The World Bank Group says it mobilized a record $112 billion in private capital for developing economies in 2026, more than three times the amount recorded four years earlier.
The institution said total financing and capital mobilization exceeded $200 billion during the year.
Private Capital Mobilized rose from $35 billion in 2022 to $112 billion in 2026, according to figures released by the Bank.
Lower-middle-income countries attracted $37 billion, compared with $14 billion in 2022, while upper-middle-income countries received $50 billion, up from $12 billion.
Private capital mobilization for low-income countries remained at about $3 billion.
Africa recorded a significant increase, with mobilization rising from about $9 billion in 2022 to $22 billion in 2026.
The World Bank attributed the growth to operational reforms, expanded use of guarantees, local-currency financing, efforts to address foreign-exchange constraints and new equity and investment structures.
It said closer coordination between its public- and private-sector arms had also improved investment mobilization.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga said shareholders and clients had asked the institution to use its financing and expertise more effectively to attract private capital.
The Bank also said it issued more than $25 billion in guarantees in 2026, surpassing its target of $20 billion in annual guarantee issuance by 2030 four years early.
The guarantee expansion was led by the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform established in 2024.
The institution linked private investment directly to job creation, noting that about 1.2 billion young people in developing economies would reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 420 million jobs were expected to be created.
It said the private sector currently creates the majority of jobs in developing economies.
The World Bank identified infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing as sectors with strong potential to support employment and investment.
It said 55 per cent of its total 2026 financing and mobilized private capital went to those sectors.
The Bank is also developing an originate-to-distribute model aimed at packaging investments for institutional investors and connecting long-term global capital with projects in developing economies.
Its stated objective is to widen the investor base and channel more private capital towards jobs and productive economic activity.
