The World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, has begun a three-day visit to Nigeria as the country intensifies efforts to translate ongoing economic reforms into faster growth, wider energy access and large-scale job creation.

The visit, which commenced on Sunday, February 1, 2026, comes amid renewed moves by the Federal Government to stabilise the macro-economy, crowd in private capital and unlock productivity across key sectors.

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.

During the visit, Bjerde will engage senior government officials, private sector leaders and civil society groups to gather inputs around four core pillars of the framework: improving the enabling business environment, unleashing human capital, strengthening economic and social resilience, and maximising private capital mobilisation.

The World Bank said discussions would focus on how reforms in power, agriculture, digital infrastructure and financial markets can accelerate employment generation and support inclusive growth in a country grappling with high unemployment and rising living costs.
Nigeria’s role in advancing global development priorities is also expected to feature prominently.

Flagship initiatives, including Mission 300—a joint World Bank Group and African Development Bank programme to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030—will be reviewed, with particular focus 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 mini-grids and solar home systems.

Agriculture and food security are also expected to dominate discussions, notably 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 during the 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), underscoring the Group’s coordinated approach to development finance and 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 federal and state levels.

The IFC’s investment exposure in Nigeria exceeds US$1.2 billion, with emphasis on energy access, MSME financing, agribusiness, manufacturing and sustainable job creation.

The visit underscores sustained international engagement with Nigeria’s reform agenda, even as pressure mounts for measurable gains in growth, employment and living standards.