Small States Strategy

Overview & Synopsis

The World Bank Group (WBG) has prepared a Small States Strategy to help address the unique challenges they face, including remoteness, small populations, heavy import dependence, narrow economic base, and high exposure to shocks. The Strategy is guided by the WBG’s jobs framework and will focus support on a selective set of Lighthouse Initiatives—health, connectivity, affordable energy, resilient infrastructure, fiscal sustainability, and MSME development—where sustained engagement can most effectively unlock growth, strengthen businesses, and create more and better jobs. The Strategy takes a more coordinated and differentiated approach to reflect the diversity of needs—shaping not only what we prioritize but how we deliver, through regional projects and aggregated procurement to overcome issues of scale and high transaction costs, capacity building, leveraging partnerships to overcome partner fragmentation. The strategy is being implemented through our Country Partnership Frameworks.