Every April, Washington, D.C. becomes the nerve center of global economic discourse. The 2025 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings, held from April 21 to 26, weren’t just another item on the multilateral calendar—they were a defining moment for countries like Nigeria, as they navigated the delicate dance between reform, resilience, and relevance in a complex global landscape.
This year’s theme, “Jobs—The Path to Prosperity,” struck a familiar chord for Nigeria, a country actively retooling its economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
At the heart of Nigeria’s engagement was a robust delegation led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. Flanked by senior Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials, financial institution CEOs, private sector executives, civil society actors, and development advocates, Edun’s mission was clear: reposition Nigeria as a credible partner, amplify our reform story, and court the right kind of capital, both human and financial.
But beyond the high-level talks and bilateral handshakes, Nigeria’s messaging this year was more focused, intentional, and future-facing. The country wasn’t in D.C. to merely attend; it came to make a statement.
Championing Human Capital Development: The HCD 2.0 Playbook.
If there’s one storyline that carried weight throughout the week, it was Nigeria’s human capital agenda. Vice President Kashim Shettima, speaking virtually at a high-level World Bank roundtable, pulled no punches. For him—and by extension the Tinubu administration—the true wealth of a nation lies not beneath the soil, but in the capacity and capability of its people.
Human Capital Development 2.0 (HCD 2.0), Nigeria’s upgraded strategy aimed at lifting our Human Capital Index (HCI) ranking and positioning citizens to thrive in a changing world. This is not a vanity metric. With a population north of 200 million, Nigeria’s long-term economic competitiveness hinges squarely on its people, not just being alive, but being healthy, educated, and economically engaged.
The World Bank, in a show of confidence, reaffirmed its commitment to deepen its partnership with Nigeria in this regard. According to Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President), the Bank proposed senior-level stakeholder engagement to sharpen focus areas for technical support. This is not just talk—the Bank is putting skin in the game.
At the roundtable, heavy hitters like Executive Director Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Regional Director Trina Haque, and Chief Economist for Human Development Norbert Shady sat across screens from Shettima and Nigerian officials. The discussions were tactical. Nigeria presented six “quick win” indicators cutting across health, education, and labour each of them trackable on a newly developed HCD Dashboard.
Shettima summed it up best: “Government is a continuum. Nowhere is this truer than in programmes that demand patience, vision, and long-term commitment programmes such as our Human Capital Development strategy.”
From Vision to Metrics
This wasn’t just rhetoric. Nigeria has begun to institutionalize the HCD 2.0 framework in concrete ways.
Recall that in March 2025, President Bola Tinubu launched the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), a bold move to tackle youth unemployment and build human capital pipelines. The initiative was more than a media moment—it was a policy reset, addressing systemic barriers in employability and skills development.
By Q2 2024, Nigeria’s unemployment rate had already dipped to 4.3%, down from 5.3% in the previous quarter. While the methodology remains contested in some circles, the trend direction is encouraging, and it gave the Nigerian delegation data-backed confidence to make its case in D.C.
To ensure accountability, Shettima emphasized the availability of disaggregated, state-level HCI data. “We are leaving no sub-national entity behind,” he said. “Some states have already localised the HCD framework, tailoring it to their peculiar needs while aligning with the national strategy.”
The message? Nigeria’s reforms are not theoretical. They are granular, localized, and performance-driven.
Economic Stability and Regulatory Credibility
Beyond human capital, Nigeria used the Spring Meetings to reinforce its broader economic reform story. Wale Edun, speaking on behalf of the federal government, advanced conversations around safeguarding macroeconomic stability, enhancing financial regulations, and boosting trade resilience in the face of global headwinds.
With global economic growth projections trimmed, inflation still stubborn in many economies, and supply chains under siege from geopolitical instability, Nigeria seized the moment to reiterate its commitment to reform—and to align with global frameworks without losing sight of local priorities.
In various closed-door and open engagements, the Nigerian delegation interfaced with leadership from the IMF, World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). At the top of the agenda: expanding access to concessional finance, accelerating energy transition investments, and catalysing infrastructure development through public-private partnerships.
It was also an opportunity to reset the perception dial. Nigeria wasn’t asking for handouts; it was pitching bankable ideas and showcasing reform momentum—from foreign exchange unification to subsidy reforms to digital public infrastructure development.
Continuity, Commitment, and Clarity
One major thread running through Nigeria’s week in D.C. was the emphasis on continuity. Both Edun and Shettima were deliberate in underscoring that this administration sees development as a relay, not a sprint.
“This meeting, for us, is not just another item on our global agenda,” Shettima remarked. “It is a continuation of a journey whose beginnings I had the privilege of witnessing about seven years ago.”
By highlighting past efforts while outlining present structures and future goals, Nigeria was able to tell a cohesive story—one that development partners could trust and align with.
And the commitment is top-down. From President Tinubu to the Vice President and down to the operational level, there is political will to see through the promises made. The Renewed Hope Agenda isn’t just a campaign slogan—it’s become the framing logic for Nigeria’s economic diplomacy.
What Comes Next?
With the meetings concluded, the real work now returns home.
The Nigerian delegation made its pitch. It showed up, spoke up, and secured strategic commitments. But the next phase will be about delivery. HCD 2.0 must move beyond dashboards and data into schools, clinics, job centers, and households. Regulatory reforms must translate into more accessible credit, improved investor confidence, and a broader tax base. And all of this must be done in a way that carries the people along.
If the 2025 Spring Meetings served as a mirror, Nigeria saw not just its challenges, but its potential. It saw the hunger in its youth, the ambition of its policy class, and the possibilities of a more inclusive growth path.
And with the world watching, the time to convert words into results is now.
