“The digital era for everyone”

Digital innovations are changing economies, providing employment, and improving the lives of vulnerable and distant communities, ushering in a new development period. They have revolutionized communication, business, and environmental interaction. The international community has an extraordinary opportunity to assist poor nations realize the advantages of digitalization while reducing the dangers and closing the digital gap via expedited investments and policy changes.

No longer can you avoid digitalization. It’s essential. Development-supporting services including hospitals, schools, energy infrastructure, and agriculture depend on connection and data. Too many are shut out of the contemporary world without internet access and digital skills. A universal digital age might create a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable society for future generations.

Data is undisputed. Fast internet increases employment opportunities by 13% and exports by roughly treble. Faster internet decreases severe poverty also. In Senegal and Nigeria, 3G coverage reduced severe poverty by 10% and 4.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, analytics and data-driven decision-making increase SME sales. Digital technology might cut emissions by 20% by 2050 in the top three highest-emitting sectors—energy, materials, and transportation.

In this global context, digital development has been unequal, widening the digital divide. Compared to 90% online in high-income nations, one-third of the world population is offline. Many developing nations have fewer than half of their companies connected to the internet while advanced countries incorporate artificial intelligence into their goods and services. Internet connectivity is typically sluggish. Rich nations have five to 10 times faster broadband than poor ones. Internet speed, data traffic, and digital usage disparities hinder digital advancements for low- and middle-income nations.

The production digital divide is wider. The digital industry is expanding almost twice as fast as the global economy and providing tens of millions of jobs, yet just two nations capture over half of its value. Over the previous two decades, digital goods and services as production inputs have doubled in high-income and higher middle-income nations but hardly risen in low-income ones.

We need to identify which nations are leading digital trends and help those falling behind. Next week, the World Bank will issue its “Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023” on digitalization, rising technologies and market trends, and policy changes and debates in developing countries. The research also highlights two major factors affecting our digital future: digital public infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

We must also plan for digitalization dangers. Accelerated automation may replace labor. Misinformation spreads via social media and algorithms. Every internet-connected gadget and system increases cybersecurity risks. Rapid digitization raises energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

How can poor nations benefit from digitization while minimizing risks and without falling behind?

Prioritizing basics and urgency is crucial.

To fuel the digital economy, spend more in high-speed internet and data centers. Africa cannot prosper in the AI era with 2% of the world’s data center capacity for 17% of the population. Infrastructure is not enough—internet and digital gadgets must be affordable to everybody. People require digital skills to utilize technology securely, access services, and improve their lives.

New users are joining the internet every year, but development is gradual.

Today, leaders must think imaginatively and act courageously to overcome legislative barriers and business as usual to unleash digital investment and innovation. Digital access should be a right, not a privilege. Leaders must integrate with regional and global digital marketplaces to establish economies of scale to attract greater digital investment and boost digital services exports. Development partners, particularly the World Bank, should increase their digital funding and knowledge assistance to help nations seize this potential and manage its dangers.

Global digital change is rapid. The digital gap is denying too many individuals and companies revolutionary possibilities to access services, generate value, and reduce emissions. The global community must collaborate to create a new development path to prepare for the digital upheaval that nations will confront in the next decades.