Foresight Africa at the 2026 Spring Meetings: How the International Finance Corporation is advancing the jobs agenda

LANDRY SIGNÉ: Hello, I am Landry Signé, senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program and the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Welcome to the Foresight Africa podcast, where I engage with distinguished leaders in policy, business, academia, and civil society who share their unique insights and innovative solutions to Africa’s challenges while highlighting opportunity to advance engagement between Africa, the US, and the global community. 

Today we are on the sidelines of the 2026 Spring Meetings organized by the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. Twice a year, these international financial institutions bring together the world’s most prominent figures in the field of development finance, including central bankers, ministers of finance, heads of global and regional financial institutions, corporate CEOs, entrepreneurs, and civil society leaders. 

I am joined now by Alfonso García Mora, regional vice president for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean at the International Finance Corporation. Dr. García Mora has executed the IFC’s response to the post COVID recovery and the war in Ukraine. He also boasts an extensive career in the public sector. Welcome to the Brookings Institution Foresight Africa podcast.  

ALFONSO GARCÍA MORA: Thank you. Thank you for hosting me.  

SIGNÉ: I am delighted to have you join me during this very busy week and I truly appreciate you taking time to share your insights with our audience. 

As the Spring Meetings conclude amid rising economic fragmentation and shifting geopolitical dynamics, what are the most consequential takeaways for policymakers and which signals should the world be watching most closely in the months ahead?  

GARCÍA MORA: So thank you for the question. We are living in a context of high volatility, I would say. And we have seen it in different financial markets metrics, in different decisions, in different reactions. 

And I think in those times it is particularly relevant to be focused on what really has an impact on the society. And in our view, this is jobs. Jobs are at the core of our mission, at the core of where we believe that the political economy and economic policies need to focus. 

Why do we say that? We say that because in the next years there will be 1.2 billion people coming into the job market, and according to our estimations, only 400 million will have will find a job if we continue to do things as we are doing today. So there is a huge gap between those that would like to be able to contribute to the labor market and those that will actually get a job. 

So there is a huge responsibility today on the economic policy side, on the policymakers on the private sector to find ways in which we can generate those jobs for the future.  

SIGNÉ: Amazing. Looking beyond the Spring Meetings. What will it take to translate today’s commitments into measurable on-the-ground impact, and how can institutions ensure accountability, speed, and scale in delivering results? 

GARCÍA MORA: So I would focus on two things. One, to really identify what are the key sectors that are job creators. And we have identified at the World Bank Group there are five key sectors. One is infrastructure, basic infrastructure. Second is value added manufacturing. Third is health. Fourth is agribusiness. Fifth is tourism. If you put together these five sectors, you will actually cover a significant part of the GDP across the supply chain of all these sectors. So focusing on those five sectors, establishing metrics of the jobs that you want to create in each of the sectors is paramount. 

But it is also to think on what is needed to make that happen and to make that happen we have identified three things: One, we need to work on infrastructure and the human capital skills. We need the skills of the future. We need to invest today on what are going to be the skills of the future. 

Second, we need to improve the business environment, to eliminate red tape and facilitate the creation of business by entrepreneurs. 

And third, we need to mobilize private capital. Without private capital, it will be basically impossible to generate the jobs of the future, because 90% of the jobs are generated in the private sector. 

SIGNÉ: What a powerful way to conclude. Thank you again for joining us today and for sharing your thoughts and insights.  

GARCÍA MORA: Thank you very much for having me.