Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Cyril Muller reconfirmed the World Bank Group’s strong commitment to support Uzbekistan as it goes through a major economic and social transformation, and encouraged Uzbek authorities to maintain the impressive pace and scope of reforms.

On June 15, 2018, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Guyana and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Amine Mati, Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria, visited Nigeria from June 27 to July 9, 2018 to discuss recent economic and financial developments, update macroeconomic projections, and review reform implementation.

The government of Cambodia and the World Bank, on July 12, signed agreements signaling the start of the implementation of two key investment projects, one seeking to improve higher education for industrial development, and the other one focused on enhancing road linkages from the economic center of the country—Phnom Penh—to the only deep-see port in Preah Sihanouk province.

At the request of the newly elected Government of Barbados, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Bert van Selm visited Bridgetown July 2–12, for discussions on IMF financial support for the Government of Barbados’s Economic Recovery and Transformation plan. At

According to the Economic Update for Côte d’Ivoire, published on July 12, the short- and medium-term outlook for the Ivorian economy remains positive. The economy is expected to maintain a steady trajectory, with GDP growth of 7 to 7.5% in the coming years. Titled “So Tomorrow Never Dies: Côte d’Ivoire and Climate Change,” the report highlights the urgent need to implement measures to ensure that climate change impacts do not imperil this economic progress and plunge millions of Ivorians into poverty.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on July 11, completed the third review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement for Madagascar. The completion of this review enables the disbursement of SDR 31.43 million (about US$44.25 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 156.26 million (about US$220.02 million).

A new World Bank report "Tech startup ecosystem in West Bank and Gaza" finds that while the Palestinian startup ecosystem is at its early-stage and still maturing, it has highly educated founders and one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurs across analyzed ecosystems. However, the founders tend to be young with little managerial experience.