Mali, a landlocked and fragile country in the Sahel, stands out for the way it has become trapped in recurrent cycles of conflict and violence, despite its strategic location, abundant resources, and young population. Its development trajectory has not resulted in sustained progress for its citizens. As in 2015, Mali faces challenges in the economic, social, political, and human fronts. Without addressing these challenges, Mali may not be able to change its development path. The upsurge in violence, political instability after two institutional breaks, and the COVID-19 crisis complicate progress towards inclusive growth. This SCD Update identifies the main changes since 2015 and takes stock of three challenges: a fraying social contract, inadequate job creation, and lagging human capital outcomes. Improving the situation will not be easy. It would be necessary to work with a critical mass of reforms and filtering those interventions with a "social contract" lens to improve the sustainability of reforms. The SCD Update proposes three pathways:1) rebuild the capabilities of the social contract (state capacity, nonstate actors' capacity, and bargaining interface)
2) invest in human capital accumulation, especially for women and vulnerable groups
and 3) strengthen the ability of the private sector to create more and better jobs.