The World Bank Group said it mobilized more private capital for developing economies in fiscal year 2026 than at any point in its history. It also issued a record volume of guarantees, advancing a long-standing push to bring more private investment alongside the institution’s own financing and expertise.
According to the Group, private capital mobilization has more than tripled over the past four years, rising from $35 billion in FY22 to $112 billion in FY26. Combined with the institution’s own financing, total financing and mobilization in developing economies climbed to well above $200 billion in FY26.
The increase was broad-based. In lower-middle-income countries, private capital mobilization rose from $14 billion to $37 billion. In upper-middle-income countries, it increased from $12 billion to $50 billion. In low-income countries, among the most difficult environments for private capital, the figure held at about $3 billion. Across Africa, it grew from roughly $9 billion to $22 billion, an increase of nearly 150%.
The World Bank Group said the outcome reflects three years of internal changes aimed at working more effectively with the private sector. Those changes included making operations faster and simpler, bringing the public and private arms of the institution closer together, and expanding the range of tools available to investors. The Group introduced a single point of contact in each country and began developing integrated country strategies based on local needs and development priorities.
The effort was also supported by the Private Sector Investment Lab, which focused on identifying practical barriers holding back investment in developing economies and drew up a plan to address them. Across the institution, the Group has continued to improve business and regulatory conditions, expand guarantees and local-currency financing, address foreign-exchange challenges, increase the use of equity tools, and develop new ways for institutional investors to participate at scale.
In FY26, the Group issued more than $25 billion in guarantees, surpassing its goal of $20 billion in annual issuance by 2030 four years ahead of schedule. A major driver of that growth was the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform. Created in 2024, the platform gives clients and investors a simpler, single access point to guarantee products across the institution.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said shareholders and clients had made clear three years ago that the institution should use its financing and knowledge to mobilize more private capital and become a stronger partner for the private sector. He said the changes in how the Group operates helped raise this year’s mobilization to $112 billion, more than three times the starting point. He added that the figure matters only if the capital is directed where it can create opportunity and jobs.
Job creation remains the Group’s central priority. In developing economies, 1.2 billion young people are expected to reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while only around 420 million jobs are projected to be created. The private sector accounts for nine out of 10 jobs in those economies.
The Group’s jobs strategy is built around three reinforcing pillars: investing in human and physical infrastructure, creating business-ready regulatory environments, and helping the private sector scale up. It is focused on five job-rich sectors where these foundations can unlock investment and employment at scale: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing.
In FY26, 55% of total financing — both the Group’s own and mobilized capital — went to those sectors. The institution said private investment is not being concentrated only in the easiest markets, but is increasingly reaching lower-income economies as regional and local investors play a bigger role alongside global capital.
The next step for the World Bank Group is to widen the investor base. Through its originate-to-distribute (O2D) work, the institution is developing ways to package and distribute investments to institutional investors on a larger scale, linking more of the world’s long-term capital pools with opportunities in developing economies.
The goal, the Group said, is straightforward: mobilize more capital from more sources and put more of it to work creating jobs and economic opportunity.
