The World Bank Group mobilised a record $112 billion in private capital for developing economies in fiscal 2026, more than tripling the amount raised four years earlier, as it stepped up efforts to drive investment and job creation.

Private capital mobilisation rose from $35 billion in financial year 2022 to $112 billion in FY26, while total financing and mobilisation by the World Bank Group exceeded $200 billion during the year, the institution said in a press release on September 17.

The increase was broad-based across income groups and regions. Mobilisation in lower-middle-income countries climbed from $14 billion in FY22 to $37 billion in FY26, while funding for upper-middle-income countries rose from $12 billion to $50 billion.

In low-income countries, where attracting private investment remains particularly difficult, mobilisation remained at about $3 billion.

Across Africa, private capital mobilisation increased by nearly 150 per cent, from about $9 billion in FY22 to $22 billion in FY26, the World Bank said.

The rise followed three years of reforms aimed at making the World Bank Group faster and simpler in working with the private sector, while bringing its public- and private-sector operations closer together.

The group has also expanded guarantees, local-currency financing and equity instruments, while working to address foreign-exchange constraints and improve business and regulatory environments.

The World Bank Group issued more than $25 billion in guarantees in FY26, exceeding its annual target of $20 billion set for 2030 four years ahead of schedule.

Much of the increase was driven 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: utilise World Bank Group financing and knowledge to mobilise more private capital and become a better partner to the private sector,’ World Bank Group president Ajay Banga said.

‘We changed how we work to do that—faster, simpler, and as one World Bank Group,’ he said, adding that the $112 billion mobilised in FY26 was ‘more than three times where we started’.

Banga said the focus now was to ensure that the capital reached areas where it could create economic opportunities and jobs.

Job creation is a central priority for the World Bank Group as developing economies face a widening gap between the number of young people entering the workforce and the jobs available.

About 1.2 billion young people in developing economies are expected to reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 420 million jobs are projected to be created, according to the World Bank.

The private sector currently accounts for nine out of 10 jobs in developing economies, it said.

The group’s jobs strategy focuses on investment in human and physical infrastructure, business-ready regulatory environments and helping private companies expand.

It has identified infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing as five sectors with significant potential to generate investment and employment.

In FY26, 55 per cent of the World Bank Group’s total financing, including its own resources and mobilised capital, went to these sectors.

The World Bank said private investment was also reaching lower-income economies, where regional and local investors were increasingly complementing global capital in financing businesses and supporting job creation.

The group is now seeking to broaden the pool of investors through its originate-to-distribute initiative, which aims to package and distribute investments at greater scale to institutional investors.

The initiative is intended to connect a larger share of the world’s long-term capital with investment opportunities in developing economies, the World Bank said.