The event, held at the Preston Auditorium, World Bank Group Headquarters in Washington D.C., on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, featured the World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, alongside other global development leaders. The hybrid event was also streamed live via World Bank Live.

With over one billion young people projected to enter the global labor market in the coming decade, the World Bank emphasized the urgency of generating sustainable employment opportunities across sectors. The AgriConnect initiative positions agribusiness as a cornerstone of this global jobs strategy, targeting the nexus between farms, private firms, and financial systems to deliver inclusive growth and economic transformation.

“The world needs more jobs than ever before,” Ajay Banga stated. “That’s why the World Bank Group is putting job creation at the center of everything we do. Agri-business is one of the five high-impact sectors we’re prioritizing because of its unmatched potential to drive employment and build resilient livelihoods.”

Through AgriConnect, the World Bank Group aims to:

Strengthen agricultural value chains to make them more efficient and inclusive.

Facilitate private-sector investments in agribusiness enterprises.

Expand financial access for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs.

Promote innovations in sustainable food production and market linkages.

This flagship announcement forms part of the World Bank Group–IMF 2025 Annual Meetings, where policymakers, private-sector leaders, and international organizations are converging to discuss solutions to global economic and social challenges.

The World Bank Group Media Relations unit (press@worldbank.org | +1 (202) 473 7660) is available for additional information and interview requests.

About the Initiative

AgriConnect: Farms, Firms, and Finance for Jobs is designed to leverage agribusiness as a global engine for employment creation, linking smallholder farmers to viable markets while advancing climate-smart and inclusive growth models.

The World Bank Group has launched AgriConnect: Farms, Firms, and Finance for Jobs, a global initiative to create jobs, empower smallholder farmers, and strengthen agribusiness value chains worldwide.

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