A WBG Strategy for Engaging in FCV Settings (2026-2030)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

_________________________________________________________________________________________

More than half of the world's extreme poor live in countries affected by Fragility Conflict and Violence (FCV). Over 257 million young people are expected to enter the workforce by 2035 in the FCV-affected countries by 2035. Many more live in countries that could become destabilized if aspirations are unmet. That makes jobs central - not just to income and dignity, but to stability, confidence, and the belief that a better future is possible. This demands bold action. That is why the World Bank Group is transforming how we engage in fragile and conflict-affected settings with a refreshed WBG FCV Strategy.

Four Shifts in Our Approach

The new strategy is not just a statement of our commitment. It changes how we identify risk, how we decide where and how to engage, how we bring the full World Bank Group together around jobs, and how we equip ourselves to deliver in the hardest places.

Anticipate risks earlier: Our systems have been better at identifying fragility after it has already materialized. Going forward, we will use a dynamic FCV country classification and stronger internal risk-monitoring process to spot where pressures are building - including countries at risk of conflict onset, countries affected by conflict, countries in acute crisis, and countries in transition. This will help us act earlier, adjust programs sooner, and avoid waiting until risks become full-blown crises.

Support Government commitment: The needs are real everywhere, but the potential for lasting impact is not the same everywhere. We will look more clearly at whether there is a path to durable results: government commitment to trajectory-shifting reforms, credible local delivery platforms where we cannot work through government, windows of opportunity in transition settings, and the readiness of the private sector. Where the conditions are present, we should move with speed and scale. Where they are not, we should remain engaged but be more selective.

Deliver as One World Bank Group on jobs: Jobs are where we have the clearest mandate and the strongest comparative advantage. But in FCV settings, jobs do not come from one instrument or one institution. They require public investment, policy reform, private capital, guarantees, advisory work, and risk mitigation working together. IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA will be brought together more deliberately - especially around Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the domestic private sector, which are the backbone of employment in many FCV economies.

Change how we operate. We will strengthen our operational tools, adapt procurement and implementation approaches where conditions demand it and invest in staff who are asked to work in these contexts. The strategy also recognizes that the WBG cannot do this alone. Other actors hold mandates over political settlements, security, justice, and peace - areas outside the development mandate but essential to stability. That is why the refreshed strategy places a strong emphasis on building and expanding partnerships with humanitarian actors, civil society, UN agencies, regional organizations, and the private sector, while leveraging local actors who often detect stress earlier than institutions do.