During its 2026 fiscal year, the World Bank attracted a record ₦112 billion in private capital for developing economies, more than tripling the volume achieved four years prior.
According to a statement released on Thursday, total financing and mobilisation across the World Bank Group surpassed ₦200 billion over the same twelve-month period.
The financial surge spanned multiple income brackets and geographic regions. Lower-middle-income countries saw private capital mobilisation climb to ₦37 billion from ₦14 billion in fiscal 2022, while upper-middle-income nations advanced to ₦50 billion from ₦12 billion. Also, low-income nations held steady at approximately ₦3 billion due to ongoing investment hurdles.
Meanwhile, Africa experienced a near 150 per cent expansion, with mobilised private funds rising to roughly ₦22 billion from ₦9 billion four years earlier. Furthermore, the institution issued in excess of ₦25 billion in guarantees during the fiscal year, comfortably outpacing its ₦20 billion target for 2030 four years ahead of schedule, propelled by the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform established in 2024.
This milestone stems from operational overhauls implemented over the past three years designed to streamline processes, foster closer collaboration between public and private branches, and broaden financial instruments. These measures included establishing a single point of contact per country, creating integrated development strategies, expanding local-currency financing and guarantees, mitigating foreign-exchange risks, and deploying equity instruments to engage institutional investors at scale.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga noted that the institution adjusted its operations to become “faster, simpler, and as one World Bank Group.” He added that numerical targets only matter if the funds are directed toward creating jobs and opportunities by dismantling barriers and expanding investor pools across developing markets.