The World Bank Group attracted a record $112bn in private capital for developing economies in its 2026 fiscal year, more than tripling the amount mobilised four years earlier.
The lender disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that private capital mobilisation rose from $35bn in fiscal 2022 to $112bn in fiscal 2026.
It added that total financing and mobilisation by the World Bank Group in developing economies exceeded $200bn during the year.
According to the institution, the increase in private capital mobilisation was recorded across different income groups, with lower-middle-income countries accounting for $37bn in fiscal 2026, up from $14bn in fiscal 2022.
Similarly, mobilisation in upper-middle-income countries increased to $50bn from $12bn over the same period.
In low-income countries, where attracting private investment remains more challenging, the level of mobilisation was maintained at about $3bn.
Africa also recorded a substantial increase, with private capital mobilisation rising to approximately $22bn in fiscal 2026 from $9bn four years earlier, representing an increase of nearly 150 per cent.
World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, attributed the increase to reforms introduced to make the institution’s operations faster and simpler while strengthening collaboration between its public and private-sector arms.
“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,” Banga said.
He said the $112bn figure represented significant progress but stressed that the ultimate objective was to ensure the capital reached economies where it could support economic opportunities and job creation.
“The result is $112bn mobilised this year, more than three times what we started. But the number only matters if the capital goes where it can create opportunity and jobs,” the World Bank president stated.
“That is the work ahead: keep removing barriers, keep expanding the pool of investors, and keep driving more capital into developing economies,” he added.
The World Bank attributed the growth to changes introduced over the past three years to make its operations faster and simpler, improve coordination between its public and private-sector arms and expand the financial instruments available to investors.
The institution said it had introduced a single point of contact for its public and private-sector activities in individual countries, while also developing integrated country strategies based on local development priorities.
The reforms included expanding guarantees and local-currency financing, addressing foreign-exchange risks, increasing the use of equity instruments and developing new mechanisms to enable institutional investors to participate in developing-market investments at scale.
The World Bank also issued more than $25bn in guarantees during the fiscal year, surpassing its target of $20bn in annual issuance by 2030, four years ahead of schedule.
It said the growth in guarantees was driven by the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, established in 2024 to provide clients and investors with a single access point to guarantee products across the institution.
The increased mobilisation forms part of the World Bank Group’s broader effort to deploy its financing and risk-sharing instruments to attract private investment alongside public development funding.
The institution said the approach was particularly important in economies where perceived investment risks continue to constrain access to capital.
