COLOMBO – The World Bank Group (WBG) mobilized a record $112 billion in private capital for developing economies in fiscal year 2026, marking the highest volume in its history and more than tripling the $35 billion raised in FY22, the Group said in a media release.
Combined with the institution’s own resources, total financing and capital mobilization for developing economies surpassed $200 billion in FY26, WBG said.
The increase was recorded across income groups and regions, it said, explaining that private capital mobilization for lower-middle-income countries rose from $14 billion in FY2022 to $37 billion in FY2026, while mobilization for upper-middle-income countries increased from $12 billion to $50 billion.
In low-income countries, where attracting private investment remains particularly challenging, mobilization remained at around $3 billion, WBG said, noting that across Africa, private capital mobilization increased from approximately $9 billion in FY2022 to $22 billion in FY2026, representing an increase of nearly 150%.
The World Bank Group attributed the growth to reforms introduced over the past three years to make its operations faster and simpler, strengthen coordination between its public and private-sector arms and expand the financial instruments available to investors.
The Group said it had also introduced a single point of contact for its public- and private-sector operations in individual countries and begun developing integrated country strategies based on national development needs and priorities.
The Private Sector Investment Lab, the WBG said, had complemented these efforts by identifying practical barriers to investment in developing economies and developing measures to address them.
These measures include improving business and regulatory environments, expanding guarantees and local-currency financing, addressing foreign-exchange constraints, increasing the use of equity instruments and developing new mechanisms to enable institutional investors to participate at scale.
The World Bank Group said it had also issued more than $25 billion in guarantees during FY2026, exceeding its target of $20 billion in annual issuance by 2030, four years ahead of schedule.
The growth in guarantees was led by the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform, established in 2024 to provide clients and investors with a single access point for guarantee products across the institution.
“Three years ago, our shareholders and clients were clear: utilize World Bank Group financing and knowledge to mobilize more private capital and become a better partner to the private sector,” World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said, explaining, “We changed how we work to do that – faster, simpler, and as one World Bank Group. The result is $112 billion mobilised this year, more than three times where we started.”
Banga said the focus would now be on directing more capital towards developing economies to create jobs and expand economic opportunities.
Job creation is a central priority for the World Bank Group. It estimates 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.
The private sector accounts for about nine out of every 10 jobs in developing economies, according to the Group.
The World Bank Group’s jobs strategy focuses on three areas: investment in human and physical infrastructure, creation of business-ready regulatory environments and support for private-sector expansion.
It has identified five sectors with significant potential for investment and employment: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing.
In FY2026, 55% of the Group’s total financing, including its own financing and mobilized private capital, was directed towards these job-rich sectors.
The World Bank Group said private investment was also reaching lower-income economies, with regional and local investors increasingly complementing international capital in financing businesses and supporting job creation.
The Group is now seeking to expand the pool of investors through its originate-to-distribute (O2D) initiative, which aims to package and distribute investments in ways that enable institutional investors to participate at greater scale.
The initiative is intended to connect more of the world’s long-term capital with investment opportunities in developing economies, while broadening the sources of financing available for businesses and job creation.
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