The World Bank Group has announced a major initiative to mobilize up to $5.79 billion in private sector financing for Nigeria, targeting high-impact investments across telecommunications, agriculture, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The announcement was made during a high-level briefing at the World Bank Resident Mission in Abuja at 10:00 AM WAT, where institutional representatives detailed plans to leverage public-sector reforms and risk-mitigation instruments to unlock substantial private capital for Africa’s largest economy.
Speaking on behalf of the multilateral institution, Ndiamé Diop, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, outlined the strategic framework designed to crowd in private capital.
”Nigeria’s infrastructure and financing gaps are not abstract challenges, they dictate whether crops reach markets, businesses expand, and young people gain access to economic opportunity,” stated Diop. “By combining policy reforms, investment platforms, and commercial risk mitigation, the World Bank Group is channeling capital toward the foundational sectors of Nigeria’s economy.”
A key pillar of the $5.79 billion drive is the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE) Project. Executed as a public-private partnership (PPP), the initiative will build and operate a nationwide open-access fiber-optic network.
The first financing phase aims to mobilize $156 million in private equity, with total private investment projected to reach $1.1 billion by 2030. The network is expected to extend affordable broadband access to an additional 58 million Nigerians, connecting thousands of public schools, health centers, and government offices.
In agriculture, the World Bank Group is deploying its AgriConnect platform alongside the Agricultural Value Chains for Growth (AGROW) Project. The initiative targets over one million smallholder farmers and seeks to unlock $220 million from agribusiness firms and an additional $22 million from seed producers to strengthen local fertilizer, seed, and distribution channels.
To address financing bottlenecks faced by small enterprises, the strategy builds on recent interventions, including the $500 million FINCLUDE project aimed at expanding credit lines for women-owned businesses and agricultural MSMEs.
Highlighting the role of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private sector arm, spokespersons highlighted the IFC’s recent anchor investment in a $1.2 billion bond issuance by IHS Towers, which successfully mobilized over $1.1 billion in commercial capital for telecoms infrastructure.
World Bank officials attributed the increased capacity to attract international private capital to key macroeconomic reforms enacted in Nigeria since mid-2023, including foreign exchange unification and energy subsidy removals.
Implementation of the various project phases is slated to roll out across the 2026 fiscal year.
