World Bank Commits $2.5bn To Nigerian Suppliers In 5 Years, Mobilises $5bn Private Capital

The World Bank Group said it had committed more than $2.5 billion to Nigerian suppliers over the past five years, funding projects spanning infrastructure, healthcare and education, as its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, mobilised $5 billion in private capital into the country last year to support businesses and job creation.

Speaking at a seminar on procurement and investment opportunities under World Bank Group-financed projects, vice president, Operations Policy and Country Services at the World Bank, Gallina Andronova Vincelette, said Nigerian companies have already benefited significantly from the Bank’s procurement activities.

Vincelette noted that over 60 per cent of the contracts were awarded for civil works, including the construction of roads, bridges, hospitals and schools. “Over the past five years, Nigeria-based suppliers have been awarded more than 6,800 World Bank-financed contracts, which is a total of sub-Saharan. 5 billion.”

Vincelette added that opportunities also exist beyond Nigeria, urging local companies to look across the continent. She said that over the same five-year period, the World Bank financed projects across Africa awarded more than 9,000 contracts valued at close to $45 billion.

Commenting on the Bank’s commitment, director for Central Africa and Nigeria at the IFC, Dahlia Khalifa, said the institution remains focused on mobilising private capital into Nigeria, with job creation as a core objective.

“IFC is very committed to Nigeria. We’ve been here for decades and we hope to be here for decades further,” Khalifa said, noting that IFC’s current portfolio in Nigeria stands at $1.3 billion from its own balance sheet, noting that this has been leveraged to attract much larger volumes of private capital.

“Last year alone, we brought about $5 billion to Nigeria and that has been the case for the past three or four years. But that’s not enough. Our ambition is much higher. Our ambition is to mobilise as much private capital to Nigeria as possible to help grow businesses and create jobs,” she said.

In his opening remarks, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, highlighted the size of the World Bank’s engagement with Nigeria, describing it as significant but capable of further expansion.

He said the World Bank recently presented a portfolio of over $17 billion to the National Economic Council, chaired by the Vice President and comprising all state governors. “We appreciate the size of this portfolio, even though we believe that given our size, we can do more,” Bagudu said.

Describing the seminar as a strategic effort to encourage Nigerian companies to see World Bank procurement not only as a local opportunity but as an entry point into global procurement markets, he said “our president believes in our capacity. Nigerian entrepreneurs are celebrated everywhere. We believe our construction companies, artisans and service providers can compete globally.”

The seminar, organised by the World Bank Group, was aimed at showcasing available procurement and investment opportunities, while promoting transparency, capacity building and increased participation of small and medium enterprises in public procurement across sub-Saharan Africa.

Raising concerns about barriers facing small businesses, Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Chinyere Almona, said the high cost of finance remains a major bottleneck limiting SME participation in procurement processes.

“It is often difficult for banks to grant facilities to SMEs”, she said. ALmona also pointed to limited visibility of procurement opportunities, noting that many businesses are unaware of when contracts are open for bidding.

Almona added that changes introduced by the World Bank to its procurement process in 2025 have addressed some longstanding impediments, describing them as evidence of the Bank’s responsiveness to stakeholder feedback.