Georgia

There are surprising similarities between surfing and reforming state-owned enterprises. Photo: ADB

What surfing taught me about reforming state-owned enterprises

Reforming state-owned enterprises can be an extraordinarily complex activity but it is underpinned by a single clear goal.

Rafayil Abbasov

In Central Asia, some state-owned enterprises own non-core assets, such as farms. Photo: ADB

For sale—cheap: farms, buildings, cinemas, kindergartens and more

State-owned enterprises, including power utilities, in many countries have collected a menagerie of assets unrelated to their core business. And they are selling cheap.

Rafayil Abbasov

Women who own their own businesses, including small enterprises, are noteworthy contributors to a country's economic growth and ability to reduce poverty. Photo: ADB

Taking ownership: Better data is needed on women’s assets in Asia

Collecting sex-disaggregated data on asset ownership is an important step in achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in Asia and the Pacific.

Kaushal Joshi, Mildred Addawe, Arturo Martinez

Central Asia is home to a treasure trove of marketable fruits and vegetables but food safety must be addressed before they can be marketed globally. Photo: ADB

How do you like them apples? Central Asia gets ready to help feed the world

Central Asia is improving food safety measures to share with the world some of the more than 8000 plant species, as well as livestock, from the region.

Dorothea Lazaro, Loreli de Dios

Cities around Asia are struggling with traffic. Land value capture is one proposed solution to bring some relief. Photo: ADB

Metros push up land values—so why not create a triple win?

In cities around Asia, governments are exploring ways to capture the increased value of land near public infrastructure projects, and direct these funds back toward the needs of city residents.

Bambang Susantono

Hundreds of millions of people live on the cash economy without the benefits of banking, affordable credit and other financial services.

Digital solutions for financial inclusion

Worldwide, there are 1.7 billion people who are outside of the formal banking and financial system. They struggle with high fees and risky systems to undertake even simple financial transactions. Digital innovations offer new ways to bring them out of financial darkness.

Lotte Schou-Zibell