World Bank launches first integrated digital strategy to boost jobs

The World Bank Group has launched its first integrated 'digital strategy' to create new jobs at scale and raise economic productivity in developing countries. The global strategy was formally announced in a statement from the institution's Washington office.

The new framework gives top priority to ensuring reliable and affordable internet worldwide, improving the quality of digital services, increasing young people's skills, and overall readiness for the use of artificial intelligence (AI). In other words, the focus is not only on spreading technology, but on how that technology will create work.

According to World Bank data, about 1.2 billion young people will enter working age in developing economies over the next 10 to 15 years. But if current trends continue, those economies may create only 420 million new jobs in that period. It is this huge gap that has forced the World Bank to rethink its approach.

The institution has identified the widespread use of digital technology as one of the main tools to secure work for this vast share of young people and to avert a possible employment crisis. The World Bank believes that if the digital economy is built properly, it will open paths to new kinds of work, new services and new ventures.

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga noted that the proper application of digital technology can, on the one hand, create new job opportunities and, on the other, ensure the best use of limited resources. But to realise the full benefit, a combination of uninterrupted internet, low-cost technology products, practical digital skills and effective services is needed.

Four areas have been set as the main priorities in the World Bank's outline — expanding reliable internet connectivity, reducing the cost of smartphones and broadband data, widening digital services and technical skills, and building an environment suited to the proper use of AI technology. The employment-focused digital transformation plan has been built on these four foundations.

To implement the new strategy, the World Bank will work to attract private investment to expand internet infrastructure in member countries. Meeting this huge infrastructure demand will be difficult without private capital alongside government initiatives — and that reality is reflected in the plan.

Alongside this, support will be given to reduce the cost of smartphones and internet services and to strengthen basic infrastructure such as national digital identity systems, digital payments and safe data exchange. Once these foundations are strong, digital services will reach ordinary people more easily and new fields of work will also be created.

The World Bank has also announced an initiative to strengthen digital training programmes directly linked to the job market. The goal is not just general training, but preparing young people according to the skills the market actually demands.

In addition, the institution has announced a new special initiative to expand opportunities for using modern AI in emerging economies. AI is becoming a major driving force of the world economy; the initiative speaks to preparing developing countries so they do not fall behind in this race.

The strategy is especially relevant for youth-dependent economies like Bangladesh. Every year a huge number of young people enter the job market, while opportunities in traditional sectors are not growing at the same rate. If affordable internet, digital skills and digital payments expand, new employment opportunities may grow in freelancing, e-commerce and technology-based services.

But an announcement is not the final word; implementation will be the real test. Without coordinated efforts by member governments, the private sector and development partners, reaching the target of jobs for 1.2 billion young people will not be easy. It now remains to be seen how quickly the declared priorities turn into visible initiatives on the ground.