News

World Bank backs small-scale projects

15 April 2000

In mid-February the World Bank sought to distance itself further from its image as an insensitive backer of huge projects such as steel mills and hydroelectric dams. Its development marketplace awarded $5 million to inventors and community groups with new ideas. The jury which awarded the grants included Bank critics such as Lisa Jordan, director of the Bank Information Center.

Some of the winning projects address issues such as combatting female genital mutilation, “roundabouts” for playgrounds which pump water and display AIDS awareness messages, a Niger delta oil spill response initiative and an African digital library.