World Bank Group to Invest $57bn in Nigeria and Other Sub-Saharan Africa

World Bank Group to Invest $57bn in Nigeria and Other Sub-Saharan Africa

The World Bank Group on Sunday announced its plan to invest the sum of $57 billion in Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The new investment to be pooled together from various arms of the World Bank Group was announced following a meeting with finance ministers from the 20 biggest economies and central bank governors.

A statement by the World Bank revealed that up to $45bn will be drawn from the International Development Association (IDA) which makes funding available to the world’s poorest countries.

Another “$8 billion in private sector investments” will come from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector arm of the bank group, while the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide $4 billion.

The bank group stated that the bank’s development partners had in December 2016 agreed to pool $75bn for the IDA, sixty percent of which is expected to go round countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The funding is to be made available between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, said: “This represents an unprecedented opportunity to change the development trajectory of the countries in the region. With this commitment, we will work with our clients to substantially expand programmes in education, basic health services, clean water and sanitation, agriculture, business climate, infrastructure and institutional reform.”

Vanguard quotes Kim as adding that the new investment by the World Bank Group “will help African countries continue to grow, create opportunities for their citizens, and build resilience to shocks and crises.”

There have been concerns in the recent past about Nigeria’s ability to receive funding from the World Bank group for failing to show a viable economic plan.

The federal government however recently released what it termed an Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which has been mostly received with a measure of hope in the international community.

Finance minister, Kemi Adeosun and other government officials have also over time reiterated Nigeria’s willingness to borrow from the World Bank and China to fund infrastructural projects.