Opportunity and growth

At the recently concluded 2025 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings, I was struck by the plenary speech of World Bank Group president Ajay Banga, which unfortunately was not appreciated here by most local media as our focus in the past few weeks has been on the legislative and infrastructure corruption issue.

- MARIANNE GO

However, I felt the need to bring attention to what Banga said, especially his view on the need to focus on creating the conditions for opportunity and stability, alongside rebuilding from the damages caused by war in conflict areas.

According to Banga, “We are living through one of the great demographic shifts in human history. By 2050, more than 85 percent of the world’s population will live in countries we call ‘developing’ today.

“In just the next 10 to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people will enter the workforce — vying for roughly 400 million jobs. That leaves a very large gap.”

He cited that around “four young people will step into the global workforce every second over the next 10 years. So in the time it takes to deliver these remarks, tens of thousands will cross that threshold — full of ambition, impatient for opportunity.”

The pace of population growth, Banga said, is most staggering in Africa, which will be home to one in four people by 2050.

“Between now and then estimates suggest: These young people — with their energy and ideas — will define the next century.

“With the right investments — focused not on need, but opportunity — we can unlock a powerful engine of global growth.”

However, the WB president warned, “Without purposeful effort, their optimism risks turning into despair — fueling instability, unrest and mass migration — with implications for every region and every economy.

“This is why jobs must be at the center of any development, economic, or national security strategy.”