Investing in Women and a Green Future: The Way Forward for South Asia

Last week, on a trip to India and Bangladesh, two countries with impressive development trajectories, I caught a glimpse of the future of South Asia. Here are three takeaways worth sharing.

1. Empowering women is smart economics — And we have the data and the stories to prove it!

India may be one of the fastest and largest economies, but it still has one of the world’s lowest female labor participation rates at around 30% . A missed opportunity considering that if India increased its female labor force to 50%, it would increase its GDP by 1%, according to World Bank estimates—a huge boost for an economy of that size.

And in Bangladesh, where women represent 40% of the labor force, female entrepreneurs still face significant barriers in accessing finance and markets.

But in both India and Bangladesh, major policies and action are underway to bridge the gender gap.

This trip was yet another opportunity for me to meet some inspiring women who are breaking barriers and uplifting entire communities in the process. They are living proof that empowering women is the best investment a country can make.

In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, I met Jahnnobi Rahman , the CEO of Relaxy , a mental health and wellness platform where people can openly discuss their emotions without the fear of being judged. With a background in computer science, she created Relaxy (based on her own experience) to democratize mental healthcare. Last year, she earned a spot on the Forbes Under 30 list of social entrepreneurs working towards a more inclusive future.

In Chennai, in Southern India, I visited a Working Women’s Hostel, which provides safe and affordable housing to working women. The tenants hail from villages all over India but also from other countries like Sri Lanka. The state of Tamil Nadu, home to 43% of the women working in industries in India, has made it a priority —through an innovative Public-Private Partnership supported by the World Bank — to provide convenient housing to working women who come to the buzzing city of Chennai for jobs and opportunities. A practical way to increase female labor participation that could be scaled up across other regions and countries.

In rural Tamil Nadu, I met a group of micro-entrepreneurs who came together to create their small enterprises, moving from informality to formality with determination. What started as a self-help group became a community business forum with thriving micro-entrepreneurs who can make a living, provide for their families, and give back to the community. Some women used their life experience to fulfill a market need, including an entrepreneur who launched a line of chemical-free sanitary pads and another who developed a line of allergy-free products with great success. What’s also interesting is that they operate in a completely cashless environment. One key lesson from these visits is the crucial role digitalization plays in empowering women.

2. Green growth is the future ?

A visit to India serves as an important reminder that green growth is not just a catchphrase but a vast opportunity.

As part of the Raisina Dialogue , India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, I participated in a session on financing the green transition with private sector leaders and decision-makers at the forefront of the renewable revolution.

There is no better place than India — a country that is such a powerful voice for the Global South— to talk about financing climate action. The country has ambitious climate targets, private sector innovation and financing, and supportive regulatory policies to unleash the power of the green transition.

Case in point: India’s renewable expansion has predominantly relied on private sector investment. A telling example is the fact that World Bank investments of about $1 billion in solar parks and rooftop solar across the country have leveraged almost 40 times that amount in commercial investment.

And there are no better advocates for green growth than the next generation. In Chennai, I was lucky enough to engage with students from the India Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), one of the top universities in India and a center of excellence for anything related to a low-carbon future. A conversation that left me convinced that the future of India is green.

Achieving resilient growth was also at the center of my discussions with the authorities in Bangladesh, a country severely affected by natural disasters that has emerged as a leader in climate change and disaster preparedness and where 世界银行 is financing climate-resilient infrastructure.

3. A supportive policy environment can help change the growth trajectory

Both India and Bangladesh have ambitious development goals. India aspires to become a high-income country by 2047. Bangladesh would like to achieve upper middle-income status by 2031. While both countries have experienced strong growth —despite the setbacks from COVID-19 and other global crises—realizing their development goals will mean shifting the growth trajectory.

In Bangladesh, this means implementing macroeconomic reforms to reduce inflation and bring the external sector in balance while continuing to pursue structural reforms to reinvigorate Bangladesh’s private sector.

Reforms to create a level playing field for India’s dynamic private sector are also important. So are policies to support social inclusion and improve human development outcomes. Both countries are urbanizing at a rapid pace. Therefore, achieving resilient and inclusive growth in booming cities would also be critical.

Perhaps most inspiring is the fact that India and Bangladesh have knowledge to share with other countries on how to move up the income ladder through innovation and technology, infrastructure development, women empowerment, and trade.

Finally, having visited four countries in South Asia over the past four months, I saw the potential gains from regional integration. While cricket binds the people of South Asia in a special way, increasing cross-border trade and investment can also bring together the diverse nations of the sub-continent.