YEIB-MANCO Calls for National Data Center | Business

The government’s ability to attract increased concessional development financing could depend significantly on how effectively the Government addresses weaknesses in public-sector governance, institutional performance and national data management, following a high-level policy assessment workshop convened by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank.

The one-day Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) workshop, hosted by the AfDB Liberia Country Office in collaboration with the World Bank Liberia Office, brought together senior government officials, including deputy ministers from the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Public Works, representatives of the Central Bank of Liberia, development partners and other institutional stakeholders.

The engagement examined Liberia’s performance under the CPIA framework, the implications of the country’s assessment scores for concessional financing and the reforms required to strengthen institutional performance.

A major intervention came from Joseph Fatorma Sando, Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank Management Company (YEIB-MANCO), who called for the establishment of a National Data Center to improve the collection, verification, coordination and accessibility of government data.

Sando argued that weaknesses in the country’s data systems could undermine its international development assessments, even where government institutions are implementing programs and achieving results that are not adequately documented.

His proposal placed data management at the center of a broader national development financing conversation, raising questions about whether Liberia’s existing institutional systems are sufficiently coordinated to demonstrate policy progress, public-sector performance and development outcomes to international partners.

The Country Policy and Institutional Assessment is a diagnostic framework used by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to evaluate the quality of policies and institutions relevant to economic growth and poverty reduction.

The assessment examines areas including economic management, structural policies, social inclusion, public-sector governance and institutional effectiveness.

The results have direct financial implications because both institutions use their respective CPIA assessments as important inputs in determining concessional resource allocations to eligible countries.

For the World Bank, the assessment contributes to the International Development Association’s (IDA) Performance-Based Allocation framework. Similarly, the AfDB uses its CPIA assessment within the African Development Fund’s (ADF) Performance-Based Allocation system.

This makes the CPIA more than a technical exercise conducted by development partners. It is an important mechanism through which the quality of a country’s economic policies, governance arrangements and institutional performance can influence the volume of concessional resources available to support development priorities.

Serving as moderator, AfDB Senior International Consultant Dr. James Francis Davis explained that the assessment measures the performance of national policies and institutions in relation to economic growth and poverty reduction.

He described the CPIA as the foundation of the AfDB’s Performance-Based Allocation system, which directs a substantial portion of concessional African Development Fund resources to 37 eligible countries across the continent.

Dr. Davis emphasized that countries demonstrating stronger policies and institutions are positioned to receive greater concessional financing.

His explanation underscored the importance of improving Liberia’s institutional performance, particularly as the country continues to depend on development financing to support infrastructure, public services, economic reforms and poverty reduction initiatives.

The workshop also clarified that although the AfDB and World Bank use largely similar assessment frameworks, their evaluations are conducted independently and inform separate financing decisions.

The AfDB framework contains six clusters and 18 assessment criteria, including an additional regional integration cluster, while the World Bank conducts its assessment annually and the AfDB undertakes its assessment every two years.

Presentations during the workshop highlighted improvements in selected areas of Liberia’s economic management, while identifying governance and public-sector institutional performance as continuing weaknesses.

Under the AfDB assessment, Liberia’s monetary policy score increased from 3.5 in 2020 to 5.0 in 2025, while its fiscal policy score remained at 4.0.

However, the World Bank’s presentation placed Liberia’s overall CPIA score at 3.0, with Public Sector Management and Governance recording 2.6, compared with 3.3 for Economic Management.

The figures illustrate an important distinction in Liberia’s reform trajectory: improvements in selected macroeconomic policy areas have not necessarily translated into comparable progress across public-sector governance and institutional management.

This matters because development financing decisions are influenced by a broader assessment of national policy and institutional performance, rather than progress in a single economic indicator.

Presenters also highlighted the financial implications of relatively small changes in Liberia’s CPIA performance, noting that a 0.1-point increase in the overall score could raise the country’s IDA allocation by approximately 10 to 13 percent.

If sustained, such an improvement could expand the resources available for development programs. However, the potential increase also demonstrates why stronger institutional performance and credible evidence of reform are important to the country’s financing prospects.

The workshop further disclosed that Liberia’s latest Debt Sustainability Assessment had shown movement from weak to medium debt-carrying capacity. However, participants were informed that two consecutive positive assessments would be required before the upgrade could be formally confirmed.

Taken together, the presentations suggest that Liberia has recorded progress in selected areas but must address deeper institutional weaknesses to improve its overall development financing position.

Against this background, Sando’s proposal for a National Data Center emerged as one of the workshop’s key institutional recommendations.

He urged the AfDB and World Bank to support the Government and people of Liberia in establishing a coordinated national system capable of improving the timeliness, credibility, verification and accessibility of data generated across ministries, agencies and public institutions.

According to Sando, the absence of reliable and readily accessible information can weaken Liberia’s performance in international assessments, even when government institutions are undertaking activities that could demonstrate progress.

“A Data Center Coordinator in every ministry, agency and parastatal will minimize the challenges currently affecting the country’s rating, which has a significant impact on economic decisions and investors’ attraction,” he stated.

He further emphasized that government performance must be supported by credible documentation and evidence that can be independently examined.

“Liberia is doing a lot, but if what we are doing is not documented, verified and made accessible in a timely manner, it will not count in these assessments,” Sando emphasized.

The proposal highlights a longstanding governance challenge: the ability of public institutions to generate information is not always matched by their capacity to organize, verify, update and make that information accessible for planning, evaluation and accountability.

A National Data Center, if properly designed and implemented, could help address fragmentation in government information systems by establishing common standards, improving coordination among institutions and strengthening the availability of reliable national statistics.

However, the proposal would require more than the establishment of a physical facility. Its effectiveness would depend on clear institutional authority, adequate financing, qualified personnel, data-sharing protocols, cybersecurity safeguards and mechanisms for ensuring the accuracy and independence of information supplied by participating institutions.

The suggested appointment of data coordinators across ministries, agencies and public corporations could provide an operational starting point by assigning clear responsibility for data collection, verification and reporting within individual institutions.

It would also be important to clarify how such a system would complement existing national statistical and information management institutions rather than create overlapping mandates or additional administrative structures.

Beyond the National Data Center proposal, the workshop identified four recommendations intended to strengthen Liberia’s CPIA performance.

First, the government was encouraged to establish an Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for coordinating and leading the CPIA process.

Second, the committee should develop a detailed action matrix covering each assessment cluster, with specific targets, responsible institutions and implementation timelines.

Third, progress should be reported monthly or every two months to the Minister of Finance and Development Planning to strengthen oversight and ensure that agreed reforms are implemented.

Fourth, the government should invest in the institutions responsible for producing national data and ensure that important information is updated and accessible through official government websites.

The recommendations point to the need for a more coordinated approach to institutional reform.

Rather than treating the CPIA as an assessment conducted periodically by external development partners, the proposed framework would integrate its requirements into routine government performance management.

The workshop referenced Rwanda as an example of a country that has incorporated CPIA considerations into regular government performance processes.

For Liberia, such an approach could help ministries and agencies identify weaknesses before assessment exercises, assign responsibility for corrective measures and track progress against agreed institutional targets.

Why the proposal matters for YEIB-MANCO

Sando’s intervention also reflected the strategic interest of YEIB-MANCO in Liberia’s broader development financing environment.

The institution, a non-bank development finance institution licensed by the Central Bank of Liberia and financed by the AfDB under the Program for Advancing Youth Entrepreneurship Investment (PAYEI), operates through three principal funding windows: the Investment Fund, Credit Guarantee Fund and Technical Assistance Fund.

Its mandate to support youth-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises places it within a development financing ecosystem where institutional performance, portfolio management and reliable data are essential.

The company’s activities, including its database of 1,124 applicants, information on women-owned businesses and financing requirements, and reported regional market participation by 199 businesses, could provide useful evidence of youth entrepreneurship activity and private-sector development.

Such information, if properly verified and integrated into national reporting systems, could help demonstrate the contribution of youth-focused financing interventions to employment, business growth and regional trade.

The relationship between YEIB-MANCO’s institutional performance and Liberia’s broader CPIA position is therefore relevant, although the company’s individual results should not be confused with the national assessment itself.

The CPIA evaluates the country’s policies and institutions across a broad range of criteria. YEIB-MANCO’s performance can contribute to evidence about development finance, governance and private-sector activity, but it does not independently determine Liberia’s overall rating.

Sando acknowledged this relationship, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the institution’s own governance, delivery and data systems.

“The CPIA shows clearly that the strength of our institutions determines how much development Liberia can attract. At YEIB we will continue to strengthen our governance, delivery and data systems so that we contribute to better scores and unlock more financing for young Liberian entrepreneurs,” he said.

He also reaffirmed the institution’s readiness to support any government-led CPIA coordination initiative, including through its experience in private-sector and youth entrepreneurship data.

The workshop’s significance ultimately lies in whether its recommendations translate into practical institutional reforms.

Liberia’s relatively stronger performance in monetary policy, alongside weaker scores in public-sector management and governance, suggests that improving the country’s development financing prospects will require sustained attention to the quality of public institutions.

A National Data Center could contribute to that effort, but it should form part of a wider reform agenda addressing institutional accountability, data reliability, public financial management and policy implementation.

The Government must also ensure that ministries and agencies have the technical capacity and resources to generate credible information, maintain updated records and respond to reporting requirements.

Equally important is the need to ensure that data systems are used not merely to improve international ratings but to strengthen domestic decision-making, public accountability and the delivery of services to citizens.

Better data should help the government identify development gaps, monitor public expenditure, evaluate projects and demonstrate whether national policies are producing measurable results.

For the AfDB and World Bank, the workshop provided an opportunity to clarify the relationship between institutional performance and concessional financing. For the Government, it presented a framework for coordinating reforms. For YEIB-MANCO, it reinforced the importance of credible institutional and private-sector data in expanding development finance.

The central challenge now is moving from recommendations to implementation, with clear responsibilities, measurable targets and sustained institutional commitment.

The country’s development financing prospects will depend not only on the resources it seeks from international partners, but also on the strength of the institutions, policies and evidence it can demonstrate. In that regard, a National Data Center could become an important instrument of reform—but its real value will be measured by the quality of decisions and public outcomes it helps deliver.