AI can help Nigeria and other developing countries progress faster

Artificial intelligence (AI) can help developing countries achieve in ten years what would normally take a century, according to a report from the World Bank.

The World Bank said governments need to act quickly to fix issues with electricity, internet access, skills, and quality of institutions so they do not fall behind.

This information comes from the World Development Report 2026, called ‘The Promise of Artificial Intelligence’. The report looked at how businesses are using AI in developing countries, including 777 firms in Nigeria.

The World Bank urged developing countries to stay positive. They noted that AI can help governments reach billions of underserved people with better access to medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services.

“AI could help extend otherwise costly medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services to the underserved billions, doing in a decade what might otherwise take a century,” the report stated.

It also pointed out that jobs in rich countries are more than three times as likely to be at risk of automation by generative AI compared to jobs in low- and middle-income countries. In these poorer countries, only 4.5 percent of jobs are at risk, while 14.2 percent are at risk in high-income countries.

At the same time, 16.2 percent of jobs in developing countries could see a big boost in productivity thanks to AI. This is close to the 18.7 percent expected in richer countries.

The report said the greatest benefit for developing countries lies not in replacing workers, but in enhancing what they can do.

“AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it,” said Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group.

He explained that developing economies do not need large machines or big data centers to gain from AI. By using small, affordable AI tools that fit local needs, they can improve medical care, education, judicial services, and agricultural support for millions.

This report is the first detailed look at AI’s effects on developing countries. It shows how businesses and governments are starting to use AI.

It found that AI is already helping people, businesses, and governments solve problems, analyze information, improve forecasts, and provide services on a larger scale.

These benefits are especially useful in countries where trained experts, reliable records, and public services are often lacking.

According to the World Bank, AI tools can help doctors diagnose patients better, assist farmers in making smarter crop choices, and help businesses increase productivity.

Governments can also use AI to improve tax collection, social programs, disaster response, healthcare, and education, the report noted.

The World Bank said AI could significantly improve the slow growth of developing countries before the end of the 2020s, bringing real benefits to people.

The report also mentioned that the opportunity is limited. Many developing countries still struggle with power, internet access, data availability, skills, and institutions needed to effectively use AI.

Without careful planning, AI could increase gaps between countries, raise inequality within them, concentrate market power, decrease trust in public institutions, and create new risks to safety, rights, and social stability.

The report recommends a clear three-step plan: use available tools, adapt them to local situations, and slowly move towards advanced AI development.