Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE) is a forum for peer learning, knowledge sharing, and mutual advisory support. It brings together ministers and senior technical specialists from finance ministries across the world, as well as World Bank staff and other international experts, to discuss the fiscal challenges involved in implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) established under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Liberia is at a critical stage in its peace building and development process, given the multiple challenges the country is facing. One of the key challenges is insecure tenure and the absence of a functioning land administration system. Secure tenure is a prerequisite for increased productivity, dispute resolution, strengthened business environment, women’s empowerment, and revenue generation. The Government of Liberia has recognized the importance of secure tenure and has established the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) in 2016 and passed the Land Rights Act (LRA) in 2018.

In 1995, with technical assistance from the World Bank, Indonesia introduced its Program for Pollution Control Evaluation and Rating (PROPER), the first such environmental rating and disclosure (ERD) initiative in the developing world. With experience from Indonesia, the World Bank helped introduce the concept to other countries, including Ghana, and eventually to the Indian State of Odisha. This made Odisha the first state to begin ranking pollution intensive industries.

The Ghanaian PagSung Shea Butter and Shea Nut Pickers Association wanted to increase their production, processing, and export of shea nuts. The Self Employed Women’s Association in India had a model program that organizes women workers to obtain work security, income security, food security, and social security. An exchange between the two organizations introduced new marketing and strategic plans for Ghanaian women’s group.

The governments of Cameroon and Ghana wanted to use oil and gas revenues more effectively to promote economic growth and reduce poverty. They also wanted to improve transparency and accountability in the sector. However, Cameroon and Ghana, as well as many other African countries, have had difficulty managing and sustaining the windfall wealth and savings from their natural resources.

The Government of Ghana has made private investment in infrastructure and services through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) a development priority. This commitment is in response to a major infrastructure deficit, a narrow fiscal space, and a legacy of inefficient public service delivery. Improved infrastructure services are critical to economic growth. Ghana will draw on the private sector for new sources of capital and more effective service delivery mechanisms. One area needing reform is agricultural services, which includes irrigation.

The governments of Africa want to improve the investment climate and reduce poverty in their countries through modernization and industrialization. Learning from the Asian experience, many governments are developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to achieve these goals. Chinese knowledge, experience, and investment have been invaluable in developing these zones. However, most African countries still lack the infrastructure to make such SEZs effective and competitive on international markets.

After learning about the success of East Asian countries in developing their economies and attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through Special Economic Zones (SEZ), many African governments wanted to use the same strategy to improve their economic performance. However, most African countries lack the capacity to design and implement SEZs, including lack of policy framework clarity, difficulties in physical planning and land administration, and insufficient regulatory and administrative knowledge. They have also not being very successful in involving the private sector in SEZs.

Growth in the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing sector (IT-BPO) can transform a country’s economy and improve the lives of its citizens. No country is a better example than India, which has achieved phenomenal growth in this sector. As of 2010, India could boast of a 64 percent share of globally off-shored IT services and a 37 percent share in IT-enabled services (ITES)¹.  Skills development has been a key driver of that growth.