This audio recording is part of the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings 2025 special episode of the Foresight Africa podcast. Listen to the full episode, which includes interviews with six other speakers on site at the event.
Transcript
TAVARES: I am Harold Tavares, executive director for Africa Group II, EDS 13 at the World Bank Group.
SIGNÉ: What are your key takeaways from the 2025 Spring Meetings?
TAVARES: My biggest takeaway is it’s about the theme that there was for the Spring Meeting: jobs. Because the most important thing to fight poverty is to create jobs for people, in particular to young people and women, and that’s my biggest takeaway because that’s the way to fight poverty and to eliminate poverty is to give opportunity.
And look at the countries that I represent, particularly to the young people. I say all the time, they have talents. The people, the young people, the women, we have great talents, but what they is missing is the opportunity. And we need to give them the opportunity and give them opportunity is to bring jobs. And that means job is to create a vibrant private sector. And that’s where I think this is the biggest takeaway from the Spring Meeting, is we promote jobs and we’ll promote private sector.
SIGNÉ: And executive director, how might the 2025 Spring Meetings shape policy decisions, including those of the World Bank or the IMF or central banks, ministries, countries, and how could they also help shaping, delivering tangible results across Africa moving forward?
TAVARES: This meeting, it’s an opportunity for us to come together, multilateralism at its best. And we’ll meet here, we’ll discuss, and we share in the same goals. It’s one goal, one mission, and that mission is to eradicate extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet. And that’s our mission and our goal, as well as multilateralism. And this is where everything happens, and this just shows you the multilateralism works. And particularly in the time that we’re facing today with multiple challenge. But very optimistic as I see this gathering, I see the passion on development and very happy that we have accomplished a lot, but there’s a lot of way to go. And I’m looking forward what’s coming ahead as it seems a very promising.
SIGNÉ: Incredibly powerful. Thank you so much for joining us today.
TAVARES: Thank you, so much. Happy to be here and looking forward to keep working.
Authors
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Acknowledgements and disclosures
The Foresight Africa podcast is brought to you by the Brookings Podcast Network. Send your feedback and questions to podcasts at Brookings dot edu. My special thanks to the production team including Fred Dews, producer; Nichole Grossman, Dafe Oputu, and Nicole Ntungire, associate producers; Gastón Reboredo, audio engineer; and Izzy Taylor, senior communications coordinator in Brookings Global. The show’s art was designed by Shavanthi Mendis. Additional promotional support for this podcast comes from my colleagues in Brookings Global and the Office of Communications at Brookings.
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Commentary
Harold Tavares on promoting jobs and the private sector in Africa
Foresight Africa podcast at the 2025 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings
May 2, 2025