The World Bank made the announcement early today in Seoul at a pledging conference for the International Development Association (IDA), which provides grants and very low-interest loans to some 78 low-income countries.

The total exceeds the previous US$93 billion IDA replenishment announced in December 2021.

Countries will contribute about US$24 billion directly to IDA, but the fund will issue bonds and employ other financial leverage to stretch that to the targeted US$100 billion in grants and loans through mid-2028.

But the two-day pledging conference fell short of the US$120 billion goal that some developing countries had called for, partly because of the dollar’s strength pushed up by Donald Trump’s US presidential election victory – diminished the dollar value of significant increases in foreign currency contributions by several countries.

At a G20 leaders’ summit in Brazil last month, Norway increased its pledge by 50% from 2021 to 5.024 billion krone.

That’s US$455 million at current exchange rates, but at the start of 2024, it would have been worth US$496 million.

South Korea boosted its pledge by 45% to ₩846 billion (US$597 million), Britain by 40% to £1.8 billion, while Spain boosted its contribution to €400 million, a pledge worth US$423 million, US$10 million less than the day it was announced in October.

US President Joe Biden pledged a US$4 billion US contribution, up from US$3.5 billion in the previous round.