The World Bank Group
2,758,486 followers
May 18, 2026
Water, electricity, investment—and results already on the ground.
To feed 10 billion people, the world doesn’t need more water—it needs to manage the water it has far better. Smarter use of scarce resources can create jobs, build resilience, and drive growth. This week, we visit workshops, farms, and communities in Africa to see what this looks like.
In Somalia, reliable water access is turning a daily struggle for survival into economic opportunity for more than 600,000 people. In Ethiopia, small-scale farmers are moving beyond subsistence—linking to reliable markets and stabilizing their incomes. In The Gambia, electricity has reached 90% of the population, lighting up rural life and powering country-wide opportunities.
Underpinning this progress: investment. To learn more about the next phase of Africa’s growth, tune into our new podcast, where IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop and industrialist Aliko Dangote argue that Africa’s energy, water, and logistics sectors are about to be transformed—by African investors willing to bet on the continent’s future.
10 Billion People, One Critical Need: Water. Feeding a once-unimaginable number of people by 2050 will require smarter use of water. Better resource management, aligned policies, and satellite-driven data can target irrigation needs, raise farm productivity, and generate jobs across entire economies. Our new report shows why we view water as a growth engine rather than a risk.
EDITOR’S PICK
Ethiopia’s Farmers Move from Survival to Stability. Woniso Awino quadrupled her income in three months. Muda Okali nearly tripled his returns. These are Ethiopia’s small-scale farmers—once cut off from reliable markets and struggling with livestock disease—now building stable livelihoods through an IFC-backed AgriConnect program.
Rural Electrification is Transforming Life in The Gambia. Welder Muhammed Kandeh used to pay $25 for three days’ worth of fuel. But since electricity reached his rural village, he powers his workshop for just $2.50 a week. He’s one of many whose incomes have improved as The Gambia expanded electricity access from 60% to 90% in less than a decade—part of the drive to connect 300 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
600,000+ People Benefit from Water Investment in Somalia. In Somalia’s drylands, access to water is an economic lifeline. One community-led project to expand water access has already reached more than 600,000 people with water points designed for drinking, farming, livestock, and local enterprise. The initiative has also trained nearly 70,000 farmers and treated 630,000 animals.
WATCH AND LISTEN
“We Will Open Africa.” Africa has the resources, the talent, and increasingly, the capital to strengthen the continent’s economic future. What it needs is Africans willing to bet on it, according to IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop and industrialist Aliko Dangote. In this candid conversation, they make the case for African-led investment in energy, fertilizer, water, and logistics.
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