Curbing Government Waste - STAR Businessweek by STAR Publishing

THE STAR Businessweek OCTOBER 6, 2018

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Curbing government waste

With Caribbean governments leaking billions from the public purse each year, targeted strategies are needed to cut this waste and spend smarter

The boon of China’s entry into Africa comes with a warning More than 40 African leaders trooped last month to Beijing for the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. A Kenyan woman joked that, rather than giving them more loans, Xi Jinping, China’s president, should keep all the leaders indefinitely in China instead Page 3

By Catherine Morris, STAR Businessweek Correspondent

As Caribbean countries grow, so too do the needs of their citizenry. More people means more healthcare, more education, more infrastructure — in short, more government services funded by the public purse. Continued on page 4

Time to clean up the London laundromat Denmark and Estonia are in the spotlight over a money laundering scandal that saw billions of dollars of suspicious funds from former Soviet republics pass through a subsidiary of Danske Bank Page 7

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Global Education: The Comings and Goings of Latin America as an Education Epicentre

By Ed Kennedy, STAR Businessweek Correspondent

The STAR Businessweek BY Christian Wayne – Editor at Large

In a landmark recent study published by the Inter-American Development Bank entitled “Better Spending for Better Lives”, the bank delivers a sobering analysis of what Caribbean nationals have known for generations—that our governments are superbly inefficient, with many bordering on total dysfunction. According to the IDB, however, inefficiency could be costing us more than we originally thought, with government waste bleeding the region for as much as US$220bn a year, or more than 4 per cent of Latin America and the Caribbean’s annual GDP. This is hardly a surprise and is no wonder why inefficiency and government have become synonymous with one another, almost inseparable. Our experience in the Caribbean has been one of tacit endorsement of these inefficiencies and, more often than we would like to admit, inefficiency has been encouraged by the citizenry and even vehemently defended by political stalwarts disguised as civil society. The countries of the Caribbean are some of the youngest nations in the world, with many countries like Saint Lucia having achieved independence only 40 years ago. Armed with that perspective, the work of many nations in the region has been applaudable—at least to some degree—in transitioning our people from post-colonialism to the era of globalization. The phrase “What have you done for me lately?” seems pertinent here though as the era of green gold has long passed its shelf life, fainter as the years go by, and today, nothing more than a mere anecdote that stale politicians, who are fresh out of new ideas, continue to cling on to. The opening lines of the IDB report encapsulate this intergenerational tolerance and contemporary frustration perfectly: Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have recently reached, or are close to reaching, middle income status. As such, citizens in the region are demanding more and better services from their governments. This juncture is crucial: if governments can cope with these new demands, countries stand a good chance of climbing up the development ladder. If not, social tensions may arise, stalling development, as has happened time and again in many promising countries. For more on this lurid analysis of public spending patterns in the Caribbean, be sure to begin with our lead story “Curbing Government Waste” starting on the cover page. It’s Nothing Personal. It’s Business. Stay connected with us at: Web: www.stluciastar.com Social: www.facebook.com/stluciastar Email: starbusinessweek@stluciastar.com

Brazil’s commercial universities are supplying a hungry jobs market

atin America already sees a number of its sons and daughters travel abroad for further education. It also sees an academic interest in the region from afar, especially from nations that hold historic cultural links and ties with the region, alongside deep economic links. Yet just as the people of the Caribbean are cognisant of a new chapter underway in the region’s identity and economic growth, so too have recent decades seen South America begin a new journey — one where decades are a mere blink of an eye in the development of a new image, and where education is recognised as a great potential avenue for economic growth in a new era.

Learning in Latin America

For many decades Latin America has seen students travel outside the region for study. The United States, Canada, the European nations of Spain and Portugal and, more recently, nations like Australia have

all drawn students to their shores. Recent years have seen the proactive efforts of governments in the Latin American region to not only entice local students to stay locally for their studies, but also to win foreign students from afar. As is always the case with Latin America, the ‘Brazil factor’ has loomed large here. At times over 75 of the region’s top 300 universities have been located in Brazil alone. That reality doesn’t deride the great work of those institutions. Instead, the push towards the development of Latin American nations as a regional education epicentre often faces a challenge in driving an equal spread due to the outsized influence of its larger nations like Brazil and Mexico. Yet, the size and lure of these large nations can also be an asset. For example, Mexico has long sought to serve as an ‘education gateway’, actively encouraging American students to study there. Given that 2016-2017’s academic year saw a 6% increase in American credit-level studies regionally (and a total of 53,000 studying overall), there are positive signs of success here.

However, interest in the region and its new journey is partly diminished by that of Asia. It’s an elephant in the room that informs not only student exchange, but academia as a whole.

The Asia Factor

Right now Asia is the fastest growing region in the world, and it has been that way for many years. Latin America’s population of 626 million is dwarfed by that of Asia at 4.5 billion. Not only is Asia booming but the People’s Republic of China (1.4 billion) and India (1.3 billion) each outnumber the entire Latin American region! As a result, many universities and centres for academic research around the world may hold a dedicated department for not only the study of Asia, but a particular Asian nation. Many factors can account for this but huge commercial opportunities, new chances for cultural engagement and a recognition of Asia’s boom will, in decades ahead, shift the majority of the world’s economic power from west to east for the first time in centuries. Continued on page 5

African Economy

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The boon of China’s entry into Africa comes with a warning Beijing’s loans build ports, airports and roads but they are often overpriced By David Pilling, FT Africa Editor

ore than 40 African leaders trooped last month to Beijing for the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. A Kenyan woman joked that, rather than giving them more loans, Xi Jinping, China’s president, should keep all the leaders indefinitely in China instead. The continent, she said, would be better off without them. In the end, Mr Xi went for option number one: he gave them more money. Over the next three years, he announced, China would offer $60bn in new funding. The issue of Africa’s supposed debt addiction to China has become the subject du jour — or remen huati, as they say in Mandarin. In copper-rich Zambia, which is heavily indebted to Beijing, China has been accused of using loans to inveigle itself into staterun entities, including the electricity utility and state broadcaster. The Zambian government denies the claims. Africa’s vibrant civil society has become more alive to the topic of China’s supposedly neo-colonialist ambitions. Beijing is routinely accused of getting African countries in hock so that it can control resources and manipulate political systems. A typical take, by South African cartoonist Zapiro, shows Mr Xi trundling along with a shopping cart into which he has casually thrown the entire African continent. It is captioned “Chinese Takeaway”. The idea of China’s supposedly

Doraleh port in Djibouti: about 80 per cent of the country’s external debt is owed to China © AFP

nefarious African actions has gained credence in Washington. Legislation that would double funding for the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to $60bn is being sold to Donald Trump specifically as countering China’s supposed “debt trap diplomacy”. Ray Washburne, president of Opic, told the Financial Times that China was engaged in “economic warfare”. In an open letter, 16 senators sounded the alarm. China, they said, had already parlayed loans to Sri Lanka into a 99-year lease on Hambantota port. In Africa, Beijing had got its hooks into Djibouti. Some 80 per cent of the country’s external debt is owed to China, a situation senators said made the geostrategic country, on the Red Sea, vulnerable to Chinese meddling. China does indeed have global ambitions. But the demonisation comes in the context of an escalating US trade war with

Beijing. As much as anything, the alarm in Washington is an acknowledgment that China’s development strategy has been working. While the US has been sleeping, China, particularly in Africa, has stolen a march by using relatively modest sums to gain outsized influence. Many of the claims made against China are exaggerated. According to the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, which tracks Chinese loans to Africa, the World Bank consistently lends more to the continent than China’s Eximbank. Although Chinese loans lack transparency, it says, its best estimate is that they are not a major contributor to African debt distress. Indeed, many African governments have gone on eurobond borrowing sprees, meaning they are in debt as much to Wall Street and the City of London as to Beijing.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that only in Zambia, Djibouti, and possibly Congo-Brazzaville, were loans from Beijing the major cause of debt distress. If China is weaponising capital — using loans to create countries in its own image — then the west did exactly the same in the 1970s and 1980s when it made massive and unsustainable loans to Africa through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. When those loans turned sour, the same institutions pushed through their favourite medicine: hated structural adjustment programmes that eviscerated the state — and from which many countries are arguably still recovering. Certainly, there have been problems with Chinese finance too. Angola’s government took over last year only to find that loans made under the previous regime to Sonangol, the state oil company, were far more expensive than advertised. Chinesefinanced projects often lack strict environmental safeguards and can be shoddy. Most worrying of all, easy money, with few strings attached — until the bill comes due anyway — has fostered corruption in countries from Kenya to Nigeria. Yet on balance, China’s entry into Africa has been a boon, providing the ports, roads and airports without which no development push can get started. None of this means that Africa should ignore the warnings about Chinese loans. Civil society is right to keep a close watch on infrastructure projects that are too often overpriced and unable to generate sufficient income to pay back the underlying loan. China has presented African leaders with an opportunity to jump-start development. If they squander it, they really do deserve to be locked up in Beijing.

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Curbing government waste Continued from page 1

But as spending grows, so does debt and waste. It is a continual challenge for small island nations to fund necessary services while cutting leakages, reducing inefficiencies and maximising their budgets. Accordng to a new report from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), government waste and inefficiency could be costing the region as much as US$220bn a year or 4.4 per cent of Latin America and the Caribbean’s GDP. Responsible spending and saving isn’t just vital for a country’s balance sheet, it also has a significant impact on its economic development. A country that cannot balance its books is a country that can’t attract investment, channel funding into homegrown industry or address inequalities.

Smart spending

Caribbean countries have long relied on tax and spend policies to keep the government coffers in the black. But there are issues with both sides of that equation — citizens are reluctant to accept climbing taxes if they do not see a corresponding boost in the quality and quantity of government services available, and spending on those services is often ad hoc and poorly executed. In times of climbing debt and external pressures, the impulse is to simply slash spending but, in the IDB’s Better Spending for Better Lives report, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno argues that reducing expenditure is not always the right path. “The answer is about fiscal efficiency and smart spending rather than the standard solution of across-the-board spending cuts to achieve fiscal sustainability —

sometimes at great cost for society. “It is about doing more with less.” How can countries like Saint Lucia do more with less? By looking at how they spend and where they spend.

How and where

Traditionally, developing economies like those in the Caribbean have shown a bias against capital spending, ie they spend today, rather than investing in tomorrow. Saint Lucia’s total budget for the current fiscal year is just under US$1.5bn, of which 80.8 per cent is recurrent expenditure and 19.2 per cent capital expenditure. This capital expenditure includes some US$70m in infrastructural development alongside heavy investment in tourism, water services and agriculture. A large portion of recurrent expenditure will go to social services, healthcare and housing. Infrastructure needs often take a back seat to health and social care in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean spends four times as much on its elderly as its youth, with their share in the region’s budget estimated to reach 78 per cent in 2065, according to the IDB. This puts areas such as job skills and education under pressure which in turn stifles industry and development. Proactive policymaking is crucial so that spending is allocated effectively and supports the economy as it traverses the inevitable cycle of boom and bust. Services should be equally accessible during the good times and the bad if governments are to address inequality and build public trust. Government-funded projects in the Caribbean are frequently marred by delays

and blown budgets. Large-scale initiatives can fail or be poorly executed for a variety of reasons including institutional delays, slow and cumbersome bureaucracy, skills shortages and outddated techniques or equipment. The IDB claims reducing or eliminating these hold-ups could result in savings of almost 1.2 per cent of GDP, and estimates that up to US$50bn a year could be saved through better project management.

Fiscal responsibility

Transparency and accountability are central

considerations when it comes to cutting waste, and fiscal responsibility is coming to the fore as governments look to spend better. When the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank launched its five-year Strategic Plan last year, fiscal resilience and strengthening was one of its top priorities. The Bank has committed to assisting member countries in drawing up fiscal responsibility legislation and tracking their progress. This will include strengthening the capacity of institutions and agencies so they can be more effective watchdogs.

You are never too young to start saving money or planning for tomorrow St. Lucia Workers Credit Union Young Dreamers Account offers special features and incentives to help keep our children financially fit

• Parent must provide their ID and the child’s birth certificate upon opening account • No withdrawal policy (Except under special or emergency circumstances) • Parent/guardian must be a member of the credit union

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In this year’s budget address Prime Minister Chastanet announced that his government would introduce a Public Debt Bill to “instill discipline in the management of government finances and also improve the accountability and transparency of our debt administration”.

Saint Lucia’s current debt to GDP ratio is 68.8 per cent and public debt has grown by almost 5 per cent in the last three years

Saint Lucia’s current debt to GDP ratio is 68.8 per cent and public debt has grown by almost 5 per cent in the last three years. In this year’s budget address, Prime Minister Chastanet announced that his government would introduce a Public Debt Bill to “instill discipline in the management of government finances and also improve the accountability and transparency of our debt administration”. One area that could certainly benefit from more transparency is public procurement, which accounts for around a third of total public spending in Latin America and the Caribbean. Waste in this area ranges from 10 to 30 per cent of total spend. Public procurement in the Caribbean has been heavily marred by corruption, with favoured firms scoring lucrative contracts regardless of their capability. Reform is underway across the region with many governments, including Saint Lucia, looking to a centralised digital system to tighten and secure existing procurement frameworks. E-procurement, as part of a broader e-government approach, is expected to cut costs, speed up processing times, increase transparency and boost accountability. Promoting fiscal responsibility not only cuts waste, it also builds public trust and engagement. And a more engaged public will hold their politicians accountable, ensuring that better spending is not just a mantra that holds until the next election cycle. Cutting waste, doing more with less, is not just a matter for elected officials but also the responsibility of every citizen. As IDB Fiscal and Municipal Lead Specialist Carola Pessino says: “Providing citizens with more information so they can monitor their governments [and] increasing technical and allocative efficiency so they get the services they deserve, are actions that will help restore people’s trust in government. They will then demand from their politicians more longterm investments, setting in motion a virtuous circle that produces better policies and better spending.”

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Global Education: The Comings and Goings of Latin America as an Education Epicentre Continued from page 2

By no means does this deny the chance for Latin American nations to have their own departments (or the dedicated study of nations) but the explosive growth of Asia and its biggest nations can command greater academic interest, funding and public attention than that which is on offer for the Latin American region. This is a trend that has not only informed developments in the academic sector in recent decades, but will continue to do so in future, especially as nations in Latin America, like Brazil, have shown real signs of strong growth, although in more recent times they have encountered significant setbacks in their progress. Ultimately, Latin America is exciting and growing; it’s just doing so in a period when Asia is outpacing it.

Going Digital and Global

While the pulling power of Asia is a global factor in academia, the nature of academia and education at large is set to undergo a fundamental revolution in years ahead. The road to such change may appear closer to a quiet revolution than a huge and rapid one, but the day by day shifts in the way in which we learn, engage and interact are already underway. This applies not only to changes in education we see locally, but globally. Whereas once upon a time students seeking to study at a foreign institution may have needed to prepare for a long time away from home, today there’s an abundance of educational institutions offering compact short courses that run only for a summer or winter break. This alongside the rise of coding bootcamps that offer intensive courses in exotic locations to those arriving as novices in computer programming and seeking to leave as junior developers. It’s apparent in the rise of full university degrees being offered online — ones that make no distinction between in-class and

online learning (so in whatever way a student studies for and obtains a degree, their diploma shows only their degree, not their mode of study).

The Case for Brief but Brilliant

Historic and famous universities have always made a strong selling point of their academic rigour and alumni networks. While part of this is undoubtedly a selffulfilling prophecy — people who are very ambitious or talented (or both) will often be drawn to such institutions for the challenge and prestige of acquiring a qualification from there — the future also makes tradition vulnerable. The world will not upend these foundations overnight. The rise of the digital economy is further confirming day by day that future generations will require not just one stage of in-depth learning in their life, but instead multiple. The rigid structure and expense of a college degree will continually be tested more and more, especially if briefer courses deliver comparable results. Yet, in this era, and with that challenge, there is opportunity too. It is all well and good that universities and similar institutions may set up glittering buildings and funnel millions into research centres but the future of academic engagement and education will demand a leaner and more agile pursuit of goals — one where short courses, exchanges and certifications grow in popularity. Turning Latin American into an education epicentre with that ethos at its foundation could not only see its star burn brighter in the global academic community, but see it become the unquestioned leader in this space. The fruits of such a goal would take time but, best of all, offer a new learning experience along the way.

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News Release

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IDB launches Blue Tech Challenge with up to US$2M in funding for Blue Economy proposals In most Caribbean island countries, close to 100% of the population depend on the oceans for their basic livelihood, food security, and economic development

he IDB, through its Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), Natural Capital Lab, Sustainable Islands Platform, and in alliance with the Compete Caribbean Partnership Facility, which is also supported by DFID, CDB and the Government of Canada, will identify firms and organisations looking to pilot and scale up business models that use cutting edge technologies to contribute to the sustainable management of oceans, marine ecosystems and coastal resources. Qualifying entities will be considered by the IDB to implement a development project to pilot the blue economy model in one of the 14 target countries. The funding requests should be within a range of US$150,000 to US$500,000 for non-reimbursable technical assistance (grants). Proposals for loans should be within a range of US$500,000 to US$2,000,000 and the proponent entity should contribute with at least 50% of the project budget. The Blue Tech Challenge seeks to support business models that apply new technologies to deliver products and/or solutions that foster the longterm sustainability of the ocean economy in the following 14 target countries: Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Sustainable Development Goals recognize the critical contribution the ocean makes to the world economy, and specifically to the development of the smallest and most vulnerable nations. In most Caribbean island countries, close to 100% of the population depend on the oceans for their basic livelihood, food security, and economic development. Yet, overexploitation of marine ecosystems and increased pollution are causing damage to ocean ecosystems and natural capital. The “blue economy” concept emerges as a unique opportunity to address sustainable management of oceans and marine ecosystems countries, as well as a promising avenue for economic diversification and sustainable growth. Since every sector of the blue economy is affected by the technological advances, it is essential to take advantage of this trend to pilot new approaches, develop new materials, and implement novel approaches that deliver pragmatic and tangible solutions for business models that, at the same time, foster the

long-term sustainability of the ocean economy. Qualifying entities will be considered for receiving financing and/or technical assistance to implement a pilot for the blue economy model proposed in one of the target countries. Qualifying entities will also become part of the IDB Group’s network of global innovators working in the Caribbean region poised to exchange knowledge, expertise, best practices, and with ample opportunities to participate in IDBG’s related regional networking events. Important dates: Submission of proposals: By November 30, 2018 Preliminary Review: December 1– December 17 Advisory Panel review and due diligence visits: January 7– January 31, 2019 Announcement of Selected Proposals: February, 2019

About the IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank is dedicated to improving lives. Founded in 1959, the IDB is the main source of long-term financing for the economic, social and institutional development of Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts advanced research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients in the region.

About the MIF

The Multilateral Investment Fund serves as an IDBG innovation laboratory to promote development through the private sector by identifying, supporting, testing and piloting new solutions to development challenges and seeking to create opportunities for the poor and vulnerable populations in the LAC region.

About Compete Caribbean

Compete Caribbean (CCPF) is an innovation and partnership facility that delivers innovative and practical solutions that stimulate economic growth, increase productivity, and foster innovation and competitiveness in 13 countries across the Caribbean region. CCPF is a partnership between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (UKAid), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Canada.

Money Laundering

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Time to clean up the London laundromat The UK needs to launch a concerted crackdown on money laundering By The Editorial Board, The FT View

enmark and Estonia are in the spotlight over a money laundering scandal that saw billions of dollars of suspicious funds from former Soviet republics pass through a subsidiary of Danske Bank. But a country with just as many questions to answer — in the Danske case as in many others — is the UK. While Danske’s Estonian business was, in 2007-15, a wide-bore pipeline for dubious fund flows, the entities sending money through it were often shell companies registered in the UK or its overseas territories. For the sake both of its reputation and — given the vulnerabilities that stem from being a haven for Russian or other dirty money

UK authorities have been reluctant to enforce tougher safeguards against dirty money for fear of harming Britain’s image as an easy place to do business © Reuters

— its national security, London should launch a concerted clampdown. Becoming a money laundering centre is an inevitable risk of being a global financial centre. But UK authorities have for too long been reluctant to adopt or enforce tougher safeguards against dirty money for fear of harming Britain’s image as an easy place to do business. There are, however, ways of fighting money laundering without imposing disproportionate burdens. One is tightening controls on so-called limited liability partnerships and Scottish limited partnerships that have become a vehicle of choice for money launderers. The UK passed a law two years ago requiring all British companies to identify their beneficial shareholders; many have still not complied. Proposals floated by the UK’s business department to require limited partnerships to have a principal place of business in the UK are worth enacting. So is the idea of requiring formation agents, who set up LLPs and SLPs for a fee, to prove they are overseen by an anti-money laundering watchdog. Companies House, the UK registrar, needs meanwhile to be given adequate resources and powers to check the veracity of information that businesses provide. The registrar could then flag suspicious cases to law enforcement bodies, leading to prosecutions. A few successful trials of individuals using LLPs to launder ill-gotten gains would be a strong disincentive to others. The government should also speed up adoption of a draft law to create a register of beneficial owners of overseas legal entities that own property or land

in the UK. While putting its own house in order, the UK should use what influence it has to ensure compliance with a law that parliament adopted in May requiring companies registered in British overseas territories to disclose their beneficial owners. The requirement should be extended, too, to the UK’s crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Other valuable steps would include extending the principle of “failure to prevent” to cover all financial crimes, not just bribery and tax evasion as now. This would impose criminal liability if companies could not show they had taken adequate measures to stop misconduct including money laundering. The nerve agent attack in Salisbury in March appears to have stiffened government resolve to crack down, in particular, on Russian dirty money. Visas granted to former Soviet tycoons are under greater scrutiny, while the authorities claim to be making more use of “unexplained wealth orders” to force suspect owners of high-value assets to explain how they were able to afford them. The risk, however, is that a desire to ensure the City of London clings to its status as a global financial hub after Brexit will lead to laxer standards and enforcement. That would be a mistake. The way for the UK to prosper outside the EU is not to become a quasioffshore, low-regulation tax haven, but to strive to combine an attractive business environment with the highest standards of probity and transparency.

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Applications Open for the World Bank Youth Summit 2018 By World Bank Group

W Flow and C&W Business Solutions

encourages everyone to be on alert and ready to take the necessary steps to protect family and property during the Hurricane season. Our commitment is to keep our customers connected to family and friends especially when it matters most, during times of disaster.

ashington D.C., United States of America — The annual World Bank Group Youth Summit will be held in October 2018 under the theme “Unleashing the Power of Human Capital”. The event which seeks to empower youth to find their own innovative ideas for development and provide a platform for dialogue, will gather attendees from over 100 countries. Applications to participate to the Youth Summit Competition are to be submitted by October 9 and other applications to attend the Youth Summit close on October 15. Established in 2013, the Youth Summit is an annual event held by the World Bank Group (WBG) to engage with youth globally on the most pressing topics facing their generation. The Summit targets young citizens between 18 and 35 years and seeks to achieve multiple objectives: • to empower youth to explore innovative ideas for tackling development challenges, • to provide youth with the tools to build and engage in impactful projects, • to promote dialogue between youth and the World Bank Group.

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In 2017, the Youth Summit generated over 1,800 applications and 400 participants. 12,500 other persons were able to view the Summit online. This year, the summit will take place under the theme: “Unleashing the

The Summit targets young citizens between 18 and 35 years and seeks to achieve multiple objectives Power of Human Capital”. It is globally recognized that the “human capital”, also known as “human talent” which includes the skills, knowledges and experience of a population, forms a key component of a country’s competitiveness. Hence, the event will provide youth with a forum to share their ideas and learn from one another, encouraging the creation of innovative and equitable initiatives and the development of capabilities required in the ever-evolving future. The event includes two components, namely the Youth Summit Competition for which individual participants or teams of 1 to 4 persons are invited to submit an idea that contributes to building human capital, and the World Bank Group Youth Summit that will gather youth passionate about investing in human capital. Young persons interested in taking part in the event are invited to submit their applications for the Youth Summit Competition before October 9. Applications to attend the World Bank Group Youth Summit close on October 15. For more information, visit the following website: World Bank Youth Summit 2018.

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