The World Bank Group is seeking to expand access to digital technology and artificial intelligence in developing economies, with connectivity, affordability and local innovation among the priorities of a new implementation plan discussed at a summit in Seoul.
The plan is intended to help reach 1 billion people with digital and AI access. According to the summit’s moderator, Mark Tetto, the initiative is an effort to build the foundations needed for technology to deliver broader economic benefits.
The discussion highlighted the gap between making AI tools available and ensuring that businesses, workers and institutions have the infrastructure and skills to use them productively.
Nigeria’s Communications and Innovation Minister Bosun Tijani said his country had already been investing in connectivity and affordability, including rural telecommunications infrastructure and communications satellites. He identified support for local innovation, technical talent and AI institutions as areas where further cooperation with the World Bank could have an immediate impact.
Nigeria is seeking additional support for its programme to train 3 million technical workers, Tijani said. He also identified opportunities to strengthen the country’s AI centre and establish laboratories in key regions to give developers access to resources.
For companies developing AI products, the availability of computing power and data is another constraint.
Kallot said development institutions could help local innovators compete for government contracts by providing guarantees and reducing procurement risks. She also called for computing resources to be treated as foundational infrastructure alongside electricity and connectivity.
Without those resources, local businesses may struggle to develop their own models or adapt existing technology to local requirements, she said.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of supporting commercial applications that address specific economic problems. Hoshik Shin, whose company Tridge uses agricultural data and AI to help suppliers and exporters connect with international buyers, said partnerships with development institutions could increase access to the platform among farmers and smaller businesses.
Such applications could help demonstrate the economic value of AI through new business opportunities and export sales, although the panel did not provide quantified evidence of the impact.
The speakers also emphasised the need to strengthen local innovation ecosystems rather than relying exclusively on government programmes or imported technology.
Tijani said Nigeria’s experience showed the importance of combining public investment in infrastructure with support for independent networks of researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses. He cited the Nigeria AI Collective, an independently operated community funded in part by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, as an example of that approach.
The World Bank Group’s plan was presented around four priorities. Expanding access, driving affordability, building out the ecosystem and strengthening AI readiness.
The panel did not disclose the plan’s full financing requirements, country-by-country targets or implementation timetable. For developing economies, the central challenge is to ensure that wider access to AI also creates opportunities for local businesses and workers to build, use and commercialise technology.
