Empowering Emerging Markets: The Path to Sustainable AI Adoption
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transitioning from experimental tools to a versatile technology that has the potential to transform production, productivity, and economic growth. A recent report by the World Bank Group emphasizes the importance of developing sustainable local ecosystems for AI adoption in emerging markets, rather than relying solely on importing models.
The evolution of AI from traditional pattern-recognition systems to generative AI and agentic AI, which can plan and execute tasks independently, is rapidly expanding globally. In emerging markets, AI presents an opportunity to overcome limitations in education, healthcare, and finance by leveraging defined tasks and large data sets.
While AI development is primarily concentrated in high-income economies, emerging markets can unlock value by considering the broader operating environment beyond model-centric approaches. This includes investing in digital infrastructure, data, skills development, and connecting relevant stakeholders.
AI-enabling elements encompass both hard and soft infrastructure, digital public infrastructure, and AI building blocks. Leveraging proprietary and open-source approaches can help reduce costs and enhance local control over AI technologies.
Vertical AI solutions tailored to specific sectors, such as fintech credit scoring in Africa and agritech yield prediction in South America, demonstrate the potential for AI to drive innovation and efficiency in diverse industries.
The report outlines three impact horizons for AI adoption: short to medium term gains in productivity and service delivery, medium to long term benefits in ecosystem development and job creation, and long-term systemic impacts on global diffusion and industry transformation.
Challenges in emerging markets include fragmented markets, limited purchasing power, global player dominance, and rapid commoditization of AI models and infrastructure. To address these challenges, early validation of product-market fit, local adaptation, and strategic use of open tools are recommended.
Achieving sustainable AI adoption in emerging markets requires collaboration among governments, businesses, investors, communities, and entrepreneurs. By establishing the right foundations, AI can drive long-term economic transformation tailored to local needs and capabilities.