The World Bank Group mobilised about $22 billion in private capital for Africa in its 2026 fiscal year, up from approximately $9 billion four years earlier, as it intensifies efforts to attract private investment to developing economies and create jobs.
The World Bank, in a statement it issued on Thursday, noted that the increase, representing nearly 150 per cent growth since fiscal 2022, formed part of a record $112 billion in private capital mobilised globally by the World Bank Group during the year.
The $112 billion was the highest annual amount in the institution’s history and more than three times the $35 billion mobilised in 2022.
For Africa, the development is significant as governments across the continent face the challenge of creating enough jobs for a rapidly growing young population while dealing with infrastructure gaps, limited access to finance and investment risks.
The World Bank Group said its focus was increasingly shifting towards using its own financing, guarantees and technical expertise to bring more private investors into developing economies.
When it combined its own financing with mobilised private capital, the World Bank Group said total financing and mobilisation in developing economies exceeded $200 billion in fiscal 2026.
The increase in Africa was part of a broader rise across developing economies.
Private capital mobilisation in lower-middle-income countries increased from $14 billion in fiscal 2022 to $37 billion in fiscal 2026, while mobilisation in upper-middle-income countries rose from $12 billion to $50 billion.
However, the volume remained about $3 billion in low-income countries, reflecting the difficulty of attracting private investment to some of the world’s poorest and highest-risk economies.
The World Bank Group said the increase followed three years of changes designed to make it faster and simpler for governments and private investors to work with the institution.
The reforms brought the World Bank Group’s public and private-sector operations closer together, with a single point of contact established in each country and integrated strategies developed around individual countries’ needs and development priorities.
The institution also expanded the investment tools available to the private sector, including guarantees, local-currency financing and equity instruments.
It has also been working to address foreign-exchange risks and improve business and regulatory conditions that can discourage private investment in developing economies.
The Private Sector Investment Lab has contributed by identifying practical barriers that prevent investors from committing capital to developing countries and developing measures to address them.
Another major area of expansion has been guarantees. The World Bank Group issued more than $25 billion in guarantees in fiscal 2026, exceeding its target of $20 billion in annual issuance by 2030. The target was therefore reached four years ahead of schedule.
Much of the growth came through the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, established in 2024 to provide governments and investors with a single access point to guarantee products across the institution.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said the increase followed a clear demand from shareholders and clients for the institution to do more to attract private capital.
‘Three years ago, our shareholders and clients were clear: utilise World Bank Group financing and knowledge to mobilise more private capital and become a better partner to the private sector,’ Banga said.
He said the institution responded by changing how it worked, making its operations ‘faster, simpler, and as one World Bank Group.’
Banga, however, said the volume of capital mobilised should not be viewed in isolation from its development impact. ‘But the number only matters if the capital goes where it can create opportunity and jobs,’ he said.
For Nigeria and other African economies, job creation remains one of the strongest reasons for attracting more private investment.
The World Bank Group estimates that 1.2 billion young people in developing economies will reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 420 million jobs are projected to be created.
The private sector currently creates nine out of every 10 jobs in developing economies, making investment in businesses and productive sectors central to efforts to close the employment gap.
The World Bank Group’s jobs strategy focuses on three areas: investment in human and physical infrastructure, creating business-ready regulatory environments and helping private businesses expand.
Five sectors have strong potential to generate jobs and attract investment at scale.
They are infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing.
In fiscal 2026, 55 per cent of the World Bank Group’s total financing, including its own financing and mobilised private capital, went to these five sectors.
The focus is particularly relevant for African economies such as Nigeria, where infrastructure, energy, agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing remain important areas for expanding productive capacity and employment.
The World Bank Group said private investment was also reaching lower-income economies rather than being concentrated only in the most accessible markets.
It said regional and local investors were increasingly complementing international capital in financing businesses and supporting job creation.
The institution is now seeking to widen the pool of investors through its originate-to-distribute initiative, under which it is developing ways to package and distribute investments for institutional investors.
The approach is intended to connect more of the world’s long-term investment capital with opportunities in developing economies.
For Africa, where the need for infrastructure, business expansion and employment remains substantial, the initiative could provide another channel for bringing institutional capital into productive investments.
The World Bank Group said its objective was to mobilise more capital from more sources and put more of it to work in developing economies, particularly in areas capable of generating businesses, jobs and wider economic opportunities