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World Bank Approves US$228.5million for Senegal River Basin and Wider Sahel
WASHINGTON – The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved US$228.5 million for a new push to boost water management in the Senegal River Basin and further improve the development prospects of Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal.
More than 4.5 million people living within the Senegal River Basin are expected to benefit directly from this multi-country project. Their countries rank among the world’s poorest with 42-53% of the population, mostly subsistence or smallholder farmers, living below the poverty line. Annual population growth is estimated at 2.7 percent and the population is expected to double every 25 years.
During an historic trip last month to the Sahel by development leaders including the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank Group pledged $1.5 billion in new financing to support major regional development priorities such as social safety nets to help families weather the worst effects of economic adversity and natural disasters, improve infrastructure and create opportunities in rural areas with more hydropower and other sources of clean energy to greatly expand irrigation and transform agriculture.
This is the first project under this new initiative. The project is financed by IDA, the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest countries.*
“Reducing the withering impact of drought will dramatically improve the livelihoods of millions of farmers, herders, and communities across The Sahel, and help to boost peace and development across their region,” says Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa. “If you want to help the people of The Sahel become more resilient to climate change, you have to fight drought first and foremost.”
The Senegal River Basin, which covers 300,000 km², has significant hydropower and irrigation potential which could greatly improve water and food security and provide cheap renewable energy. This project aims to improve water availability for agriculture and food production, support aquaculture and fisheries management, promote hydropower through feasibility studies, reduce malaria and other neglected tropical diseases that sicken millions of people, and pilot innovative approaches to adapt to climate change.
“While working to meet people’s energy and food needs in the Senegal River Basin, we also have to help families prevent and treat malaria and other borderless water-related diseases that routinely affect their health and ability to work,” says Colin Bruce, the World Bank Director for Strategy, Operations and Regional Integration in Africa.
“That is why this project is also tackling key deficits in health, water, power, food, and fisheries, through strengthened regional cooperation and coordination.” According to the project document, malaria prevalence rates in the Senegal River Basin are estimated at 14.3% among children under 5, and 9.0% among pregnant women, the most vulnerable groups.
Epidemiological mapping shows that Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) such as schistosomiasis, soil- transmitted helminthes/geohelminths, trachoma, lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis, affect almost all districts along the Senegal River Basin. Studies have shown that integrated disease control measures, coupled with sound water management, are essential to mitigate the burden of malaria and NTDs in locations near irrigation or dam sites.
The funding approved today includes a US$16-million grant from the Global Environment Facility and the Least Developed Countries Fund to strengthen the capacity of the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (known by its French acronym, OMVS) which was founded in 1972 to reduce the vulnerability of people’s livelihoods in the Basin through coordinated water resource and energy development.
OMVS is jointly governed by Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal. “This Senegal River project will demonstrate the power of regional integration and collaboration for a strategic group of countries which face rising energy and food shortages, and growing demand which increasingly hamper their economic performance,“ says Shelley McMillan, World Bank Senior Water Resources Specialist and Team Leader for the Senegal River Basin Project.
“We look forward to working closely with the riparian countries and other key development agencies to help transform lives in the region.’
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing zero-interest loans and grants for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 82 poorest countries, 40 of which are in Africa.
Resources from IDA bring positive change for 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 108 countries. Annual commitments have increased steadily and averaged about $16 billion over the last three years, with about 50 percent of commitments going to Africa.
The President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Alh Aliko Dangote, has been appointed to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab.
Biztellers reports that his see the business mogul joining a select group of global business leaders tasked with driving investment and job creation in emerging economies.
The development was revealed in a statement in which he confirmed his acceptance, where the African industrialist reaffirmed his commitment to fostering sustainable economic growth through private sector-led investment, noting the transformative potential of such initiatives in developing markets.
“I am both honoured and excited to accept my appointment to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, dedicated to advancing investment and employment in emerging economies,” Dangote said.
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“This opportunity aligns with my long-standing commitment to sustainable development and unlocking the potential of developing economies. Drawing inspiration from the remarkable successes of the Asian Tigers, which have demonstrated the power of strategic investment and focused economic policy, I am eager to collaborate with fellow leaders to replicate such outcomes across other regions.”
The Dangote Group, founded by Aliko Dangote, is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. With interests spanning cement, fertiliser, salt, sugar, and oil, the Group employs over 30,000 people and is the largest taxpayer in Nigeria—contributing more in taxes than all of Nigeria’s banks combined. It is also the country’s largest employer after the government.
The $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, the Group’s flagship project, stands as the largest single private investment in Africa.
In addition to his business interests, Dangote leads the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), the largest private foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor. The Foundation primarily focuses on child nutrition, while also supporting interventions in health, education, empowerment, and disaster relief.
The World Bank announced Dangote’s appointment on Wednesday as part of a broader expansion of its Private Sector Investment Lab, which now enters a new phase aimed at scaling up solutions to attract private capital and create jobs in the developing world.
Joining Dangote in the elite group are Bill Anderson, CEO of Bayer AG; Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair of Bharti Enterprises; and Mark Hoplamazian, President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
The World Bank said the expanded membership brings together business leaders with proven track records in generating employment in developing economies—supporting the Bank’s sharpened focus on job creation as a central pillar of global development.
“With the expanded membership, we are mainstreaming this work across our operations and tying it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving our strategy,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “This isn’t about altruism—it’s about helping the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns, and lift people and economies alike. It’s central to our mandate.”
The global bank said that over the last 18 months, the Lab brought together leaders from global financial institutions to identify the most pressing barriers to private sector investment in developing countries and to test actionable solutions.
The statement said that the work had now been consolidated into five priority focus areas that were being integrated across the bank operations, including regulatory and policy certainty.
The Lab’s founding members included senior executives from AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Ninety-One, Ping An Group, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group. The Lab is chaired by Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential plc.
Nokia has reported a net loss of €68 million for the first quarter of 2025, a sharp decline from the €438 million profit recorded during the same period last year.
The Finnish telecoms equipment maker attributed the downturn to global trade disruptions and recently imposed tariffs by the United States.
The company’s net sales dropped slightly to €4.4 billion, down by one percent year-on-year.
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Tariff-related challenges were highlighted by Nokia’s President and CEO, Justin Hotard, who acknowledged the broader economic pressures affecting the industry.
“We are not immune to the rapidly evolving global trade landscape,” Hotard stated. “However, based on early customer feedback, I believe our markets should prove to be relatively resilient.”
He also noted the potential short-term financial impact, saying, “Based on what we see today, we currently expect a EUR 20 to 30 million impact on our comparable operating profit in the second quarter from the current tariffs.”
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump introduced a 10 percent tariff on global imports, while pausing plans for steeper duties, including a proposed 20 percent levy on products from the European Union.
Despite the quarterly setback, Nokia expressed confidence in its growth prospects.
The company is looking to its Network Infrastructure, Cloud and Network Services, and Mobile Networks divisions to drive sales in the year ahead.
In a sign of continued momentum in the mobile segment, Nokia also announced on Thursday that it had extended its contract with T-Mobile US.
The company said it is continuing “to see positive signs of stabilization” in Mobile Networks.
The pull of market forces which moved the hands of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to reduce the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to N880 per litre in Lagos and N935 in Abuja appears to be a source of torture to independent markets.
Biztellers reports that the latest price review on Easter Monday saw NNPC retail outlets in Lagos drop from N925 to N880, while those in Abuja adjusted from N950 to N935.
The NNPC Ltd’s price reduction came barely a week after the Dangote Refinery lowered its ex-depot price from N865 to N835 per litre.
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In addition, the $20bn refinery also directed its partners like MRS, Heyden, and Ardova to sell a litre of petrol at the rate of N890 instead of N920 in Lagos, N900 in the South West, N910 in the South-South, and N920 in the North East.
Consumers can smile because with the reaction, the NNPC Ltd’s new price in Lagos is N10 lower than what the Dangote Refinery is selling at, which might lead to another reaction, as the price war between the two companies.
Though some NNPC Ltd’s retail outlets were observed selling at the old rate in Lagos, it was gathered that they were given the liberty to exhaust old stock before adjusting to the new prices.
Market sources are of the view that the current price war was ignited by the Federal Government’s implementation of the Naira-for-crude policy.
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