By Mary Izuaka

 

The World Bank Group says it mobilised $112 billion in private capital for developing countries in fiscal year 2026, the highest in its history, as it intensifies efforts to drive job creation and economic growth.

In a statement on Thursday, the bank said private capital mobilisation (PCM) has more than tripled over the past four years, rising from $35 billion in FY22 to $112 billion in FY26.

Combined with the Group’s own financing, total financing and mobilisation in developing economies exceeded $200 billion in FY26.

The Bank said the growth was broad-based across income groups.

PCM to lower-middle-income countries rose from $14 billion in FY22 to $37 billion in FY26, nearly tripling, while mobilisation to upper-middle-income countries more than quadrupled from $12 billion to $50 billion.

In low-income countries, considered the most challenging setting for private capital, PCM was maintained at about $3 billion.

Across Africa, the World Bank said PCM rose from approximately $9 billion to $22 billion, an increase of nearly 150 per cent.

Reforms driving growth

The World Bank attributed the record performance to three years of internal reforms aimed at working more effectively with the private sector.

According to the Group, it became “faster and simpler,” brought its public and private sector arms closer together, and expanded tools available to investors. It also introduced a single point of contact in each country and developed integrated country strategies based on national development priorities.

The Bank said its Private Sector Investment Lab helped identify practical barriers to investment and developed a work plan to address them, including improving the business and regulatory environment, expanding guarantees and local-currency financing, addressing foreign-exchange challenges, increasing equity tools, and creating new channels for institutional investors.

Guarantees hit $25 billion

The Group also issued more than $25 billion in guarantees in FY26, surpassing its target of $20 billion in annual issuance by 2030, four years ahead of schedule.

The growth was led by the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, created in 2024 to provide clients and investors a single, simpler point of access to guarantee products across the institution.

“Three years ago, our shareholders and clients were clear: utilise World Bank Group financing and knowledge to mobilise more private capital and become a better partner to the private sector. We changed how we work to do that — faster, simpler, and as one World Bank Group,” President Ajay Banga said.

“The result is $112 billion mobilised this year, more than three times where we started. But the number only matters if the capital goes where it can create opportunity and jobs. That is the work ahead: keep removing barriers, keep expanding the pool of investors, and keep driving more capital into developing economies.”

Focus on jobs

The bank said job creation remains its central priority, noting that 1.2 billion young people in developing economies will reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 420 million jobs are projected to be created. It added that the private sector creates nine out of 10 jobs in these economies.

Its jobs strategy focuses on three drivers: investing in human and physical infrastructure; creating business-ready regulatory environments; and helping the private sector scale.

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The strategy targets five job-rich sectors: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing.

In FY26, 55 per cent of total financing — own account and capital mobilised — went to these sectors.

The bank said private investment is not concentrated only in the most accessible markets, as regional and local investors are increasingly complementing global capital in lower-income economies.

It added that it is now working to expand the investor base through its originate-to-distribute (O2D) model, which packages and distributes investments to institutional investors at greater scale.

“The ambition is straightforward: mobilise more capital, from more sources, and put more of it to work creating jobs and economic opportunity,” the statement said.