Published: June 2, 2025
WASHINGTON — The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a new six-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Liberia, placing job creation at the center of its development strategy. Covering fiscal years 2025 to 2030, the CPF aims to support more and better jobs by prioritizing reforms and investments in education, energy access, transparent governance, and private sector-led growth, especially in agroindustry and forestry.
The CPF aligns with Liberia’s national vision, Liberia Rising 2030, and its recently announced development agenda, the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development (AAID). These plans seek to transition Liberia into a lower-middle-income country within five years by fostering inclusive economic growth and institutional reform.
“We recognize Liberia’s achievements in maintaining peace and stability since 2003,” said Robert Taliercio, World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. “This CPF supports Liberia in delivering the dividends of peace through more jobs and a better quality of life. It is also tightly aligned with the AAID and aims to accelerate impact during the critical years remaining before 2030.”
The new strategy adopts a “One WBG” approach, integrating the efforts of the Bank’s institutions—the International Development Association (IDA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)—to tackle Liberia’s key development hurdles.
A central feature of the CPF is its focus on unlocking private capital through initiatives such as Mission 300, aimed at attracting investment to generate jobs for 300,000 Liberians, and the scaling up of agribusiness operations. These efforts, according to officials, are intended to reduce the country’s reliance on a concession-based economy and shift toward a more inclusive, market-driven model.
“At the heart of the new CPF is job creation,” said Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central and Anglophone West Africa. “We’re targeting investment in energy, agribusiness, and forestry to build sustainable livelihoods. But this will also require policy reforms, macroeconomic stability, and better governance to attract the private sector.”
The CPF incorporates lessons from previous engagements and stakeholder consultations involving government officials, civil society, private sector leaders, and development partners. It also commits to empowering women and youth through investment in skills development and improved access to economic opportunities.
“The WBG will support a sequenced and integrated reform strategy over the CPF period,” noted Şebnem Erol Madan, Director for Economics and Sustainability at MIGA. “IDA-financed projects will lay the groundwork for attracting IFC and MIGA-supported private investments. This includes policy reforms to enable the entry and growth of productive firms.”
The framework reaffirms the World Bank Group’s global goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity on a livable planet. It also commits to helping Liberia address climate vulnerabilities and build resilience through investments that improve both livelihoods and sustainability.
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