Across the world, people are feeling the strain of a changing environment. In 2025, nine out of 10 people were living in places where the land is losing productivity, the air is polluted, or the water is becoming scarce or unsafe. In low-income countries, most people face all three of these challenges at once—putting health, jobs, and growth at risk.
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A farmer in Kenya uses mobile apps to get real-time harvesting tips, check market prices, and connect directly with buyers and lenders. A woman in Indonesia takes meal orders and arranges deliveries through social media. A small innkeeper in Jamaica lists rooms on booking platforms and manages reservations online. A street vendor in Dakar sells handmade jewelry across Africa using just her smartphone. And in Manila, a university student teaches math to high schoolers in remote areas via an online e-learning platform.
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DIGITAL PATHWAYS FOR JOB CREATION
đź“… FRIDAY, APRIL 25 | 12:00 PM* – 1:30 PM ET | PRESTON AUDITORIUM
You are invited to participate in this invitation-only event during the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group & IMF.
OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION
Join us for this event to explore how digital transformation is reshaping the global job market. Learn how governments and the private sector are closing skills gaps, preparing workers for the future, and adapting regulatory frameworks to support inclusive, resilient economies. Hosted by the World Bank Group’s Digital and ITS Vice Presidencies, the event will spotlight the transformative power of technology in shaping the future of work.
*Light lunch will be available starting at 11:30 am.
In case you missed it, here is the event replay for Global Digital Summit 2025 – Digital Pathways for All which took place on March 18, 2025.    The 2025 Global Digital Summit: ‘Digital Pathways for All’ has now concluded. Recordings of all public sessions are available in four languages on worldbank.org/live and on the World Bank Group social media channels. #WBGDigitalSummit  If you like this content, make sure to sign up for our email updates! We hope to see you again soon,   World Bank Live Development Events Brought to You Live  REPLAY |
Did you know that in Sub-Saharan Africa, students spend an average of six years in school but leave with only three years’ worth of learning? The learning gap is stark, but artificial intelligence (AI) is rising to the challenge. In Kenya, innovators have created Somanasi (“Learn with me”), an AI-powered chatbot designed to help bridge this divide. By providing real-time, tailored responses to student questions, gamifying lessons, and promoting collaborative learning, this resource helps students better understand and retain the school curriculum, empowering them to make the most of their time in school and narrow the learning deficit.
Continue readingHow much do African firms use digital technology, for what purposes, and how can they be encouraged to use it more? While advances have been made in digitalizing Africa, with mobile payments a success story, firms still face challenges like higher costs of technology. Much more can be done to enable and empower them to reap its full potential, IFC research shows. A new book, Digital Opportunities in African Businesses, outlines the steps to be taken—from investing in digital infrastructure to funding tech startups offering user-friendly, affordable digital solutions. More than 600,000 formally registered firms and 40 million microbusinesses—about 20 percent of businesses in Africa—are potentially ready to benefit from digital upgrades.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies have piqued global excitement with their promise to drive economic growth and opportunity, unlock scientific breakthroughs, and build better services. But as we race to close the global digital divide, we must also ask ourselves some tough questions.
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Digital technologies are ushering in a new era in development—by transforming economies, creating jobs, and improving the lives of even the most vulnerable and remote populations. They have dramatically changed the way we communicate with each other, how we conduct business, and our interaction with the environment. The international community has an unprecedented opportunity to help developing countries reap the benefits of digitalization while mitigating the risks and ensuring that, working together, through accelerated investments and policy reforms, we can close the digital divide. Â
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Digital technologies are vital tools for helping people cope with stay-at-home orders and 
social distancing requirements during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Digital technologies are instrumental in supporting health care systems, not only though telemedicine and COVID screening apps, but also through Big Data and artificial intelligence analytics for mobility patterns, epidemiological models, and contact tracing. And in many other sectors, digital is also the new normal for individuals, governments, and businesses around the world.
Netherlands for the World Bank 