Anna Bjerde, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, arrived in Nigeria on Sunday, February 1, 2026, to begin a three-day visit centred on shaping the institution’s next strategic engagement with Africa’s most populous nation at a time of intensified economic reforms.
The visit focuses heavily on consultations for the World Bank Group’s forthcoming Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Nigeria, a multi-year plan that will guide financing and technical support with emphasis on job creation, expanded electricity access, and private sector-driven growth.
Nigeria has been a major partner of the World Bank since joining the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in 1961 and the International Development Association (IDA) the following year. Over six decades, the relationship has evolved through successive Country Partnership Frameworks that have channelled billions of dollars into infrastructure, education, health, agriculture and governance reforms.
The most recent CPF, covering fiscal years 2021 to 2025, prioritised poverty reduction, inclusive growth and resilience in the face of shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global commodity price volatility. With that framework nearing completion, the new CPF will build on ongoing reforms while responding to persistent challenges including high unemployment, limited electricity access and rising living costs.
Bjerde’s schedule includes meetings with Vice President Kashim Shettima, Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, Central Bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso, and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. She will also hold discussions with private sector leaders and civil society representatives.
The consultations will revolve around four core pillars of the emerging framework: improving the business environment, unleashing human capital potential, strengthening economic and social resilience, and maximising private capital mobilisation.
According to the World Bank, the talks will examine how continued reforms in the power sector, agriculture, digital infrastructure and financial markets can generate large-scale employment and foster inclusive development. Nigeria’s contribution to broader global development goals is also on the agenda.
A key highlight will be progress on Mission 300, the joint World Bank Group and African Development Bank initiative launched to connect 300 million people across Africa to electricity by 2030. Within this programme, particular attention will turn to Nigeria’s $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, which aims to provide clean, reliable power to more than 17.5 million Nigerians through mini-grids and solar home systems.
Agriculture and food security will feature prominently as well, with discussions expected to cover the AgriConnect initiative designed to modernise smallholder farming, create viable commercial opportunities, boost incomes and expand export potential.
Other areas under review include power sector liberalisation, digital connectivity expansion, social protection programmes and human capital development outcomes.
Bjerde is accompanied by a high-level World Bank Group delegation that includes 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). Their presence highlights the coordinated approach across the group’s institutions in supporting development finance and private investment.
Nigeria currently maintains an active World Bank portfolio valued at over $16 billion, spanning projects in education, health, social protection, energy and infrastructure implemented at both federal and state levels. The IFC’s investment exposure in the country exceeds $1.2 billion, concentrated in energy access, financing for micro, small and medium enterprises, agribusiness, manufacturing and sustainable employment generation.
