[Event Recap] Executive Education Program on Disaster Risk Finance for Bangladesh (November 17-20, 2025)

The World Bank Group (WBG)’s “Executive Education Program on Disaster Risk Finance (DRF) for Bangladesh” recently concluded in Savar, Dhaka after four days of high-engagement learning with senior Government of Bangladesh (GoB) officials and development partners. It was delivered as a WBG Academy Pilot Practitioner Program and hosted in collaboration with the University of Dhaka’s Center for Policy Research on Business and Development.

The event started with opening remarks by Kamrul Hoque Maruf (Joint Secretary and Project Director of the Jamuna River Sustainable Management Project at the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh), Hasina Sheykh (Professor, Department of Banking and Insurance, University of Dhaka) and Sumati Rajput (Senior Financial Sector Specialist, WBG).

Day 1 introduced participants to the fundamentals of disaster risk finance through an interactive ice-breaker, a simulated game on DRF, as well as sessions on key DRF concepts and the critical role of internal and external stakeholders. Day 2 provided an exploration of DRF tools. Participants examined contingency funds, contingent credit, insurance solutions, and capital market instruments—building a strong understanding of what each instrument is, how it works, and when it is most appropriate to use. Day 3 shifted to national implementation. Officials discussed the priorities and challenges of Bangladesh’s DRF Strategy, learned from the country’s anticipatory action experience, and assessed ways to strengthen microfinance institutions’ capacity to deliver effective shock response. A session on macro-insurance linked to cash transfers (Jamuna project) highlighted ongoing reforms. The day ended with a practical group exercise designing a DRF portfolio for a flood-prone district. The final day brought global perspective, with case studies from Malawi (macro-insurance linked to social protection), Pakistan (microfinance for shock response) and India (DRF for agriculture), followed by group presentations. The closing session consolidated key insights and the way forward for Bangladesh’s DRF agenda.

Closing remarks were delivered by Jean Pesme (Division Director, WBG), Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique (Member [Non-Life], Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority, Bangladesh), and Dr. Chowdhury Saima Ferdous (Professor & Member, Center for Policy Research on Business and Development, University of Dhaka).

The program was moderated by Sumati Rajput (Senior Financial Sector Specialist, WBG), Dr Aditi Shams (Associate Professor, University of Dhaka) and Dr Muhammad Shahin Miah (Associate Professor, University of Dhaka).

Key Messages from the Program

Collaboration is essential: Effective DRF requires strong coordination across ministries, agencies, and technical partners.
Aligning to the national DRF strategy matters: Bangladesh has made significant progress by developing a DRF strategy; the next step is socialization, institutional adoption, and regular updates.
Contextualization is key: While global good practices are valuable, DRF design must be tailored to Bangladesh’s risk profile, fiscal realities, and institutional capacity.
Academic partnerships enable scale: Working with local universities will support replication, continuity, and long-term sustainability of DRF capacity-building.

Participation and Feedback

The program brought together 23 participants from 13 ministries and agencies, alongside partners such as the Institute of Water Modeling (IWM), Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), Bangladesh Insurance Academy (BIA), and World Food Programme (WFP)—institutions expected to play a central role as GoB scales its DRF engagement.

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of participants reporting improved understanding of DRF principles and objectives.

Next Steps

A set of additional DRF capacity-building activities is planned for the coming year. These will be led by GoB and implemented in partnership with Bangladeshi academic institutions, drawing on the materials, methods, and lessons generated through this program.