[June 2025] If development effectiveness is the objective, then reforming the institutions dominating global development finance must be a starting point.
This premise framed a high-level roundtable co-hosted by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) and Development Reimagined on June 23rd 2025, which set out to explore concrete pathways for re-balancing decision-making power within the World Bank (WB) and reforming the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Quota System.
These institutions were originally established to support post-war reconstruction and global financial stability. However, they continue to be shaped by governance structures that skew priorities and constrain the agency of the countries they now serve – no longer reflecting the current reality.
The session was structured around two interlinked challenges: reforming the World Bank’s governance system and advancing IMF quota reform. Each theme was introduced through short presentations delivered by Development Reimagined and Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center.
Discussions on World Bank reform focused on the highly skewed balance between basic votes and share votes, and the implications of the U.S. veto power. Basic votes, currently fixed at 250 per member, account for just 5.55% of total votes, while voting power is mainly allocated according to paid-in capital contributions, giving high-income shareholders disproportionate influence over agenda-setting and outcomes.
Proposals such as introducing a double majority voting mechanism and recalibrating the weight of basic votes were debated, alongside questions about how to build credible coalitions for reform in a system where both advanced and developing countries can be simultaneously over- and underrepresented.
Discussions on IMF quota reform explored ways to adjust the quota formula, including incorporating vulnerability criteria and SDR utilization rates, while addressing the underrepresentation of countries like China and the need to protect the voice of smaller economies such as SIDS.
Overall, these institutions must be reformed as a fundamental requirement for harmonizing global development finance with local priorities and achieving long-term structural transformation. As discussions around governance reform gain traction, the roundtable emphasized the critical need for sustained coalition-building, well-defined proposals, and ongoing engagement by low- and low-middle-income countries stakeholders in shaping the future of the Bretton Woods system to work for their needs.
To download Development Reimagined’s presentation:
