Nigeria’s loan commitments from the World Bank between 2023 and 2025 are expected to climb to $9.65bn by the end of this year as new approvals, disbursements and negotiations progress across major sectors.
The figure, drawn from World Bank data, covers only IBRD and IDA lending windows, rising to $9.77bn when grants are factored in.
Officials have continued to defend the rising concessional borrowing as essential for supporting reforms in digital infrastructure, power, health, education and social protection.
A fresh $500m MSME finance facility is slated for Board approval on 19 December 2025, to be implemented through the Development Bank of Nigeria.
The lending build-up began in 2023 with $2.7bn in loans supporting renewable energy, girls’ education, women’s empowerment and power-sector sustainability.
Approvals surged by 57.4% in 2024 to $4.25bn, driven by two major policy-based operations and three separate $500m IDA investment programmes.
For 2025, the loan pipeline has eased to $2.695bn, with nine key operations identified across broadband expansion, basic education, livelihood support, health security and institutional strengthening.
Grants total $52.18m this year. Across the three-year cycle, IDA commitments amount to $7.30bn, while IBRD loans total $2.35bn.
Economists remain divided on the implications of the rising portfolio.
While analysts such as Adewale Abimbola argue that concessional loans are positive when tied to economically viable projects, others including Aliyu Ilias and Muda Yusuf, warn that increasing foreign borrowing amid revenue claims could worsen fiscal strain, increase debt-service pressure and heighten exchange-rate risks.
Nigeria’s IDA exposure has now risen to $18.5bn, making it Africa’s largest and the world’s third-largest IDA borrower.
Data from the DMO also show that the World Bank accounts for 41.3% of Nigeria’s $46.98bn external debt as of June 2025, underscoring the institution’s central role in funding Nigeria’s reform programme.
