About WBG
The World Bank Group works in every major area of development. We provide a wide array of financial products and technical assistance, and we help countries share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to the challenges they face.Activities by WBG
Cote d'Ivoire Digital Acceleration Project
Africa Côte d’IvoireThe project aims to address gaps in laws, regulations, and public sector abilities to support digital initiatives and data-driven innovation, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). It seeks to create a better environment for digital transactions, market regulation, and private sector growth. By promoting interoperability, improving data governance, and speeding AI adoption, the project aims to boost the public administration’s productivity, service delivery, and decision-making. Additionally, it addresses the shortage of skilled digital workers by expanding education in advanced digital fields, such as AI engineering, especially for youth and women, thereby driving innovation and productivity.
Activity Type Policy/Regulatory GuidanceEnhancing Self-Reliance and Preparedness for Forced Displacement in the Great Lakes Region
Africa UgandaSouth SudanDemocratic Republic of the CongoProject Component 2 ("Forecasting population movements for forced displacement preparedness") Developed AI models predicting the number of refugees entering Uganda from South Sudan and DRC 4-to-6 months in advance at over 80% accuracy. The performance informed a GoU request for the models to be run live and trigger disbursement of finance for the world's first displacement risk financing mechanism (the displacement crisis response mechanism (DCRM)). DCRM 1.0 released finance after per-person public service pressure levels were breached. This enabled resources to be allocated where needed most within a project lifecycle, but left host communities exposed to increased pressure while disbursement, procurement, and construction took place, straining refugee and host community relations. Prediction-based disbursement would enable capacity construction before pressure increases, when refugees arrive. It will also support humanitarian partners' planning and operations. The model ingests data representing hundreds of dimensions of 90+ variables representing change in the climate, economy, built environment, political and violence events, and online language and searches about these phenomena. Aside from high predictive accuracy, analysis of the model also identify which factors (real and perceived) were most associated with change in levels of refugee arrivals informing development and humanitarian policy and operations in DRC and South Sudan to be more precise and effective in addressing drivers of displacement.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsTechnical assistancePolicy/Regulatory GuidanceExploring the Landscape of Data Use in the Development Economics Literature using Large Language Models (AI and LLMs)
Global Not ApplicableThis project aims to build a Database of Data Use by developing AI models to detect when and how data is mentioned or used in documents. Just as citation databases like Google Scholar have transformed our ability to measure the impact of research, this initiative aims to create a framework for assessing the utility and impact of data. By systematically tracking data use, we can better understand the return on investment in data production, identify data gaps, and guide future funding and policy decisions. However, this challenge cannot be solved through manual methods. There is no widely adopted standard for citing data; references often appear in inconsistent or unstructured forms. AI makes this task feasible for the first time. By learning to recognize the context in which data is referenced, regardless of how it is cited or described, AI enables scalable and intelligent detection of data use across large volumes of text. By uncovering where and how data is used—or not—this project helps ensure that development efforts are grounded in evidence and that investments in data yield real-world impact.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsResearch/Reports/AssessmentsInfrastructure/Systems DevelopmentSaint Lucia Human Capital Resilience Project
Latin America and the Caribbean Saint LuciaThis project is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) through its partnership with an AI lab, potentially integrating AI technologies in the hospitality sector for improving operational efficiency or customer experience. Additionally, the consideration of strengthening the role of the National Apprenticeship Program (NAP) as a coordinating agency for on-the-job training opportunities suggests the potential use of AI or ML for optimizing training programs or matching apprentices with suitable opportunities.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsNetworks/Mentorship/Exchange