Development projects undertaken with Global Bank financing typically include money to pay for materials and consulting services. Global Bank, like the multilateral development banks (MDBs)1, provides business opportunities for business and other companies by funding projects in developing countries in a wide range of sectors. According to some estimates, multilateral development banks lending and grants between 2011 and 2015 could exceed $500 billion. These contracts are awarded primarily through international competitive bidding processes. However, Global Bank allows the borrowing country to give some preference to domestic firms in awarding contracts for Global Bank-financed projects in order to help spur development; and increasingly, more contracts are being awarded domestically, on a noncompetitive basis.  1The term "multilateral development banks" includes International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Development Association, International Finance Corporation, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, African Development Bank, African Development Fund, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa and Inter-American Investment Corporation.