Kenya urges record $120bn in pledges for World Bank arm
Kenyan President William Ruto urged World Bank members to make record contributions to the organization’s concessional lending arm in the coming funding round to effectively deal with multiple crises facing developing economies.
Ruto called for at least $120 billion in commitments for the International Development Association, a jump from $93 billion pledged at the previous so-called replenishment in 2021. Donors meet every three years to top up the unit’s resources and review its framework.
The IDA, started in 1960, provides no- to low-interest loans and grants to countries in need, and is the largest source of donor funds for basic social services in those nations.
“Given the enormity of the challenge faced by African countries and its global implications as a collective emergency, we call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contribution,” Ruto said at an IDA summit for African heads of state in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday. “Significant capital injection into IDA is crucial.”
Africa is facing a convergence of global crises including geopolitical tensions, debt that threatens economic stability and climate emergencies. Last year, three quarters of the IDA’s total commitments — about $26 billion — went to Africa, according to Ruto.
Last year, World Bank President Ajay Banga said he seeks as much as a 25% increase in contributions. The lender is working to make the IDA more efficient by cutting burdensome rules, requirements and redundancies, he said at the summit.
