The Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, Anna Bjerde, is in Nigeria for a three-day visit aimed at strengthening collaboration on boosting economic growth and job creation.
The World Bank, in a statement on Sunday, said the visit, which begins on February 1, 2026, will explore how the World Bank Group can best support Nigeria’s reform agenda. Insights from the consultations will inform the Bank’s upcoming Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria.
The Bank noted that the new strategy prioritises job creation, energy access, and private-sector-driven growth.
Discussions during the visit will focus on enhancing the business environment, unlocking human capital, building resilience, and mobilising private investment.
“World Bank Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde will begin a three-day visit to Nigeria on February 1, 2026, to discuss how the World Bank Group can best support the country’s efforts to accelerate growth and job creation.
“During the visit, Ms Bjerde will meet with senior government officials, private sector leaders, and civil society organisations as part of consultations on the World Bank Group’s upcoming Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria. The new strategy places jobs, energy access, and private sector-led growth at the centre of Nigeria’s development agenda.
“The consultations will seek feedback on four areas: improving the enabling environment, unleashing human capital, building resilience, and maximising private capital,” the statement read.
The Bank said the visit would also highlight Nigeria’s role in promoting global development initiatives, including Mission 300, a joint World Bank and African Development Bank programme to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
Under the initiative, Nigeria’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme aims to provide household energy access to 17.5 million people using mini-grids and solar home systems.
The Bank said discussions will also cover progress on digital connectivity, power sector reforms, social protection, and human capital development, alongside AgriConnect, an initiative aimed at transforming smallholder farming into a commercially viable source of jobs, higher incomes, and food security.
During the visit, Bjerde is scheduled to meet Vice President Kashim Shettima; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Olayemi Cardoso; and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
She will be accompanied by Ousmane Diagana, Vice President for Western and Central Africa at the World Bank; Ethiopis Tafara, Vice President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation; and Ed Mountfield, Vice President at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
The World Bank noted that its active portfolio in Nigeria exceeds $16 billion, spanning education, health, social protection, energy, and infrastructure, as well as policy advisory and institutional strengthening.
It added that the International Finance Corporation has an investment portfolio of over $1.2 billion in Nigeria, focusing on diversified growth, inclusion, sustainability, and job creation, particularly in energy, finance, agribusiness, and manufacturing.
According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s external debt stood at $46.98 billion as of June 30, 2025.
The World Bank Group remains the country’s largest single creditor, accounting for $19.39 billion, $18.04 billion from the IDA and $1.35 billion from the IBRD.
