Context
The World Bank Group’s presence in Vienna dates back to 2004, when the European Investor Outreach Program was the first activity managed from the Vienna office by the Investment Climate Unit. Today, the Vienna Investment Climate Office continues to benefit from its geographic proximity and intimacy. to clients to support a portfolio of more than 60 active projects and operations spread across five regions with a team of 15 full-time employees and consultants covering the full spectrum of investment climate topics.
Strategy
The Vienna Office’s strategy is based on four main pillars: First, the office provides operational support to lending and advisory projects in the World Bank Group regions. Second, the office contributes to the investment climate knowledge agenda through research and analysis on emerging investment climate themes. Third, the office facilitates knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning by organizing global forums and events on investment climate topics, and fourth, the office leverages partnerships with leading European institutions on investment climate topics to support its operational work and knowledge agenda.
- Deliver: Leveraging its strategic location in Europe, the Investment Climate office in Vienna brings the technical expertise of the global Investment Climate unit closer to clients, particularly in the ECA, MENA and SSA regions. The Investment Climate team based in the Vienna office covers the full spectrum of investment climate topics, including the business environment, investment policy and promotion, and investment research and diagnostics. competitiveness of investments. Working closely with colleagues based in Washington DC, the Vienna team mobilizes a wide range of World Bank Group instruments, including Advisory and Analytical Services (ASA) as well as Loan Products (DPF , P4R and IPF), to offer clients effective investment climate solutions. .
- Innovate: The Vienna Investment Climate Office supports research and product innovation with a focus on emerging themes including green competitiveness, the digital economy and gender. The office is also at the forefront of innovation in areas of regional importance in the ECA and MENA regions, including strengthening regional integration and improving connectivity with the EU market.
- Exchange: The Vienna Investment Climate Office facilitates the exchange and sharing of knowledge with partners in the region through global forums and events on IC-related topics. In doing so, the office effectively leverages its presence in the region and the conference facilities available in the central office in Vienna.
- Partner: The office maintains strategic partnerships with leading European institutions focused on priority investment climate topics, including the OECD, UNIDO, UNCITRAL, UNCTAD, WTO and others.
In practice
Support regional integration in the Western Balkans (Advisory): Strengthen the region’s attractiveness for investors to stimulate economic growth and create jobs through greater harmonization of regional investment policies and targeted regional investor awareness activities.
Support gender reforms in Africa (Advisory): Women, business and legal reforms to support women’s economic empowerment based on the WBL indicators.
Supporting the growth of the digital sector in the West Bank and Gaza (Loans): attract strategic investors and support supplier linkages for digital economy growth and job creation.
Subnational attraction of FDI in Poland (Consultative): support the Pomeranian region with an impact assessment of its previous FDI strategy and the development of a new FDI strategic framework for the region in a post COVID-19 environment.
Improve investor protection/retention Uzbekistan (Advisory): Increase private sector investment in the fertilizer sector through reforms to investor protection and monitoring mechanisms.
Strengthen links with GVCs in Mozambique (Loans): Strengthen national linkages with the extractive industry and introduce a grievance mechanism for resilient economic recovery.
Global Investment Competitiveness Forum – an annual flagship forum bringing together ministers and other high-level policymakers from client countries, private sector leaders, development partners and WBG staff for strategic discussions on investment competitiveness.
IC Academy – annual training program to disseminate information on strategic projects and the latest product innovations in IC.
Contacts
Harald Jedlicka, Head of the Vienna Investment Climate Office
E-mail: hjedlicka@worldbank.org