Djibouti Has US$600 Million Waiting, and the World Bank Says Not in Ports
A World Bank diagnostic sees about US00 million in private investment potential in Djibouti's logistics, energy and tourism, if the port state loosens its grip on the economy. The post Djibouti Has US$600 Million Waiting, and the World Bank Says Not in Ports appeared first on The Rio Times .
Djibouti, a small country at the entrance of the Red Sea, has attracted the attention of the World Bank, which estimates that there is US$600 million in private investment potential for the next five years. The World Bank's Country Private Sector Diagnostic for Djibouti, published on 13 September 2026, highlights three sectors as the key drivers of this potential: off-grid solar energy, data centres, and tourism.
These sectors are projected to generate between US$600 million and US$814 million in investment, combined, with the potential to create up to 12,000 jobs.
However, the World Bank stresses that Djibouti's position on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait is largely exhausted and that the country must now build productive capacity instead of merely monetizing its geography. A significant obstacle to this transformation is the high cost of electricity, with commercial electricity in Djibouti costing about 25 US cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the African regional average of about 14 cents.
This high cost has a cascading effect on competitiveness, making solar energy the dominant investment option.
Off-grid solar energy carries the largest estimate of the potential investment, with up to US$394.4 million and about 8,700 jobs. Data centres and tourism follow with estimated investments ranging from US$160 million to US$240 million (700 to 1,300 jobs) and US$66 million to US$180 million (2,600 jobs), respectively. The high cost of commercial electricity and the monopolistic control of key sectors by state-owned enterprises are identified as the primary obstacles to realizing this investment potential.
Written by urgent.news from The Rio Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
