Coalition of Global Civil Society Leaders Endorse Ajay Banga to Serve as President of The World Bank
We, civil society leaders, climate change leaders, heads of organizations and experts devoted to international development, academics, indigenous peoples, and former government officials welcome and support the nomination of Ajay Banga as the next President of the World Bank.
Our world confronts tremendous challenges and opportunities. Progress on poverty reduction has stalled and action on climate change lacks urgency. And yet, the vision of a more prosperous, equitable and greener global economy is within reach. We need the largest mobilization of resources, partnerships, and creative solutions toward our shared goals working with partners across all sectors, including responsible business partners, indigenous peoples, civil society, and public sector partners. Ajay Banga possesses a rare combination of leadership; track record of building successful alliances across the public, private, and social sectors; and experience working in developing countries for tackling some of the most critical challenges facing our world. He’s the right person to lead the World Bank at this critical moment.
Ajay built a regenerative agriculture partnership in Latin America to help farmers shift their practices toward long-term sustainability in a region at high-risk for climate disaster. The Alliance for Resilient Food Systems in Northern Central America brings together commitments from regional and multinational companies to scale up investments and strengthen the resilience of farmers and MSMEs in their supply chains. At the end of the initiative, farmers and MSMEs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras will be more profitable and more resilient to climate change, market fluctuations, and other shocks in the region that are similar to challenges faced in many other regions, including Africa.
Ajay also shaped a crop insurance program with the World Food Bank and a coalition of private and social sector partners to insure two million farmers against the risks of climate disaster. As an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, Ajay played a key role in promoting investments in companies leading EV charging and solar power solutions for off-grid populations in Africa and India.
While at Mastercard, many of us saw first-hand how Ajay advanced financial inclusion and expanded access to the digital economy globally and especially in Africa. By working with governments and civil society, he committed to bringing 500 million previously unbanked into the digital economy. Included in this has been a commitment to bringing more women into the global economy–recognizing that women play an essential role in sustainable development solutions.
A truly global citizen, Ajay has extensive experience living and working in developing economies. Importantly, as a leader with deep appreciation for the global south, he intuitively understands that economic growth can only be sustained if people and nature thrive together, not apart. He understands that the World Bank must serve as a force multiplier by setting the right agenda and then catalyzing action across governments, the private sector, multilateral development banks, civil society, and philanthropies. We look forward to the World Bank Board of Directors selecting him as the next President of the World Bank and to working together to shape new and innovative approaches to meet the great challenges of our time.
Signatories:
Amita Vyas, Professor & Director, Center for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, George Washington University*
Andrea Jung, President and CEO, Grameen America
Andrew Steer, President and CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
Aniruddha (Ani) Dasgupta, President and CEO, World Resource Institute*
Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America*
Aron Cramer, President and CEO, Business for Social Responsibility
Arturo Condo, President, Earth University
Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 2006-2018*
Celina De Sola, Co-founder and President, Glasswing International
Charles Lyons, President and CEO, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (2010-2016)*
Christina Lowery, CEO, Girl Rising
Christy Turlington, Founder, Every Mother Counts
Donella Rapier, CEO, BRAC USA*
David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee*
Dr. Arunava Majumdar, Dean, Stanford University Doerr School of Sustainability*
Dr. James Tielsch, Chair & Professor, Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health*
Dr. John Hammock, Co-Founder, Oxford University Poverty and Human Development Initiative*
Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, Recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences*
Dr. Julio Frenk, President, University of Miami
Dr. Michael Spence, Recipient of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences*
Dr. Michelle Williams, Dean of the Faculty, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health*
Dr. Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Dr. Nitasha Nagaraj, Assistant Professor, Prevention and Community Health, George Washington University
Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund
Gary White, CEO & Co-Founder, Water.org & WaterEquity
Guillaume Le Cunff, CEO, Nestlé Nespresso S.A.
Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO, The B Team
Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO, Chobani
Hannah Jones, CEO, The Earthshot Prize*
Hindu Oumarou Ibrahim, Founder and Coordinator, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
Jack Leslie, Senior Visiting Fellow, Duke Global Health Institute*
Jason Bordoff, Co-Founding Dean, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA
Jennifer (JJ) Rosenbaum, Executive Director, Global Labor Justice - International Labor Rights Forum
Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International
Jeroo Billimoria, Co-Founder and Chief Facilitator of Catalyst 2030
Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO, Alight
John Valverde, President and CEO, YouthBuild USA
Jon Creyts, CEO, Rocky Mountain Institute*
Jonathan Fantini Porter, CEO and Executive Director, Partnership for Central America
Jonathan Reckford, CEO, Habitat for Humanity
Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia (2010-2018) and Recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize
Kate Roberts, CEO, The Body Agency Collective
Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica (2010-2014)*
Linda Eddleman, CEO, The Trust for the Americas*
Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, London School of Economics and Political Science*
Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank (2005-2020)*
M. Sanjayan CEO, Conservation International
M.R. (Madhavan) Rangaswami, Founder, Corporate Eco Forum
Manuel Pulgar Vidal, Climate & Energy Global Practice Leader, WWF International*
Martin Edlund, CEO, Malaria No More
Melanne Verveer, United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues (2009-2013)*
Michael Schlein, President and CEO, Accion
Michelle Nunn, President and CEO, CARE USA*
Mindy S. Lubber, President and CEO, Ceres
Mona Sinha, Global Executive Director, Equality Now
Muhammad Yunus, Recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize
Norah Weinstein, Co-president, Baby2Baby
Sasha Chanoff, Founder & CEO, Refuge Point
Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
Surita Sandosham, President and CEO, Heifer International
Thomas R. Pickering, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1989-1992)*
Tjada D'Oyen McKenna, CEO, Mercy Corps
William Warshauer, President & CEO, TechnoServe
* Personal endorsement
Contact: Jonathan Fantini Porter at jfantiniporter@centampartnership.org
