Affordable AI key to filling Africa’s 1.2 billion jobs gap – World Leaders

Georgieva said the world was already experiencing the first wave of AI, which had sparked investment and helped sustain global growth despite wars and energy shocks.

The call came from Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank Group (WBG), Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore, at the “Small AI: More and Better Jobs” forum during the ongoing IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok.

Banga said developing economies should focus less on large language models and more on AI tools that deliver tangible benefits in education, healthcare and agriculture.