The World Bank Group says it mobilised $112 billion in private capital in the last financial year, a threefold increase from about $35 billion in the 2022 financial year.

The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, said this at the 2026 World Bank Group/IMF Meetings Plenary on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mr Ajay said that the institution’s total financing, including its own resources and mobilised private capital, exceeded $230 billion. He said the increased financing was aimed at addressing the global jobs challenge, as about 1.2 billion young people were projected to enter the labour market over the next 15 years, against only 400 million expected jobs.

“The World Bank Group has introduced reforms to improve efficiency, reduce project preparation time from 19 months to nine months, and create more than 100 billion dollars in additional lending capacity over a decade.

“It is also strengthening partnerships with other multilateral development banks to mobilise investment and accelerate development. Infrastructure, policy reforms and private-sector investment are key pillars of the group’s job creation strategy,” he said.

He said the World Bank Group committed $40 billion to infrastructure and human development in the last financial year, while 30 per cent of its public-sector financing supported policy and institutional reforms.

On energy access, Mr Ajay said the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank were working to provide electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030 under the Mission 300 initiative. He said that 59 million people had so far gained access to electricity through the initiative.

The president also highlighted programmes targeting water security, agriculture and healthcare, with the group aiming to expand access to clean water, support smallholder farmers and improve affordable healthcare.

He said the World Bank Group was also developing strategies to help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises access finance, connect with markets and create jobs, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected countries.

He said that governments, private investors, philanthropists and technology providers must work together to expand employment opportunities and promote sustainable development.

“A job is not a statistic. A job is dignity. Addressing the projected global jobs gap is critical to ensuring that young people can build sustainable futures. The jobs gap is a projection. It does not have to be our future,” he said.

(NAN)