The Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, Anna Bjerde, has begun a three-day visit to Nigeria as the country steps up efforts to turn ongoing economic reforms into faster growth, wider energy access and large-scale job creation.
The visit, which started on Sunday, February 1, 2026, comes at a time when the Federal Government is pushing fresh measures to stabilise the macro-economy, attract private capital and unlock productivity across major sectors of the economy.
At the centre of Bjerde’s engagements are consultations on the World Bank Group’s forthcoming Country Partnership Framework, CPF, for Nigeria, a strategic roadmap that prioritises job creation, expanded energy access and private sector-led growth.
According to the World Bank, the Managing Director will hold discussions with senior government officials, private sector leaders and civil society groups to gather inputs around four core pillars of the framework.
These pillars include improving the enabling business environment, unleashing human capital, strengthening economic and social resilience, and maximising private capital mobilisation across the economy.
The World Bank said the discussions would focus on how reforms in power, agriculture, digital infrastructure and financial markets can accelerate employment generation and support inclusive growth, as Nigeria grapples with high unemployment and rising living costs.
Nigeria’s role in advancing global development priorities is also expected to feature prominently during the engagements.
Key flagship initiatives, including “Mission 300”, a joint World Bank Group and African Development Bank programme to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, are expected to be reviewed during the visit.
Particular attention will be placed on Nigeria’s US$750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up, DARES, project.
The DARES programme aims to deliver clean and reliable electricity to more than 17.5 million Nigerians through the deployment of mini-grids and solar home systems across underserved communities.
Agriculture and food security are also expected to dominate discussions, especially through the AgriConnect initiative, which seeks to transform smallholder farming into a commercially viable source of jobs, higher incomes and export growth.
Progress on power sector reforms, digital connectivity, social protection systems and human capital outcomes will equally be assessed as part of the three-day 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 is accompanied by senior World Bank Group executives, including Ousmane Diagana, Vice President for Western and Central Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, Vice President for Africa at the International Finance Corporation, IFC, and Ed Mountfield, Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, MIGA.
The World Bank noted that this high-level delegation underscores the Group’s coordinated approach to development finance and the mobilisation of private investment.
Nigeria currently has an active World Bank portfolio valued at over US$16 billion, supporting projects in education, health, social protection, energy and infrastructure at both federal and state levels.
The IFC’s investment exposure in Nigeria exceeds US$1.2 billion, with a focus on energy access, MSME financing, agribusiness, manufacturing and sustainable job creation nationwide.
The visit underscores sustained international engagement with Nigeria’s reform agenda, amid growing pressure for measurable gains in economic growth, employment and improved living standards.
