IMF Spring Meetings: World Bank commits to improving Nigeria’s Human Capital Index  

The commitment was made by World Bank officials during a virtual high-level roundtable on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, where Vice President Kashim Shettima called for stronger international collaboration to advance Nigeria’s Human Capital Development 2.0 (HCD 2.0) strategy.

This was disclosed in a statement released by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), on April 26, 2025.

Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in March 2025, launched the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) as part of the federal government’s efforts to address Nigeria’s low Human Capital Index ranking, unemployment, and other structural barriers.

Vice President Shettima officially launched NiYA at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to Naijaonpoint, Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 2024, down from 5.3% in Q1 2024.

“The World Bank representatives at the meeting committed to strengthening the bank’s partnership with Nigeria to improve the country’s Human Capital Index and proposed senior-level stakeholder engagement to identify optimal areas for technical support,” the statement partly reads.

Nigeria’s HCD 2.0 programme is designed to elevate the Human Capital Index (HCI) and equip the nation to face both national and global challenges, including climate change and digital transformation.

“This meeting, for us, is not just another item on our global agenda. It is a continuation of a journey whose beginnings I had the privilege of witnessing about seven years ago. True national wealth is found not in natural resources, but in human potential. 

 “We will offer our HCD 2.0 Strategy the political backing it deserves to be the priority of our nation, and His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has never wavered on this,” he assured.

“We will continue to hold ourselves accountable and press forward toward our bold goal to elevate Nigeria among the top 80 countries in Human Capital Index rankings,” he said.

Furthermore, Senator Shettima called on the World Bank and other development partners to support the availability of disaggregated, state-level HCI data to enable more targeted interventions.

He stressed the need for equity and inclusiveness in the implementation of the HCD 2.0 strategy.

“We are leaving no sub-national entity in Nigeria behind. Some states have already set a template for others by localizing HCD strategies to reflect their people’s unique needs while aligning them with the national strategy.” 

He reaffirmed the Tinubu administration’s commitment to placing human potential at the core of national development.

The meetings occurred amid heightened global uncertainty, driven by rising geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and slowing global economic growth.

The meetings occurred amid heightened global uncertainty, driven by rising geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and slowing global economic growth.

Nigeria seized the opportunity to align with global policy frameworks while highlighting its homegrown strategies under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

The Nigerian delegation on-site met with key stakeholders, including leadership from the World Bank, IMF, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).