Ajaypal Banga on poverty alleviation
From Ajay Banga - President of the World Bank Group | Investment Conference 2026 · · Norges Bank Investment Management
“The point is a job earning is the best way to drive people's hope and dignity. And if you sort of think about this carefully, a friend of mine once said that poverty is both a state of mind and a state of being. Being you can solve by giving grants, by giving aid, by giving donations, by writing philanthropic dollars. Mind doesn't get solved with that. Mind needs you to feel productive every morning, optimistic, feeling that you've got a future.”
On , Ajaypal Banga, Former Executive Chairman at Mastercard, spoke about poverty alleviation during Ajay Banga - President of the World Bank Group | Investment Conference 2026 on Norges Bank Investment Management.
About Ajaypal Banga
Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group, has been discussing the institution's focus on job creation and its shift toward outcome-oriented metrics. In a May 2026 investment conference, Banga described his approach to cultural transformation, stating that at Mastercard he united the company around the mission to "kill cash," and at the World Bank he reduced the corporate scorecard from 155 items to 22 output-oriented measures. He said that "a job earning is the best way to drive people's hope and dignity" and that poverty is "both a state of mind and a state of being." In an April 2026 event at the Atlantic Council, Banga argued that the old model of relying on public finances is "broken" and that the private sector must be brought in to address the challenge of 1.2 billion young people entering the workforce. He outlined a jobs agenda built on three pillars: physical and human capital infrastructure, business enabling reforms, and catalytic capital. In a March 2026 interview, Banga discussed the drivers of income inequality, stating that when interest rates stay low for a long time, "capital returns increase significantly while labor returns stagnate." He described the World Bank as "not just a money bank; it is a knowledge bank" that helps countries build municipal financing markets and primary healthcare systems. Banga also said that young people should "build their own stories based on current opportunities rather than compensating for past wrongs." He noted that the World Bank raised a record $24 billion for IDA 21, which through its AAA rating can be leveraged four times for the poorest countries.