India has emerged as one of the top three sources of private capital mobilised by the World Bank Group, alongside the United States and the United Kingdom, as the institution's annual mobilisation more than tripled to $112 billion.
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga highlighted the achievement in his address at the 2026 Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on October 16.
Banga said the World Bank Group mobilised approximately $35 billion in private capital in FY22, before its current reform agenda began. The figure increased to $112 billion last fiscal year.
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When combined with the institution's own financing, total financing exceeded $230 billion, reflecting a broader effort to attract private investment into development projects.
Investors from 110 countries contributed to the mobilisation, with Banga identifying the US, the UK and India as the leading sources. He noted that participation was expanding geographically, with investors also coming from countries such as Romania, Chile, Poland and Brazil.
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The World Bank Group has been changing its financing approach to stretch limited public resources further and support employment generation.
Banga said the institution had reduced project preparation time from 19 months to nine and created more than $100 billion in additional lending capacity over a decade through balance-sheet reforms.
Guarantees, equity investments and local-currency financing are also being used to reduce risks that discourage private investors from entering developing markets.
The institution issued a record $25 billion in guarantees last fiscal year, according to Banga's address.
The results, however, remain uneven. Private capital mobilisation in lower-middle-income countries nearly tripled to $37 billion between FY22 and FY26, while upper-middle-income economies recorded an increase to $50 billion.
Mobilisation across Africa more than doubled to $22 billion. In low-income countries, it remained largely unchanged at around $3 billion.
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Banga said the next challenge was to direct more investment towards countries where commercial financing remains difficult to secure.
With an estimated 1.2 billion young people expected to enter the job market over the next 10 to 15 years, against a projected 400 million jobs, he emphasised that mobilising private capital and creating employment must advance together.
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