The World Bank Group has approved a new Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria covering 2026 to 2032, alongside a fresh $1.25 billion financing package designed to accelerate private investment and job creation across Africa’s largest economy.
Details Of The Financing Package
The approval, announced on Wednesday, channels the funding through the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration programme, known as NAIJA. This Development Policy Financing operation forms a central part of the broader Country Partnership Framework, which sets out the World Bank’s strategy for engaging with Nigeria over the next six years.
The financing will back government reforms across several sectors, including capital markets, digital economy regulation, electricity expansion, agricultural inputs, and domestic revenue mobilisation. It will also support Nigeria’s implementation of regional trade agreements under the Economic Community of West African States and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Targets Set Under The New Framework
The World Bank has outlined specific targets tied to the partnership. The programme aims to expand electricity access to about 32 million Nigerians and extend broadband connectivity to 58 million people. It also targets improved health and nutrition services for 40 million citizens and support for 9.5 million farmers through better agricultural productivity and access to quality inputs.
These targets reflect an effort to translate recent macroeconomic gains into tangible improvements in living standards for ordinary Nigerians, particularly as the country’s working-age population continues to expand rapidly.
Context Within Nigeria’s Borrowing Profile
This financing represents the second-largest single World Bank facility secured under the current administration, following a $1.5 billion Development Policy Financing operation approved in June 2024. The approval also comes amid public criticism over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, with some Nigerians questioning the country’s growing dependence on external borrowing and calling for greater transparency on how previous World Bank loans have been utilised.
In response to these concerns, the World Bank maintained that the new facility is structured to finance reforms strengthening the foundations of economic growth rather than to fund recurrent government expenditure.
Broader Implications For Private Sector Investment
The World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, managed by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency under the new partnership framework, is expected to increase support for priority sectors including financial services and infrastructure. This is intended to help attract private investment and stimulate job creation across the economy.
As Africa’s most populous nation and one of its largest economies, Nigeria’s execution of this private sector-led jobs strategy could influence how international financiers approach similar engagements elsewhere in the region, particularly as multilateral institutions increasingly shift toward frameworks that aim to de-risk environments for private capital rather than substitute for it directly.
