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World Bank Group launches digital strategy for developing nations

Development bank the World Bank Group has launched what it calls its first digital strategy, bringing together its public and private sector capabilities to help developing countries expand affordable digital access, improve services, and create jobs.

It says the strategy addresses four priorities: expanding connectivity; making devices and data more affordable; strengthening digital services and skills; and helping countries build the foundations to benefit from artificial intelligence.

As the Group explains, the launch comes as developing countries face twin challenges: constrained resources and a growing need for jobs. 

Digital technology, it points out, can support job creation across the World Bank Group’s five priority sectors: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, health care, tourism, and value-added manufacturing. It can also help businesses reach customers, improve productivity, and access finance, while reducing the cost of delivering public services.

Yet substantial barriers remain. Over 2 billion people were offline globally in 2025. Only 23% of people in low-income countries used the internet. Many people live within network coverage but cannot afford a smartphone or data, lack digital skills, or have limited access to services relevant to their needs.

The strategy sets out four areas of action: to expand reliable connectivity, to make devices and data more affordable, to expand digital services and skills, and to build readiness for AI. Safeguards – from privacy to cybersecurity and fraud protection – run across all four priorities.

The strategy brings together the World Bank Group’s financing, policy advice, private investment, and guarantees around country priorities. It also provides a basis for working with governments, technology companies, development partners, and philanthropy to extend digital opportunities to more people and businesses. Its aim is to help countries turn digital access into higher productivity, better services, and more opportunities to earn a living.

Complementing the strategy’s AI readiness and adaptation priority, the World Bank Group has announced the AI Infrastructure and Readiness Initiative. This is a new effort to help governments in emerging markets access affordable compute capacity – and put small AI to productive use – through shared, pay-as-you-go GPU infrastructure (specialised computing power used to develop and run AI applications), offering a practical alternative to standalone national data centres.

The initiative will have an initial focus on Africa and Latin America, with knowledge partners including Cassava Technologies and Nvidia.



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