World Bank Group Launches First Digital Strategy to Boost Connectivity and AI Readiness in Developing Nations

Key summary

The World Bank Group has unveiled its inaugural digital strategy designed to assist developing countries in expanding affordable digital access, enhancing public services, and generating employment. Announced on October 20, 2026, the initiative addresses four core priorities: expanding connectivity, reducing costs for devices and data, strengthening digital services and skills, and building foundations for artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on task-specific 'small AI' applications. Concurrently, the Group introduced the AI Infrastructure and Readiness Initiative to provide emerging markets with affordable, shared computing capacity via pay-as-you-go GPU infrastructure, initially targeting Africa and Latin America with partners including Cassava Technologies and NVIDIA. The strategy aims to bridge a significant digital divide where over 2 billion people were offline globally in 2025, noting that only 23 percent of people in low-income countries used the internet compared to 94 percent in high-income countries. World Bank Group President Ajay Banga emphasized that the comprehensive approach links reliable connectivity and affordable devices with digital skills and useful services to help countries create jobs and make scarce resources go further over the next decade as 1.2 billion young people reach working age in developing nations.