1.2 billion young people are about to need jobs — the World Bank's first digital strategy is built to help create them

In Seoul, the World Bank Group has launched its first-ever digital strategy, pulling its public and private arms together around one idea: affordable connection is now a jobs policy. More than 2 billion people were still offline in 2025, and only 23% of people in low-income countries used the internet, against 94% in rich ones. The strategy works on four fronts — wider connectivity, cheaper phones and data, digital services and skills tied to real jobs, and readiness for practical 'small AI': tools that help a farmer spot crop disease, a health worker do more, or a small shop keep stock. A companion initiative will give emerging-market governments shared, pay-as-you-go computing power, with an initial focus on Africa and Latin America. 'Digital technology can help countries create jobs and make scarce resources go further,' said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.

SDG 8 · Decent work and economic growth — Mechanism: institutional program