 22 on the recently released Devex Power 50. To find out why and to know about the 49 other people influencing global development this year, make sure you check out the complete list.
Some of you may be familiar with Development Innovation Ventures, a U.S. Agency for International Development initiative that used a venture-style approach to find, test, and scale innovations. It was shut down a year ago when the agency was shuttered.
But last week, its approach was resurrected via the DIV Fund, an independent nonprofit looking to pick up where things left off, my colleague Catherine Cheney reports. And it includes some familiar faces: Sasha Gallant, former head of DIV at USAID, will serve as the fund’s CEO, alongside cofounder and chief innovation officer Jeff Brown.
The fund has a $48 million budget, with anchor funding from Coefficient Giving, formerly known as Open Philanthropy. About half of that will go to 24 innovations that lost funding from DIV, with the rest to be deployed over the next four years. The fund is fundraising and hopes to eventually deploy about $25 million annually to provide flexible funding, including early-stage grants and larger investments once innovations are proven.
Read: New fund revives USAID’s ‘discovery engine’ outside of government (Pro)
As artificial intelligence becomes core infrastructure, it’s running headlong into a familiar constraint: electricity, Erik Funkhouser, executive director of the Good Energy Collective, writes in a Devex opinion piece.
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Data centers powering AI and cloud services are expanding rapidly, with demand projected to rival that of major economies by the end of the decade. For investors and policymakers, the implication is clear: AI growth depends less on algorithms than on access to reliable, affordable power. And in many emerging markets, grids are already stretched. What’s needed to fill the gap is nuclear energy, he argues.
“Major barriers to nuclear energy in emerging markets have been scale and financing risk,” he writes, adding that it also requires good governance, credible regulation, a strong safety culture and long-term institutional capacity. Funkhouser writes that development finance institutions matter here and should consider supporting or investing in nuclear in disciplined ways with support from independent regulators.
As you’ve probably read in our coverage — this policy change from banning nuclear energy to considering support and investment is underway, including at the World Bank.
Opinion: To power AI energy needs, nuclear is going to have a comeback
ICYMI: World Bank backs nuclear revival while gas stays a political fault line
U.S. President Donald Trump signs one-year African Growth and Opportunity Act extension, preserving U.S.-Africa trade program. [Devex]
South Africa joins the African Export-Import Bank with an initial $8 billion package. [Reuters]
Secondary market vehicles in emerging markets and developing economies: Lessons and implications for development players. [Third Way Partners report]