GENEVA, May 19 – The world bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency plans to more than double the value of guarantees it issues annually in Africa to $6.4 billion over the next three and a half years, as multilateral lenders ramp up efforts to attract private capital into the continent.
The agency, part of the World Bank Group, said the expanded guarantee program is expected to mobilize about $23 billion in private investment across sectors including energy, food security, trade finance and digital infrastructure.
The push comes as global development institutions increasingly rely on guarantees and risk-sharing instruments to de-risk investments in emerging markets amid tighter global financing conditions and declining aid budgets from advanced economies.
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency has expanded the use of political risk insurance, credit enhancements, debt swaps and portfolio guarantees since the World Bank consolidated its guarantee operations under a unified structure nearly two years ago.
The agency said its guarantees have already supported debt-swap transactions in Ivory Coast and Angola, food security initiatives in Kenya, energy projects across multiple African markets and lending support for banks in Ghana and Zambia.
The institution did not disclose details of its future project pipeline but said upcoming guarantees would continue to focus on energy grids, food security, digital connectivity, trade finance and support for local financial institutions.
Tsutomu Yamamoto, managing director of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, said the expanded guarantees program would play a “critical role” in attracting investment, creating jobs and strengthening economic resilience across Africa.
The initiative forms part of a broader World Bank strategy to increase global guarantee issuance to $20 billion annually by 2030.
African governments are increasingly seeking alternative financing mechanisms as high borrowing costs and debt pressures continue limiting access to international capital markets.
Multilateral lenders have also intensified efforts to crowd in private investment into Africa as global powers compete for access to the continent’s critical minerals, energy resources and strategic infrastructure assets.
Guarantee structures have become an increasingly important financing tool because they help lower perceived investment risks and improve access to long-term capital for governments and private-sector projects.
