World Bank Approves Nigeria’s Loan Request Of $1.13bn

The World Bank says a total of $1.13 billion loan request from Nigeria has been approved.

According to details from the bank’s website on Wednesday, three different financing requests were approved in March, for projects targeting quality education, household and community resilience, and improved nutrition.

The World Bank said $80 million was approved for the ‘Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0’ project, and $552 million for the ‘HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme’, on March 31.

It was also discovered that on March 28, the lender also approved a $500 million loan for Nigeria’s ‘Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme’.

On February 28, the federal government said it was expecting to receive new loans from the World Bank, totalling $2.2 billion in 2025.

According to the Washington-based financial institution’s project list, the $2.2 billion will cut across six different projects.

The multilateral lender gave Nigeria $1.5 billion in 2024 for a number of significant development initiatives meant to strengthen the country’s ability to mobilise resources and maintain economic stability.

Nigeria’s loan exposure from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) reportedly rose to $17.1 billion as at September 30, 2024.

According to the IDA’s financial statement for September 2024, Nigeria maintained the third spot in its top 10 borrowers’ list.

Although Nigeria’s exposure dropped to $16.8 billion as at December 31, 2024, the West African nation retained its position as the third-largest debtor to the World Bank’s IDA.