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Finance for Development (F4D) Umbrella Program: Annual Report 2024

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The World Bank’s Finance for Development (F4D) Umbrella Program is a partner of choice to advance financial sector reforms in developing countries. Through comprehensive programmatic engagements at global, regional and national levels, F4D helps preserve the stability and integrity of their financial systems; support the transition to an inclusive, climate-resilient global economy; and harness the potential of digitalization, all while working to improve women’s economic opportunities.

KEY MESSAGES

  • F4D more than doubled its global footprint, assisting 56 countries in the development and implementation of 40 financial sector policies and national strategies.
  • F4D also supported the design of 33 laws and regulations, out of which 9 were successfully enacted over the past year.
  • These results have had a powerful multiplier effect, with the program informing $2 billion in World Bank lending in parallel, demonstrating the transformative power of seed-grant financing.
  • 85% percent of F4D’s portfolio is now supporting country-level work with multi-year, multi-pillar engagements. Reinforcing links between global and country programs allow client countries to effectively translate knowledge and cutting-edge developments into good practice. Similarly, key findings from practical in-country experience inform research and global analytical engagements.
  • In addition to its country work, F4D has rapidly scaled up regional-level implementation, aligning country plans with regional strategic frameworks and amplifying development impact.
  • F4D emphasizes capacity building and skills development to ensure the sustainability of reforms—half of the portfolio grants now have a capacity-building element. F4D delivered about 85 capacity-building activities in over 30 countries, including 16 peer-to-peer knowledge exchanges for 12 countries and regional central banks.
  • Women continue to be disproportionately excluded from socioeconomic opportunities. In line with the new World Bank Group’s Gender Strategy, F4D is integrating gender lens across the portfolio, including gender-sensitive diagnostics analysis during the design of activities and evidence-based targeting of women during project implementation.
  • In addition, F4D’s comprehensive global knowledge program drives thought leadership, advocates good practices, and anchors project implementation in robust data analysis and research.

Achieving the ambitious development agenda requires more robust partnerships and strategic donor coordination. F4D increased its efforts in convening and partner engagement activities to bolster knowledge exchange, share best practices, and enhance coordination of donor support. For example, during the inaugural Global Finance Partner Forum, organized by F4D in May 2024, development partners and World Bank country and regional teams discussed global challenges, emerging opportunities, and ways the World Bank can partner more effectively to achieve results at scale.

We are especially grateful for the trust of our development partners as we deliver on this agenda together: the Austrian Ministry of Finance, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, European Commission, Global Affairs Canada, and Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. F4D’s impact would not be possible without the partners’ generous financial support, technical expertise, and strategic guidance.

Moving forward, F4D has a key role to play in in championing the World Bank Group’s ambitious goals for development, particularly around gender, jobs, financial inclusion, SME finance, climate resilience, and private capital facilitation.

Result at a Glance

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