Washington, Nov. 14, 2025 – The World Bank announced today the launch of the Network for Impact in Africa (NIA), a collaborative initiative with four research centers, aimed at enhancing knowledge and maximizing the impact of interventions across the continent.
The main objective of this network is twofold: to combine efforts in sharing practical global and local knowledge by engaging policymakers and identifying feasible, country-specific solutions that can accelerate impact, according to the statement released.
“The Network for Impact in Africa is part of our broader transformation to build a more connected, inclusive, and impactful World Bank Group Knowledge Institution; we are rethinking how knowledge is created and used, incorporating local expertise from the onset and amplifying African voices in defining solutions that deliver real results,” stated Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank Group, as cited in the statement.
The NIA joins African research centers and the World Bank Group in promoting mutual learning and co-creation of solutions “rooted in local African realities and informed by the application of global knowledge,” with the aim of “amplifying regional voices, embedding African experience in policy advice, and strengthening relationships between World Bank Group country teams and local institutions.”
Founding members of the NIA include the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS), the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), and the World Bank Group, operating under an equal governance and joint management model, and open to additional members.
This initiative launch is part of a series of measures implemented by World Bank President Ajay Banga to streamline the institution and enhance its efficiency, expanding not only the range of financial operations but also the delivery of policy advice and technical training in its operating countries, the institution added.
