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  • World Bank overhauls guarantee operations for efficiency

    World Bank overhauls guarantee operations for efficiency

    The world is in the midst of intertwined crises, which are threatening to turn back progress on economic and sustainable development. It’s clear that things must be done differently to change course.

    In its continued efforts to work better and more efficiently with member countries and the private sector community, the World Bank Group recently announced a major overhaul of its guarantee business that will deliver simplicity, improved access, and faster execution through a new, convenient marketplace.

    These loan and investment guarantees can be powerful catalysts to attract private-sector investments and commercial financing, fueling economic growth and improved public services in developing countries.

    Read Also: World Bank projects 3.4% growth for African economies

    Currently the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) offer some 20 guarantee solutions. But they have different processes, rules, and standards. This will change on July 1, with the launch of a new one-stop guarantee platform that will bring together guarantee experts and products from across the organization. The guarantee products will be housed at MIGA, making it easier for clients to do business with the World Bank Group.

    We sat down with MIGA’s Executive Vice President Hiroshi Matano to discuss the new guarantee platform.

    Right now, the guarantee solutions are scattered across our institutions. They all follow different processes and our clients have to talk to each institution separately. This slows things down, impacting efficiency. We wanted to better streamline our offering to maximize the limited capital available for impactful development in emerging markets and developing economies.

  • World Bank projects 3.4% growth for African economies

    World Bank projects 3.4% growth for African economies

    A report by the World Bank has projected that growth will rebound in 2024, rising from a low of 2.6 per cent in 2023 to 3.4 per cent in 2024, and 3.8 per cent in 2025.

    The World Bank’s latest Africa’s Pulse report said increased private consumption and declining inflation are supporting an economic rebound in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    “However, the recovery remains fragile due to uncertain global economic conditions, growing debt service obligations, frequent natural disasters, and escalating conflict and violence,” it said.

    Africa’s Pulse calls for several policy actions to foster stronger and more equitable growth. These include restoring macro-economic stability, promoting inter-generational mobility, supporting market access, and ensuring that fiscal policies do not overburden the poor.

    Transformative policies are needed to address deep-rooted inequality to sustain long-term growth and effectively reduce poverty.

    However, this recovery remains tenuous. While inflation is cooling across most economies, falling from a median of 7.1 to 5.1 percent in 2024, it remains high compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Additionally, while growth of public debt is slowing, more than half of African governments grapple with external liquidity problems, and face unsustainable debt burdens.

    Read Also: CCDI, UW Plan World Bank session on oil theft in Nigeria

    Overall, the report underscores that despite the projected boost in growth, the pace of economic expansion in the region remains below the growth rate of the previous decade (2000-2014) and is insufficient to have a significant effect on poverty reduction. Moreover, due to multiple factors including structural inequality, economic growth reduces poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa less than in other regions.

    World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, Andrew Dabalen “Per capita GDP growth of 1 percent is associated with a reduction in the extreme poverty rate of only about 1 per cent in the region, compared to 2.5 per cent on average in the rest of the world. In a context of constrained government budgets, faster poverty reduction will not be achieved through fiscal policy alone. It needs to be supported by policies that expand the productive capacity of the private sector to create more and better jobs for all segments of society.”

  • World Bank, FG hail Makinde’s livestock production initiative

    World Bank, FG hail Makinde’s livestock production initiative

    World Bank, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), have hailed Governor Seyi Makinde’s commitment towards enhancing livestock production in Oyo state.

    The commendation was given at a two-day livestock production stakeholders’ engagement by the World Bank Task Team and the National Coordinating Office on the L-PRES Support Mission to Oyo State.

    The event, according to L-PRES National Project Coordinator, Sanusi Abubakar was targeted towards the implementation of a $500 million World Bank Project by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to improve productivity, commercialization, and resilience of the livestock value chain.

    Stakeholders at the event who were hosted by the Director General, Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA)/Chairman of L-PRES in Oyo state, Dr. Debo Akande, and L-PRES state Project Coordinator, Kola Kazeem were taken to a livestock production hub at Fashola Farm Oyo to access the state government’s commitment in livestock production.

    Speaking after a field trip to Fashola Farm Settlement, Abubakar said the project is a continuation of the implementation support mission having been to other states like Bauchi, Gombe and Enugu states.

    He said: “We have the mandate of the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyiari to hasten up the implementation of this livestock programme in Nigeria, that is why we are going round for the implementation mission.”

    The L-PRES State Project Coordinator, Kola Kazeem said the mission of the project implementation team was to lend support to livestock production and development.

    “The team from 16 states across the country were in the state to witness what governor Seyi Makinde has embarked on in agricultural production and agribusiness development.”

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    According to him, Fashola Farms is a signature project for Oyo state and for other states to emulate noting that “when we talk of livestock centre, you cannot find this kind of arrangement that we have in Fashola agribusiness hub in any other place.”

    In his remark, Debo Akande said the state has enormous potential in livestock production, saying L-Pres is prepared to support efforts of the state government to bring livestock rearing value chain, not just for cattle but also for poultry, piggery, and other livestock sectors in the state.

    He said: “We are bringing back the glory of livestock production in Oyo state, the project will in the mid, short, and long term have a major impact on the agricultural value chain especially in the livestock industry.”

    Akande however assured that challenges faced by livestock farmers in the state will be addressed by the state government through the support of L-PRES and World Bank.

  • FG, World Bank impressed as Kwara Gov flags off new agric project

    FG, World Bank impressed as Kwara Gov flags off new agric project

    Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has flagged off the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), a six-year $500m food security programme supported by the World Bank and the Federal Government. 

    The Federal Government and World Bank commended the Governor for providing quality leadership and platforms for livestock value chain production and commercialisation in the state.

    The administration has invested in the development of the livestock sector to maximise its potential, particularly in beef and dairy production, the Governor said at the flag off late Monday.

    “Kwara has a comparative advantage in all areas of livestock production, particularly in beef and dairy production. It serves as forms of income and wealth for families to better access financial services. It is a major form of financial instrument to families, especially now that we are talking about financial inclusion, improvement in standard of living, and improving our GDP in the state,” he added. 

    “This is why our focus has been on developing, upgrading, and transforming the economy in terms of livestock development. This has had positive impacts on smallholder farmers while also reducing farmer-herder conflict in the state.

    “We aim to ensure that the smallholder farmers become commercial farmers so that they can respond to demand for quality food from the urban centres, climate change, contribution to global economy and also ensure that families have adequate supply of animal protein and improved livelihood.

    “For these reasons, our administration keyed into programmes like the special agro processing zone and livestock productivity and resilience support project that we are flagging off today.

    “Indeed, the utmost objective is in line with our administration’s vision of uplifting the vulnerable, improving the activities of smallholder farmers, providing critical infrastructure for modern livestock production and also mitigating the clash between pastoralists and crop farmers.”

    AbdulRazaq called for improved coordination and synergy for the design and implementation of SAP-Z and L-PRES, given the similarities of the projects.

    “We should also work alongside RAAMP (Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project) to make sure we deliver. We will strive to engage more progressively to make sure we deliver this project on time,” he added. 

    The event was attended by the 

    Chief of Staff Prince Mahe Abdulkadir; Commissioner for Agriculture Oloruntoyosi Adebayo Thomas; Senior Agricultural Economist World Bank Chidozie Anyin; Team Lead Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) Emmanuel Sene; National Project Coordinator for L-PRES Sanusi Abubakar; and State APC Chairman Prince Sunday Fagbemi.

    Oloruntoyosi said Kwara has hit positive milestones in the project because of the commitment of the Governor, adding: “It is not every state that has the privilege of high profile projects like PRESS and SAPZ, but due to the visionary leadership of His Excellency and the processes and policies that he has put in place, we are able to qualify and meet the very stringent requirements of these developmental projects.”

    She said the state is aligning all its “livestock transformational projects, including RAAMP, as they are dependent on one another. This will enable us to deliver the most impacts to Kwarans”.

    The L-PRES National Project Coordinator said they are excited at the enthusiasm so far shown by Governor AbdulRazaq to revamp and provide platforms for upgrading and modernisation of livestock value chain in the state.

    The objectives of L-PRES development objective are to improve productivity, commercialisation, and resilience of targeted livestock value chain in Nigeria as well as strengthen the resilience of livelihood affected by farmers herders conflict, he added.

    Abubakar added that Kwara is among the five states being visited during this implementation mission out of fifteen states on the programme. 

    Read Also: World Bank, Interswitch: banks to overtake Fintechs in global mobile wallets

    “This is in consideration of early fulfillment of readiness and eligibility criteria as stated in the project documents. Apart from the fact that Kwara has a largest disbursement of three million dollars, it is also the first state to appreciate disbursement twice since the inception of this project, having already been disbursed in the last quarter of the year 2023,” he said.

    “Your Excellency, our mission here in Kwara is for us to interface with the project implementation team at the state coordination office as well as the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

    “We are very optimistic that Kwara will succeed in this regard, given the enabling environment granted by your administration and the enormous livestock potentials in the state, such as arable land animal feed production, large vegetation for grazing and considerable livestock population. This is also in addition to peaceful co-existence that exists among various ethnic groups in the state.” 

    Rafiu Ajakaye

    Chief Press Secretary to the Governor 

    March 19, 2024

  • World Bank, Interswitch: banks to overtake Fintechs in global mobile wallets

    World Bank, Interswitch: banks to overtake Fintechs in global mobile wallets

    Banks, rather than fintechs or mobile network providers, will ultimately be the major players in the global mobile wallets, a report by Interswitch and World Bank released yesterday has shown.

    Interswitch Group formally unveiled the 2024 Global Payments Innovation Jury Report, in partnership with the World, and other notable international payment players, namely HPS and Fime.

    The latest report titled: “Market meltdown – impacts on infrastructure, regulation and innovation” is the 11th in the series spanning 16 years since the inception of the initiative and is sequel to the last edition published in 2022 to coincide with Interswitch’s 20th anniversary.

    The report reveals incisive insights from senior decision makers across the global payments industry and outlines global payment leaders’ views on how tumultuous macroeconomic changes over the past two years have affected their sector – for better and worse.

    According to the report, the talent acquisition activities of payment enterprises in developed markets are a significant challenge for those in emerging markets, with almost 60 per cent of Jury members in emerging markets saying that they are losing an unacceptable number of staff with consequential risks to innovation programmes and sometimes even ongoing operations.

    It said that high-profile crypto exchanges failures, such as FTX in the US, can impact confidence in global markets – not just where the failures occurred. This is clearly a concern for national regulators but remains complex to address.

    “APAC retains its crown as the region with the most payment innovations, but perhaps more surprisingly, Africa & the Middle East was a clear second favourite despite Africa’s macro-economic challenges, relatively low levels of investment funding and now a talent drain – a clear tribute to the resourcefulness of the continent’s entrepreneurs and policy makers,” it said.

  • World Bank seeks action to accelerate gender equality

    World Bank seeks action to accelerate gender equality

    The World Bank Group has called for urgent action to accelerate gender equality.

    In a statement, the bank said equality of opportunity for all is a matter of fairness and justice.

    It said: “On International Women’s Day 2024, we celebrate women’s achievements, yet recognize the urgent need to accelerate gender equality and equal opportunity for all. Too many women are still held back, and the cost of inaction is high”.

    The bank explained that fairness and justice remain a key factor  for development.

    It said that women and girls are often more vulnerable to poverty, crises, and climate change.

    Read Also: World Bank: New data show massive, wider-than-expected global gender gap

    “Gender equality and women’s participation in decision making – in communities, businesses, workplaces, and households – is key to well-being and prosperity. The evidence is clear: removing gender barriers unlocks economic productivity, reduces poverty, and deepens social cohesion. Closing the gender gap in employment could raise long-term GDP per capita by nearly 20 percent on average across countries,” the bank said.

     “The draft World Bank Group Strategy raises our ambition to accelerate gender equality to end poverty on a livable planet, with a focus on innovation, financing and collective action,” the bank said.

    The bank also explained that: “As we mark International Women’s Day this week, it’s a pivotal time to reflect on the journeys, achievements, and impact of women around the world and how we can speed up progress on gender equality. The World Bank Group’s financing and advice are behind many of these stories, and I am proud of the unique opportunity we have as an institution to influence development outcomes for women in significant ways”. 

  • World Bank: New data show massive, wider-than-expected global gender gap

    World Bank: New data show massive, wider-than-expected global gender gap

    The global gender gap for women in the workplace is far wider than previously thought, a groundbreaking new World Bank Group report shows. When legal differences involving violence and childcare are taken into account, women enjoy fewer than two-thirds the rights of men. No country provides equal opportunity for women—not even the wealthiest economies.

    The latest Women, Business, and the Law  report offers a comprehensive picture of the obstacles that women face in entering the global workforce and contributing to greater prosperity—for themselves, their families, and their communities. It expands the scope of its analysis, adding two indicators that can be critical in opening up or restricting women’s options: safety from violence and access to childcare services. When those measures are included, women on average enjoy just 64 per cent of the legal protections that men do—far fewer than the previous estimate of 77 per cent.

    The gender gap is even wider in practice. For the first time, Women, Business and the Law assesses the gap between legal reforms and actual outcomes for women in 190 economies. The analysis reveals a shocking implementation gap. Although laws on the books imply that women enjoy roughly two-thirds the rights of men, countries on average have established less than 40% of the systems needed for full implementation. For example, 98 economies have enacted legislation mandating equal pay for women for work of equal value. Yet only 35 economies—fewer than one out of every five—have adopted pay-transparency measures or enforcement mechanisms to address the pay gap.

    Effective implementation of equal-opportunity laws depends on an adequate supporting framework, including strong enforcement mechanisms, a system for tracking gender-related pay disparities, and the availability of healthcare services for women who survive violence.

    “Women have the power to turbocharge the sputtering global economy,” said Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics.

    “Yet, all over the world, discriminatory laws and practices prevent women from working or starting businesses on an equal footing with men. Closing this gap could raise global gross domestic product by more than 20% – essentially doubling the global growth rate over the next decade—but reforms have slowed to a crawl. WBL 2024 identifies what governments can do to accelerate progress toward gender equality in business and the law.”

    The implementation gap highlights how much hard work lies ahead even for countries that have been instituting equal-opportunity laws. Togo, for example, has been a standout among Sub-Saharan economies, enacting laws that give women roughly 77% of the rights available to men—more than any other country in the continent. Yet Togo, so far, has established only 27% of systems necessary for full implementation. This rate is average for Sub-Saharan economies. 

    Read Also: Nigeria and the IMF, World Bank pills

    In 2023, governments were assertive in advancing three categories of legal equal-opportunity reforms—pay, parental rights, and workplace protections. Still, nearly all countries performed poorly in the two categories being tracked for the first time—access to childcare and women’s safety.

    The weakness is greatest in women’s safety—where the global average score is just 36, meaning women enjoy barely a third of the needed legal protections against domestic violence, sexual harassment, child marriage and femicide. Although 151 economies have laws in place prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace, just 39 have laws prohibiting it in public spaces. This often prevents women from using public transportation to get to work.

    Most countries also score poorly for childcare laws. Women spend an average of 2.4 more hours a day on unpaid care work than men—much of it on the care of children. Expanding access to childcare tends to increase women’s participation in the labor force by about 1 percentage point initially—and the effect more than doubles within five years. Today, only 78 economies—fewer than half—provide some financial or tax support for parents with young children. Only 62 economies—fewer than a third—have quality standards governing childcare services, without which women might think twice about going to work while they have children in their care.

    Women also face significant obstacles in other areas. In the area of entrepreneurship, for example, just one in every five economies mandates gender-sensitive criteria for public procurement processes, meaning women are largely cut out of a $10-trillion-a-year economic opportunity. In the area of pay, women earn just 77 cents for every $1 paid to men. The rights gap extends all the way to retirement. In 62 economies, the ages at which men and women can retire are not the same. Women tend to live longer than men, but because they receive lower pay while they work, take time off when they have children, and retire earlier, they end up with smaller pension benefits and greater financial insecurity in old age. 

    “It is more urgent than ever to accelerate efforts to reform laws and enact public policies that empower women to work and start and grow businesses,” said Tea Trumbic, the report’s lead author. “Today, barely half of women participate in the global workforce, compared with nearly three out of every four men. This is not just unfair—it’s wasteful. Increasing women’s economic participation is the key to amplifying their voices and shaping decisions that affect them directly. Countries simply cannot afford to sideline half of their population.”

  • Nigeria, World Bank eye $3b for 120,000km fibre optic cables

    Nigeria, World Bank eye $3b for 120,000km fibre optic cables

    The Federal Government and the World Bank are targeting about $3billion to fund additional 120,000km fibre optic cables to leap frog broadband infrastructures and connectivity.

    According to the Minister of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani,  the initiative also involved stakeholders from the private sector and it is expected to be delivered within the next three years.

    Speaking at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, during a stakeholders’ engagement titled “Broadband For All”, organised by the Ministry of Communications in conjunction with the World Bank, Dr Tijani said it had become imperative to seek investments in the nation’s Digital Backbone to facilitate access at affordable prices to the digital space for all Nigerians.

    “We are here with critical stakeholders on how to attract investments and fund our broadband infrastructures. I’m sure everybody that is listening to me probably understands that now we cannot do without technology on internet, so, we all need quality access regardless of our location.

    “There’s a need for us to invest in that databank. So it’s the kind of thing that we call the telecommunications infrastructure, or in some cases, we call it fibre optic cables. So there’s actually a cable that helped us make it possible for internet to happen,” Dr Tijani said.

    He said at the moment Nigeria had laid about 3,035km fiber optic cables, but about 120,000km fiber optic cables would be required for Nigerians to have quality and efficient access to the internet and other digital services irrespective of their locations.

    He said in terms of finances, the country would require about $3billion to fix the infrastructures,  stating that through the World Bank, and other development finance institutions and the private sector, there is hope that the funds would be raised within the next two or three years.

    The World Bank Regional Director, (Infrastructure) West and Central Africa,  Mr Franz Drees Gross, said the first phase of the project would involve laying 95,000km fiber optic cables across Nigeria,  saying it would immediately improve access and digital services content in the country.

    Gross who described Nigeria digital ecosystem as vibrant, said the World Bank is deeply involved and interested in supporting Nigeria to raise the needed funds for the project.

    Gross said: “We plan to set up a Digital National Broadband Fund and to roll out about 95,000 kilometers of what we call middle mile cable. So that’s the terrestrial cable in the territory of Nigeria to bring broadband to more parts of the country right now.

    “I think Nigeria has about 35,000 kilometers of broadband cable. The idea is to add another 95,000 on top of that, and what we’re discussing with the government is, well, what’s the best way to finance that?

    “How could you set that up? How could you release some of the funding that’s available in-country using perhaps a universal service provision fund (USP F) and other instruments? And how can the World Bank provide technical assistance and if needed, perhaps some financing for that?

    “I just want to say rolling out fiber is just part of the problem. What you want is fiber to bring low cost digital access all over the country. You want to at the same time, invest in digital skills, so that people have the wherewithal to get online and to use effectively and then generate digital content.

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    “I mean, Nigeria has a very impressive digital ecosystem, a very vibrant digital ecosystem in Lagos. You guys could be the hub for exporting digital services to all of West Africa.

    “During the session we touched on some of the comment. We were more broadly looking beyond Nigeria to look at Western Central Africa. Right now about 80per cent of the population in western Central Africa, lives within range of a 4G signal, but only about 40per cent actually connected to digital broadband. So what explains the difference? Why is it that those 40per cent live within reach of the signal and they don’t connect? The first issue is cost. The cost of a data package the basic data package exceeds you know what households can pay for.

    “Then there’s device affordability, you want to get a mobile device that’s internet-ready, that can get you online. The second thing is, even if people get online, sometimes they say, well, I don’t see content that’s relevant to me, relevant to what I want to know. And that’s where that digital ecosystem in Nigeria comes in.

    “You want an ecosystem that generates the digital content that people want to access; you need public services digitized and online. So people like you are like all of us. Go online and do our government services online. And third, you need those skills. You need basic digital literacy for everybody. And then you need more deeper technical skills to service that, oh, they should have

    “I mean, Nigeria could be an exporter of digital services just like you’re an exporter of Nollywood. I mean, everybody wants Nigerian movies. There’s no reason why people shouldn’t be using digital content, digital services and digital products produced in Nigeria, right.”

  • World Bank: 600m Africans face blackout by 2030

    World Bank: 600m Africans face blackout by 2030

    The World Bank has warned that without significant action, close to 600 million Africans will still be without electricity by 2030.

    World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Anna Bjerde, addressing West and Central African Ministers of Finance in Abuja yesterday emphasized the importance of universal electricity access and expressed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting countries in achieving this goal.

    One example of this commitment is in Nigeria, where 45 million people still lack access to electricity.

    The government, in partnership with the World Bank, has pledged to expand access to over 70 million rural Nigerians through renewable energy solutions.

    Regional integration efforts, such as the West African Power Pool, established 25 years ago, will also contribute to extending clean and affordable energy across the continent.

    To achieve universal electricity access, Bjerde estimated that the World Bank Group would require about $30 billion in support from the International Development Association (IDA) by 2030  that is about $5 billion annually.

    Read Also; Food inflation a global phenomenon – Bwala

    This funding she said would help provide electricity access to 300 million people in Africa, including 100 million in West and Central Africa. Bjerde highlighted the importance of mobilizing public resources, private sector involvement, and domestic resources to achieve this turning point.

    In addition to addressing electricity access, Bjerde discussed the progress made in increasing broadband penetration in Africa. Through country-specific reforms and regional projects, broadband penetration was tripled within the Digital Economy for Africa Initiative, surpassing the initial goal of doubling it within a five-year period.

    Bjerde also acknowledged the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of a strong delivery system to support vulnerable populations.

    The World Bank she noted utilized established cash transfer systems to reach over 50 million people and provided support to farmers and pastoralists. The investments made in robust delivery and targeting systems now enable greater assistance to the most vulnerable communities.

    Bjerde expressed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting Africa’s long-term prosperity through financing and partnerships. The World Bank’s financing to Sub-Saharan Africa has significantly increased over the years, with an estimated $44 billion allocated to country adaptations during the current IDA23 cycle. In fragile and conflict-affected countries, the World Bank contributes over 40 percent of overseas development assistance.

    Looking ahead, Bjerde encouraged continued dialogue among the finance ministers and emphasized the significance of their advocacy and leadership in supporting ambitious financing and policy packages. She also called for their support in raising funds for the International Development Association, highlighting its importance as the largest source of concessional resources for low-income countries and a major provider of climate finance.

    Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, echoed Bjerde’s message, by stating that the meeting with the World Bank team would focus on discussing the upcoming financing round with the World Bank’s International Development Association.

    The meeting he said is aimed at addressing vital issues such as electricity access, social safety nets, and digitization, highlighting the World Bank’s role as a trusted development partner.

  • World Bank pledges more support for Nigeria

    World Bank pledges more support for Nigeria

    • Tinubu’s reforms okay

    Nigeria’s economic priority needs will get World Bank support, the organisation said yesterday.

    It also applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reform programmes.

    World Bank’s Managing Director (Operations) Anna Bjerde, conveyed this commitment during a visit to the President at Aso Villa yesterday.

    Bjerde told reporters after the meeting that the bank would continue to support the reforms of the Tinubu administration.

    She said: “The outcome is that the World Bank will  continue to support the reforms of the President Tinubu’s administration through the supportive instrument that we have and we will be stepping up our financial support to Nigeria in line with all the different initiatives that are being taken and all the needs that the economy has.”

    The World Bank chief expressed optimism that the bank would grow its programme currently running with the Nigerian government.

    “So while we already have large programme, from this visit we already see that the programme will grow from there. I have been pleased with the discussions we had over the last meeting with the President”, Bjerde added.

    Also speaking, the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, highlighted the outcomes of the two-day meeting of Western and Central Africa Ministers of Finance, co-hosted by Nigeria and the World Bank.

    Read Also: Tinubu reaffirms commitment to provide affordable, decent housing for Nigerians

    Mr Edun added that issues of development and concessional financing for the West and Central Africa were top on the agenda of the summit.

    “We have a mini summit and issues of development and increasing the level of concessional financing to west and Central Africa were on the agenda and we reported to the President that we had a robust discussion.

    The minister also said that Nigeria advocated for increase resources towards the improvement of electricity and creating more access to social safety net.

    He said the target is to provide better support for Nigeria in digitisation and technological development of Nigeria’s economy.

    “Emphasises were laid on increasing resources to Nigeria and to West and Central Africa and also to improve electricity access, growing the social safety net providing greater support for digitisation and technological development of our economies and to assist in our search for solutions to the issue of development and leading more people out of poverty”.