Podcast Summary: This Week in Global Development

Episode: A look ahead to the World Bank and IMF meetings
Date: October 9, 2025
Hosts: Adva Saldinger, David Ainsworth, Rumbi Chakamba
Guests: Faheen Alaboy (JPMorgan), Alyssa Miolene (Devex)

Overview

This episode provides an in-depth preview of the upcoming World Bank and IMF annual meetings, focusing on the evolving role of private capital in development, major reforms at the World Bank, and emerging trends like nature-based finance and ESG. The episode features insights from Faheen Alaboy, a leader in development finance at JPMorgan, and Devex’s Alyssa Miolene, who brings context from global financial conversations and events.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Anticipating the World Bank & IMF Meetings

(01:15 - 04:03)

• Faheen Alaboy sets the stage, highlighting the types of topics and outcomes expected at the meetings:
  • Updates on the global economic outlook and growth prospects from IMF.
  • Trade, tariffs, and the resilience strategies of emerging and developing economies.
  • World Bank reforms: organizational efficiency and alignment with private capital mobilization.
  • Institutional incentives and efforts to do “more with the private sector.”
  • Focus on energy strategies and the strengthening of critical supply chains (pharmaceuticals, key industries).

“It’s always great during the fall meetings to get an update on the global economic outlook, and hear what the IMF is saying about how different regions are going to grow...”
— Faheen Alaboy [02:00]

2. The Devex Event & Geneva Takeaways

(04:03 - 05:12)

• Alyssa Miolene describes the synergy around Washington, D.C., during these meetings and previews the Devex Impact House event.
• Highlights key intersections expected between jobs, migration, agribusiness, and the Bank’s pivot toward private investment approaches.
• Shares reflections from the Building Bridges conference in Geneva concerning ways to engage more private capital in support of the SDGs, climate, and nature-centric financing.

“There was a lot of really interesting conversations about how to get more private money into... sustainable development goal-oriented topics or climate topics or nature topics.”
— Alyssa Miolene [04:44]

3. World Bank Private Capital Mobilization & Innovations

(05:12 - 13:01)

• The panel delves into increasing private sector investment and recent World Bank securitizations.
• Faheen Alaboy provides a detailed analysis:
  • The response to G20 recommendations—capital adequacy, risk management, and boosting institutional “headroom.”
  • Securitization initiatives as part of this strategy.
  • Importance and challenges of local currency financing.
  • Ongoing need for further private capital mobilization and aligning incentives for both development banks and private partners.
  • The evolution of “bankable” projects and adapting product offerings to match partner capabilities.
  • Internal processes: dedicated private sector teams, product suitability, transaction timelines, and smarter partner selection.

“It takes two to tango...the development banks can create the outreach and want to do more, and then the private sector has to respond and adjust to it.”
— Faheen Alaboy [07:45]

Notable Example

• World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab (convened by Ajay Banga): Streamlining guarantee instruments and organizational reforms to drive efficiency and adaptability.

4. Regulatory Barriers and Standardization

(13:01 - 14:58)

• The conversation turns to industry-wide barriers, especially regulations such as Basel III that restrict risk appetite for EM investment.
• Moves toward standardization in reporting and disclosure to make blended finance more attractive.
• Setting sector-wide guidelines for impact measurement.

“We worked with an industry consortium to put impact disclosure guidelines right into the market so that everyone can be working off the same base.”
— Faheen Alaboy [14:36]

5. Asset Classes, Nature Finance, and Regional Differences

(14:58 - 20:22)

• Alyssa Miolene unpacks the notion of a “development finance asset class” and the challenges in scaling up investment from institutional and insurance players.
• Nature-based financing is a hot topic (e.g., how to value and finance “nature” as an asset class).
• European markets are significantly ahead on nature finance and ESG, whereas the U.S. context is seeing “ESG” turn into a politically sensitive term, causing rebranding efforts but not an actual retreat from impact-oriented investing.

“How to put nature on the balance sheet as a value was something that continued to come up repeatedly throughout the course of the three day conference.”
— Alyssa Miolene [17:35]

6. Geopolitics and Shareholder Tensions

(20:22 - 22:29)

• The climate agenda at the World Bank is becoming a point of contention:
  • European shareholders pushing for climate alignment (Paris Agreement).
  • The U.S. administration pushing for a sharper focus on poverty alleviation, sidelining overt climate emphasis.
  • The Bank is “quietly” persisting with climate and gender priorities, often under the radar.

“There are distinct differences, especially today in the European and the US markets when it comes to things like nature related financing and even the conversation about ESG or environmental social governance financing, which has kind of become a taboo thing in the US...”
— Adva Saldinger [20:22]

7. Practical Partnerships: Real-World Case Studies

(22:29 - 27:51)

• Faheen Alaboy shares concrete examples of blended finance:
  • Chile-Brazil Pulp & Paper Project: Multi-institution financing creating thousands of jobs, integrating solar energy, showing impactful cross-institution collaboration.
  • Axion Telecom (Africa): Expansion supported by MDB/DFI investment (BII, Proparco, DEG, IFC), fostering technological upgrades and connectivity.
  • Muang Thai Capital (Thailand): SME-focused bank, DFI-anchored bond issuance supporting millions of small clients.
  • Debt-for-Nature in El Salvador: Blended finance preserving the critical Rio Lempa while driving economic and ecological benefits.

“The people whose voices you should always listen to are the beneficiaries, countries...they all want investment and they want investment across the board...”
— Faheen Alaboy [23:18]

8. Scalability, Speed, and World Bank Reforms

(27:51 - end)

• Scalability and speed remain the biggest private sector asks; World Bank is pushing to shorten approval times but still lags behind private standards.
• Emphasis on demand-driven lending—borrowing countries’ priorities should guide Bank activity.
• Jobs and agribusiness will be top agenda items at the meetings, with an expected announcement from the Bank on agribusiness.
• IMF discussions (especially on debt) will also be monitored, though no major decisions are expected.

Memorable Quotes

• "It takes two to tango...the development banks can create the outreach and want to do more, and then the private sector has to respond and adjust to it."
  — Faheen Alaboy [07:45]

• "How to put nature on the balance sheet as a value was something that continued to come up repeatedly throughout the course of the three day conference."
  — Alyssa Miolene [17:35]

• "There are distinct differences, especially today in the European and the US markets when it comes to things like nature related financing and even the conversation about ESG or environmental social governance financing, which has kind of become a taboo thing in the US..."
  — Adva Saldinger [20:22]

• "The people whose voices you should always listen to are the beneficiaries, countries...they all want investment and they want investment across the board..."
  — Faheen Alaboy [23:18]

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Event | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:15 | Faheen outlines top themes to watch at the meetings | | 05:12 | Discussion on IFC, World Bank’s private capital mobilization | | 11:16 | Practical steps and internal reforms in mobilizing private capital | | 13:01 | Regulatory barriers and standardization efforts in blended finance | | 17:01 | Alyssa’s insights from the Building Bridges conference on nature-based financing | | 20:22 | US vs. Europe perspectives on climate finance and ESG | | 22:29 | Case studies: blended finance in Brazil, Africa, Thailand, El Salvador | | 27:51 | Speed, scalability, and World Bank reforms ahead of meetings |

Conclusion

The episode unpacks the complex and evolving landscape of development finance as the World Bank and IMF meetings approach. It highlights significant reforms, practical private sector partnerships, tensions between global shareholders, asset class innovation, and the pressure for faster, more scalable solutions. The conversation provides critical context for understanding where concessional finance and private capital can collide—and how the next wave of development will need to prioritize both speed and responsiveness to beneficiary nations.

Stay tuned for next week’s post-meeting analysis and Devex’s live coverage of announcements, trends, and outcomes.