World Bank approves $1.25bn financing for Nigeria’s growth, jobs, reforms
The World Bank has approved $1.25 billion in development financing for Nigeria through the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration (NAIJA) Development Policy Financing operation, alongside endorsement of a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2026–2032. The financing supports government reforms to deepen capital markets, modernise regulations for the digital economy and e‑governance, expand energy access, improve investment climate, reduce trade barriers under ECOWAS and AfCFTA, improve access to quality agricultural seeds, and strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation. Under the CPF, the Bank aims to extend electricity to 32 million Nigerians, broadband to 58 million, improve health and nutrition services for 40 million, and boost productivity for 9.5 million farmers, building on recent macroeconomic gains such as stronger growth, higher reserves and improved investor confidence.
This package matters because it targets the structural constraints that have limited private‑sector‑led job creation despite recent macroeconomic stability. By unlocking private investment in energy, digital infrastructure and agriculture, the programme aims to create more and better jobs, strengthen economic resilience and reduce poverty. It also marks the second‑largest single World Bank facility for the Tinubu administration, following the $1.5 billion Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation DPF approved in June 2024.
Stakeholders should watch for concrete reform roll‑outs—such as streamlined digital‑economy regulations, expanded power‑sector access and improved agricultural input distribution—and consider how improved infrastructure and financing conditions could affect their businesses, livelihoods or investment decisions. How might these reforms affect your business or livelihood, and what steps can you take to benefit from improved infrastructure and access to finance?