Scroll to the top

{{ subpage.title }}

Private sector partnership key to funding digital access for all
Private sector partnership key to funding digital access for all | Global Stage | GZERO Media

Private sector partnership key to funding digital access for all

To connect the next two billion people to the internet, funding is crucial – and not the small type. The same goes for creating a global warning system that uses satellite data to preempt global disasters. To accomplish these enterprise projects, the UN requires a massive financial war chest.

Few understand the scale better than Axel Van Trotsenburg, the World Bank's Senior Managing Director. But with private-sector partnerships, it can be done, he noted during a Global Stage livestream event at UN headquarters in New York on September 22, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

"In Africa, the African Union has taken decisions on the digitalization," he said, "I think we need to scale this massively, and I think it is doable and you see in countries like Kenya that have very sophisticated payment systems, sometimes better than in OECD countries."

The discussion was moderated by Nicholas Thompson of The Atlantic. It was held by GZERO Media in collaboration with the United Nations, the Complex Risk Analytics Fund, and the Early Warnings for All initiative.

Watch the full Global Stage conversation: Can data and AI save lives and make the world safer?
David Malpass' advice to World Bank successor: time is short
David Malpass' advice to World Bank successor: time is short | GZERO World

David Malpass' advice to World Bank successor: time is short

In his final interview as president of the World Bank Group, David Malpass spoke with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to reflect on his time leading the global development organization and to share his advice for his successor, Ajay Banga.

Malpass became president of the World Bank in 2019 and has seen the world change significantly during his term. He says he’s proud of how the bank handled major global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the Afghanistan evacuation. He also thinks the bank did a good job raising the alarm about an impending economic crisis: slow growth and skyrocketing global debt.

Read moreShow less
Debt limits of rich countries hurt poor countries' growth, says World Bank's Malpass
Debt limits of rich countries hurt poor countries' growth, says World Bank's Malpass | GZERO World

Debt limits of rich countries hurt poor countries' growth, says World Bank's Malpass

Does the global financial system need a major overhaul?

In his final interview on GZERO World as president of the World Bank Group, David Malpass discusses a serious problem with host Ian Bremmer: the consolidation of economic and political power in the hands of the wealthiest countries. The world is facing a massive debt crisis––60% of low-income countries are now in debt distress or dangerously close to it. The poorest countries are paying an average of 16% of revenue on servicing loans.

Read moreShow less
World Bank's David Malpass on global debt & economic inequality
World Bank's David Malpass on global debt & economic inequality | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

World Bank's David Malpass on global debt & economic inequality

The world has a huge debt problem. Economic growth is slowing, but global debt is skyrocketing.

David Malpass sits down with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World for his final interview as president of the World Bank Group to discuss the debt crisis, his tenure at the World Bank, and solutions for combatting growing economic inequality.

Read moreShow less

Podcast: Fix the global debt crisis before it's too late, warns World Bank's David Malpass

Transcript

Listen: In his final interview as World Bank president, David Malpass sits down with Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast to discuss all things debt. No, not your credit card or mortgage payments, but the sovereign debt that governments use to pay their bills.

Global debt has ballooned to an eye-watering $300 trillion due to decades of low interest that made borrowing money extremely cheap, followed by runaway inflation driven by the pandemic and war in Ukraine. This dynamic has forced a lot of nations––particularly the poorest––to borrow more money than it can pay back.

Read moreShow less
US debt default would be "destabilizing," says World Bank's David Malpass
US debt default would be "destabilizing," says World Bank's David Malpass | GZERO World

US debt default would be "destabilizing," says World Bank's David Malpass

The debate in the US Congress around the debt limit and a potential default is like spending money on a credit card but refusing to pay the bill, according to David Malpass, outgoing president of The World Bank Group.

On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Malpass discussed the ongoing negotiations in Washington to avert a default and raise the debt ceiling before the federal government runs out of money on June 1. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement, Malpass says, the economic consequences will be “destabilizing.”

Read moreShow less
Annie Gugliotta

Earth Day 2023: Show me the money

The theme of this year's Earth Day on Saturday is "Invest in Climate." One of the key messages is that "businesses, governments, and civil society are equally responsible for taking action against the climate crisis." But they are not equally motivated.

Businesses invest for profit. Governments spend to achieve political goals. And civil society's pockets are ... empty.

Meanwhile, roughly $5 trillion is needed to help the planet transition to clean energy by the end of the decade. Most of that money would go to the developing world, which is historically less responsible for polluting the planet but disproportionately suffers the impacts of climate change.

Yet the official statement doesn't even mention climate finance. Why?

Read moreShow less
Staving off default: How unsustainable debt is threatening human progress
UN assistant sec-gen on importance of addressing the growing debt crisis | GZERO Media

Staving off default: How unsustainable debt is threatening human progress

Three-fifths of the world's lowest income countries are debt distressed and in danger of default. Navid Hanif, assistant secretary-general for economic development at the United Nations, tells GZERO's Tony Maciulis that we need to make debt more sustainable by restructuring it. Hanif believes multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank, should offer affordable longer-term loans with lower interest rates to allow least developed countries better opportunities to deal with crises like climate change, poverty, and educating children.

Read moreShow less

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest