Nigeria has approached the World Bank for a fresh $10.50 million loan to strengthen the Central Bank of Nigeria’s technical capacity and modernise the country’s domestic payment system. The move is aimed at enhancing the CBN’s ability to integrate modern technologies and data science into its operations, particularly in supervision and remittance infrastructure.
According to documents obtained from the World Bank’s website, the proposed CBN Technical Assistance Facility seeks to help the apex bank tackle financial challenges while improving Nigeria’s evolving financial landscape. The project, which is currently at the concept review stage, will focus on three key areas.
The first goal is to strengthen the CBN’s capacity to keep up with technological advancements. This will be achieved by improving governance structures, providing expert advisory support, facilitating knowledge exchange between central banks, and modernising internal processes to fit the digital economy.
The second aspect will enhance the CBN’s supervisory capabilities by integrating technology and data-driven solutions. This will include funding advanced supervisory technology systems to improve accuracy, efficiency, and risk assessment in Nigeria’s financial sector.
The third focus is to modernise domestic payment systems for remittances. The project aims to improve the safety and reliability of remittance transactions by formalising informal remittance flows. This will involve conducting annual surveys on remittance households and enabling knowledge-sharing between financial institutions.
The World Bank stated that the objective of the project is to establish a more efficient, technology-driven supervisory process while improving remittance payments for Nigerians. The initiative is in line with Nigeria’s ongoing transition to a cashless economy and the increasing adoption of digital financial services.
The $10.50 million facility is scheduled for board review and approval on June 12, 2025, with the Central Bank of Nigeria as the implementing agency.
Meanwhile, the World Bank recently approved $1.08 billion in financing for three key projects in Nigeria, targeting education, economic resilience, and nutrition. These funds will be used to improve basic education, strengthen community development efforts, and enhance nutrition for vulnerable populations.
According to a statement on the World Bank’s website, the funds will support education quality, provide social safety nets, and improve food security. The financing includes $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme (NG-CARES), $80 million for Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRIN 2.0), and $500 million for the Hope for Quality Basic Education for All (HOPE-EDU) initiative.
The NG-CARES programme, initially introduced to address the economic impacts of COVID-19, has so far reached over 15 million Nigerians. The additional funding will expand its scope to provide livelihood support, food security services, and small business grants, especially in light of recent economic challenges caused by the removal of fuel subsidies and currency unification.
The ANRIN 2.0 project will focus on improving maternal and child health, nutrition services, and food security. It builds on the success of the initial ANRIN programme, which provided nutrition interventions to over 13 million children under five years old between 2018 and 2024.
The HOPE-EDU initiative will enhance literacy and numeracy in Nigerian schools while improving access to basic education. The programme is expected to directly benefit 29 million primary school students, 500,000 teachers, and over 65,000 public schools. Additional funding of $52.18 million will be provided by the Global Partnership for Education Fund.
The World Bank stated that these projects align with Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021-2025) and are intended to drive long-term economic stability and human capital development in the country.
