The Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, Anna Bjerde, is in Nigeria for a three-day visit to deepen engagement on accelerating economic growth and job creation.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the World Bank said the visit, scheduled for February 1, 2026, will focus on how the World Bank Group can best support Nigeria’s reform agenda, with consultations feeding into its forthcoming Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria.
According to the Bank, the new strategy places jobs, energy access, and private-sector-led growth at the centre of Nigeria’s development priorities. It said discussions during the visit will gather feedback on improving the enabling environment, unleashing human capital, building resilience, and maximising private capital.
“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.
It added that the visit would also underscore Nigeria’s role in advancing global development initiatives, including Mission 300, a joint World Bank Group and African Development Bank programme aimed at connecting 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.
Under the initiative, Nigeria’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scaleup programme is expected to provide household energy access to 17.5 million people through mini-grids and solar home systems.
The bank said talks would further cover progress on digital connectivity, power sector reforms, social protection and human capital outcomes, alongside AgriConnect, an initiative designed to turn 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; the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso; and the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
She will be joined 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 $16bn, covering education, health, social protection, energy, and infrastructure, alongside policy advisory and institutional strengthening.
It added that the IFC’s investment portfolio in Nigeria stands at over $1.2bn, with a focus on diversified growth, inclusion, sustainability, and job creation, particularly in energy, finance, agribusiness, and manufacturing.
As of June 30, 2025, Nigeria’s external debt stood at $46.98bn, according to the Debt Management Office. The World Bank Group remains Nigeria’s largest single creditor, accounting for $19.39bn of the total, comprising $18.04bn from the IDA and $1.35bn from the IBRD.
This represents 41.3 per cent of the country’s external debt, underscoring the bank’s dominant role in financing Nigeria’s development initiatives.
