The Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) has been working to improve the lives of Pacific people for 10 years. Through reforms that encourage a well-functioning and vibrant private sector, PSDI's initiatives aim to make it easier to set up, run, and dissolve a business in the Pacific region. PSDI encourages the development of a thriving formal sector. Women in particular benefit from operating a business in the formal sector, which provides the opportunity to seek finance from commercial banks, to bid for work from the government and other organizations, and to gain protection under the law.

This publication describes further progress of ongoing and recently undertaken initiatives for the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI). It highlights the issues and many of the encouraging outcomes resulting from earlier efforts. It also explores issues expected to emerge in the future, and how they will be dealt with. PSDI is a regional technical assistance facility cofinanced by the Australian Agency for International Development. It supports and encourages inclusive, private sector–led, sustainable economic growth among Pacific developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank. PSDI focuses on improving access to financial services, business law reform, and state-owned enterprise reform and public–private partnerships in the region.

The challenging geography and poor infrastructure of many Pacific nations mean digital financial services (DFS) are a particularly effective means of enhancing financial inclusion in the region. However, a number of major challenges confront DFS in the Pacific, including the establishment of reliable agent networks and the building of sufficient consumer trust in DFS for it to become a viable payments channel. This report examines the current use of DFS in the Pacific, analyzes the issues that need to be addressed, and provides recommendations for increasing financial inclusion in the region. This publication was produced by the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative, a regional technical assistance facility cofinanced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Government of Australia and the New Zealand government.

Transaction reforms in eight Pacific Island countries have shown the value in ""movable"" assets such as machinery, inventory, and accounts receivable for use as collateral in borrowing. They can benefit businesses and financial institutions that offer business loans. Yet, despite these reforms, financial institutions remain unwilling to lend. Businesses still find it hard to access the credit they need to grow, which in turn creates jobs and drives the economic activity needed in the Pacific. Credit guarantees are often proposed as an instrument to overcome this problem. However, as this report finds, there is no strong theoretical justification for their use.

Infrastructure is essential for development. This report presents a snapshot of the current condition of developing Asia's infrastructure---defined here as transport, power, telecommunications, and water supply and sanitation. It examines how much the region has been investing in infrastructure and what will likely be needed through 2030. Finally, it analyzes the financial and institutional challenges that will shape future infrastructure investment and development.

Private sector activity is crucial for development. It shapes the investment climate, mobilizes innovation and financing in areas such as global health, and can either cause or mitigate social and environmental harm. Yet so far, the international development debate has not focused on the role of the private sector. This volume—written by members of the private sector, philanthropic organizations, and academia—investigates ways to galvanize the private sector in the fight against global poverty. Using a bottom-up approach, they describe how the private sector affects growth and poverty alleviation. They also review the impediments to private capital investment, and discuss various approaches to risk mitigation, including public sector enhancements, and identify some specific new plans for financing development in neglected markets, including an equity-based model for financing small-to-medium-sized enterprises. From the top-down, the authors look at the social and environmental impact of private sector activities, investigate public-private partnerships, explore new perspectives on the role of multinationals, and discuss an in-depth case study of these issues as they relate to global public health. In addition to providing a broad overview of the current issues, this forward-looking volume assesses the action-oriented initiatives that already exist, and provides templates and suggestions for new initiatives and partnerships. Contributors include David DeFerranti (Brookings Institution), Timothy Freundlich (Calvert Social Investment Foundation), Ross Levine (World Bank), Sylvia Mathews (Gates Foundation), Jane Nelson (Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government), Alan Patricof (APAX Partners), Warrick Smith (World Bank), and Julie Sunderland (APAX Partners).

The Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) is a regional technical assistance facility cofinanced by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australian Aid, and the New Zealand Aid Programme. PSDI works with ADB's 14 Pacific developing member countries to improve the enabling environment for business and address constraints to private sector development in support of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This publication describes PSDI's progress on recent and ongoing initiatives and reviews the analytical basis for reform in the region.

Africa welcomes business investment and offers some of the world's highest returns and impacts Africa has tremendous economic potential and offers rewarding opportunities for global businesses looking for new markets and long-term investments with favorable returns. Africa has been one of the world's fastest-growing regions over the past decade, and by 2030 will be home to nearly 1.7 billion people and an estimated $6.7 trillion worth of consumer and business spending. Increased political stability in recent years and improving regional integration are making market access easier, and business expansion will generate jobs for women and youth, who represent the vast majority of the population. Current economic growth and poverty-alleviation efforts mean that more than 43 percent of the continent's people will reach middle- or upper-class status by 2030. Unlocking Africa's Business Potential examines business opportunities in the eight sectors with the highest potential returns on private investment—the same sectors that will foster economic growth and diversification, job creation, and improved general welfare. These sectors include: consumer markets, agriculture and agriprocessing, information and communication technology, manufacturing, oil and gas, tourism, banking, and infrastructure and construction. The book's analysis of these sectors is based on case studies that identify specific opportunities for investment and growth, along with long-term market projections to inform decision-making. The book identifies potential risks to business and offers mitigation strategies. It also provides policymakers with solutions to attract new business investments, including how to remove barriers to business and accelerate development of the private sector.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) stand at a critical juncture on their paths to sustainable development. Economic growth, human development and vulnerability indicators point to specific challenges facing SIDS, and suggest that new development solutions...

This contains the publications produced in 2011 and lists some of the major publications of earlier years.