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Overview

The IDA Regional Window aims to promote development through regional approaches by providing top-up funding for eligible regional investments and facilitate collective action to address shared goals while taking advantage of economies of scale by acting together. Regional projects address the challenges of small and fragmented markets to create more integrated markets, improve connectivity, manage shared resources, and provide global and regional public goods.

Lending Instruments

Financial support from the IDA Regional Window is provided using Investment Project Financing (IPF) and starting in IDA19, through Development Policy Financing (DPF).

Eligibility

Regional window operations should meet all four criteria.

  1. The operation involves three or more countries, all of which need to participate, and at least one of them is an IDA-eligible country. Two, if, at least, one IDA-eligible is Fragile and Conflict-affected Situations (FCS).
  2. The operation would have benefits, either economic or social, that spill over country boundaries.
  3. There is clear evidence of country and regional ownership of the operation.
  4. The operation provides a high level of policy harmonization that has a well-developed and broadly supported regional strategy.

Allocations

Allocations to Regions: At the beginning of each IDA cycle, each Region is given an indicative allocation for the three-year implementation period with 75% to the Africa Region, and the remaining 25% for the other five regions. Actual allocations are provided at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Allocations to Operations: Operations are selected for their strategic relevance based on regional integration priorities identified by each region. They include:

  • Critical infrastructure (including energy, transport and digital technology). the Blue Economy, the Human Capital Project, public goods such as marine litter, innovative technologies, and specific needs of small islands.
  • Addressing fragility in Africa, with a focus on three subregions (the Sahel, Lake Chad area, and the Horn of Africa.

Financing Terms

The terms of financing under the IDA Regional Window, are fully harmonized with financing for country allocations.

Regional Development Policy Financing (DPF)

Starting in IDA19, the IDA Regional Window will support a few selected high priority development policy operations for coordination of policy reform across a number of IDA countries that have a standard policy framework for coordinating and sequencing reforms.

Regional Organizations

The IDA Regional Window provides grants to regional entities to support the implementation of regional projects.  Starting in IDA19, the window may implement some projects with the support of regional organizations that can repay IDA credits.  In such cases financing will be extended to such organizations on credit terms. 

More details can be found in Annex 5 of the IDA19 Replenishment Report (pdf).