The U.S. Commercial Service liaison office will teach you about doing business with the World Bank and keep you informed about World Bank programs. The World Bank lends and invests billions of dollars in developing countries every year. This constant stream of funds is used to buy goods, consulting services, and civil works projects that contribute to economic development in those countries. The system of doing business with the World Bank is similar to government procurement systems in many countries.
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New Event! Finding Financing for Florida's Exporters
Learn about trade finance at this training opportunity in Miami on November 20, hosted by the Florida International Bankers Association.
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China Environmental Project
The World Bank has published the preliminary concept paper for a large environmental loan to China for water, wastewater, and solid waste projects in Zhejiang province. Click here to learn more.
MultiModal Transport Project for the Democratic Republic of Congo
November 13, 2009 - The World Bank has begun preliminary appraisal work on a proposed $180 million multimodal transport project for the Democratic Republic of Congo. If approved by the Board of Directors, this project will provide many consulting and equipment sales opportunities in the transportation sector.
Botswana Morupule B Power Project
October 28, 2009 - The World Bank Board of Directors has approved a $136 million loan to Botswana for the Morupule B Generation and Transmission Project, which aims to develop a reliable and affordable supply of electricity for energy security, promote alternative energy resources for low-carbon growth, and build institutional capacity in the energy sector.
Rwanda Electricity Access Development Project
October 15, 2009 - The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved $70 million for the Electricity Access Scale-up and Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) Development Project in Rwanda, which aims to improve access to reliable and cost-effective electricity services for households and priority public institutions.
To see more World Bank projects click here...
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World Bank Releases "Doing Business 2010"
September 9, 2009 - The World Bank released its annual report on the ease of doing business around the world. Singapore was found to be the easiest place to do business, while the United States was in fourth place. According to Doing Business 2010, a record 131 economies around the globe reformed business regulation in in the preceding two years. A complete list of the 183 countries covered by the report, and their rankings, can be found on the World Bank's Doing Business website.
President Zoellick's Six Strategic Themes
World Bank President Robert Zoellick has listed six strategic themes that will guide the Bank's work into the future.
World Bank Lending Reaches All-Time High
The World Bank Group committed $58.8 billion in fiscal year 2009 to help countries struggling amid the global economic crisis, a 54 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and a record high for the global development institution. In FY09 (July 1, 2008 – June 30, 2009), the Bank Group supported 767 projects to promote economic growth, fight poverty, and assist private businesses, including $20.7 billion in infrastructure financing, a critical sector to provide the foundation for rapid recovery from the crisis and job creation. This support was provided in loans, grants, equity investments and guarantees to help countries and private-sector firms deal with the devastating effects of the global financial meltdown. Click here for more details.
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How to do I learn about doing business with the World Bank?
U.S. firms can successfully pursue many types of World Bank procurement opportunities and U.S. firms have been particularly successful in capturing Bank-funded consulting work. The U.S. consistently ranks among the top ten suppliers of consulting services in Bank-funded projects.
Successful firms tend to have some international experience and previous exposure to a structured procurement system, such as those used by large multinationals or U.S. Federal agencies.
Doing business with the World Bank requires you to learn about the Bank's project cycle and bidding guidelines. A highly recommended training course is available from the U.S. Commercial Service to help you understand the project approval process and identify the types of projects that will produce bidding opportunities for your company. This course is intended for business development staff and capture teams that identify, track, and capture overseas procurement opportunities. Click here to learn more.