The World Bank Group today launched its first digital strategy, bringing together its public and private sector capabilities to help developing countries expand affordable digital access, improve services, and create jobs.

The strategy addresses four priorities: expanding connectivity; making devices and data more affordable; strengthening digital services and skills; and helping countries build the foundations to benefit from artificial intelligence.

“Digital technology can help countries create jobs and make scarce resources go further. Realizing that potential requires a comprehensive approach—from reliable connectivity and affordable devices to digital skills and useful services,” said World Bank Group President Ajay Banga. “Our first digital strategy brings these pieces together, helping countries build the foundations to benefit from today’s digital tools and the promise of small AI—AI for the people.”

The launch comes as developing countries face twin challenges: constrained resources and a growing need for jobs. Over the next 10 to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people will reach working age in developing countries, while their economies are projected to create about 420 million jobs.

Digital technology can support job creation across the World Bank Group’s five priority sectors: infrastructure and energy, agribusiness, health care, tourism, and value-added manufacturing. It can help businesses reach customers, improve productivity, and access finance, while reducing the cost of delivering public services.

Yet substantial barriers remain. Over 2 billion people were offline globally in 2025. Only 23 percent of people in low-income countries used the internet, compared with 94 percent in high-income countries. Many people live within network coverage but cannot afford a smartphone or data, lack digital skills, or have limited access to services relevant to their needs.

The strategy sets out four areas of action:

• Expand reliable connectivity. The World Bank Group will help countries address gaps across the network, from international cables and national connections to the networks serving homes, businesses, schools, and clinics. Its approach includes supporting shared infrastructure, encouraging competition, and using public finance and guarantees to help attract private investment into underserved markets. Where electricity and connectivity are both missing, the strategy supports planning them together.
• Make devices and data more affordable. The strategy supports efforts to lower the cost of entry-level smartphones and broadband services that increase the cost of staying connected. Partnerships with manufacturers, mobile operators, financial institutions, and refurbishment businesses can help lower prices and expand responsible options for paying over time.
• Expand digital services and skills. The World Bank Group will support reliable systems for digital identification, payments, and secure information-sharing that make public and private services easier to access. It will also help countries strengthen digital literacy and training linked to employment, enabling more people and small businesses to use technology safely and productively.
• Build readiness for AI. The strategy will help countries strengthen connectivity, access computing resources, develop usable local data, and build skills. It emphasizes practical applications of “small AI”—tools adapted to specific tasks and local conditions, such as helping farmers identify crop disease, supporting health workers, or helping businesses manage inventory.

Safeguards—from privacy to cybersecurity and fraud protection—run across all four priorities.

The strategy brings together the World Bank Group’s financing, policy advice, private investment, and guarantees around country priorities. It also provides a basis for working with governments, technology companies, development partners, and philanthropy to extend digital opportunities to more people and businesses. Its aim is to help countries turn digital access into higher productivity, better services, and more opportunities to earn a living.

Complementing the strategy’s AI readiness and adaptation priority, the World Bank Group also announced the AI Infrastructure and Readiness Initiative. This is a new effort to help governments in emerging markets access affordable compute capacity—and put small AI to productive use—through shared, pay-as-you-go GPU infrastructure (specialized computing power used to develop and run AI applications), offering a practical alternative to standalone national data centers. The initiative will have an initial focus on Africa and Latin America, with knowledge partners including Cassava Technologies and NVIDIA.

Contact: World Bank Media Relations: +1 (202) 473 7660, press@worldbankgroup.org

Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC) is promoting investment opportunities in the country’s cocoa and coffee industries at the World Food Forum, held from October 8 to 16, 2026, at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy.

The Cameroonian agency is using the event to showcase products from both industries and present investment opportunities across their value chains. Led by ONCC Director General Michael Ndoping, the delegation is offering visitors coffee tastings featuring varieties from different parts of Cameroon. Its exhibition stand also displays chocolates, cocoa pods, and green and roasted coffee beans. Visitors can also access information about investment opportunities in the cocoa and coffee value chains.

The promotional effort follows several international awards earned by Cameroon’s cocoa and coffee industries in 2026. On February 20, the SCCAPCC cooperative from Kye-Ossi, represented by François Atangana Onana, won a gold medal in the Africa and Indian Ocean category at the Cacao of Excellence Awards in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Two weeks earlier, Cameroon had secured first place in the natural robusta category and third place in the women-produced natural robusta category at the African Taste of Harvest 2026 competition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. These awards add to the recognition Cameroon received in 2023 from the International Cocoa Organization, which included the country among exporters of fine or flavor cocoa. However, this classification does not necessarily apply to all cocoa produced in Cameroon.

According to the ONCC, these achievements reflect more than a decade of efforts by public authorities and industry stakeholders to improve the quality of Cameroonian cocoa and coffee.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Aliko Dangote met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at his office in Canada to discuss investment partnerships between Canada and Africa, in a meeting the Dangote Group described as focused on opportunities inside Canada.

The stated agenda was the direction less commonly reported. According to the group, the discussions covered expanding investment opportunities in Canada and how the Dangote Group, alongside other African investors, might contribute to Canadian economic growth. The two also discussed Canada’s Africa Strategy and two-way trade flows.

No investment figure, sector, agreement or timeline was disclosed.

“Strategic partnerships between Africa and Canada have immense potential to drive sustainable growth and create value for both regions,” Dangote said. “There is a strong case for increasing investment, fostering innovation, and building mutually beneficial commercial relationships.”

He said closer economic ties would create jobs, support innovation and advance industrial development.

Dangote also met Ahmed Hussen, a member of parliament who chairs Canada’s foreign affairs committee. Hussen was born in Mogadishu and arrived in Canada as a refugee at 16, later serving as immigration minister and international development minister. Those discussions covered trade, investment and long-term cooperation.

A G7 prime minister taking a personal meeting with an African industrialist about outbound African capital is a departure from the pattern of the past two decades, in which Western governments have positioned themselves as sources of development finance for Africa rather than destinations for African investment.

Carney spent his career in central banking before entering politics, running the Bank of Canada through the financial crisis and the Bank of England through Brexit, which gives the meeting a different character from a routine trade call.

The timing sits alongside the largest capital raising Dangote has attempted. Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has filed with Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering expected to conclude in October, seeking about $5 billion in what would be the largest share sale ever conducted in Africa. Exchanges in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda have held talks with the company’s advisers about allowing local investors to take part.

Source: Billionaires.Africa

Artificial intelligence (AI) could allow developing countries to do in a decade what might otherwise take a century—provided that governments act swiftly to close the gaps in power, connectivity, skills, and institutional quality that threaten to leave them behind, according to the World Bank Group’s World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence.

The report, released today, finds that jobs in high-income countries are more than three times as likely to be at risk of automation by generative AI than those in low- and middle-income countries, where 4.5% of existing jobs are at risk, compared with 14.2% in high-income countries. At the same time, 16.2% of jobs in developing economies could see productivity meaningfully boosted by AI — close to the 18.7% expected in high-income countries. The greatest promise for developing countries lies not in replacing workers, but in amplifying 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. “They do not need large models or big data centers to reap its benefits. By adapting small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions, they can bring better medical care, education, judicial services and agricultural extension within reach of millions. But they must hurry: AI is spreading faster and is more context-specific than earlier general-purpose technologies like electricity and the internet. World Development Report 2026 shows how developing countries are responding—and succeeding.”

The report is the first comprehensive assessment of AI’s implications for developing countries, revealing how businesses and governments in these countries have begun to use AI. It finds that AI is already helping people, businesses, and governments solve problems, analyze information, improve forecasts, and deliver services at a larger scale. These capabilities are especially valuable in countries where trained professionals, reliable records, and public capacity are often limited. AI tools can make it easier for doctors to diagnose patients, farmers to improve crop decisions, and businesses to become more productive. Governments, too, could use AI to improve tax collection, social programs, disaster response, health care, and education.

Developing economies today are in the midst of their weakest average growth performance in three decades. AI could significantly boost that performance before the end of the 2020s while delivering tangible benefits to people, the report finds. The opportunity is not guaranteed, however. The most advanced AI systems are being built by a small number of countries and companies, while many developing economies still lack the power, internet access, data, skills, and institutions needed to use AI effectively. Without deliberate action, AI could widen gaps between countries, increase inequality within them, concentrate market power, weaken trust in public institutions, and create new risks for safety, rights, and social cohesion.

The report sets out a clear, three-step path: adopt available tools, adapt them to local conditions, and — over time — advance toward frontier AI development. This sequenced approach helps countries avoid costly and inefficient attempts to replicate advanced AI before the foundational conditions are in place.

“The window to get this right is narrow,” said Gaurav Nayyar, Director of the World Development Report 2026. “AI presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve problems that have resisted solutions for generations. Developing countries that build the foundations now—power, connectivity, skills, and institutions—will be positioned to adopt and adapt AI for their people.”

None of this is possible without first investing in the basics. In Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly one-third of rural schools still lack reliable electricity, and more than two-thirds lack dependable internet access. Closing this gap is already a priority — the World Bank Group is working with partners through Mission 300 to provide energy access to 300 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, laying the foundation for broader digital and AI inclusion.

Countries also need to expand access to computing power and improve the availability of local data, including in local languages, so AI tools can be tailored to serve their own people and economies. Governments should make it easier for new firms to attract investment, test ideas, and scale what works. Many AI pilots are already underway, but the bigger challenge is knowing which ones deliver results. Better evidence, stronger skills, and clearer procurement and evaluation frameworks will be essential.

Building public trust is equally important. As AI evolves rapidly, governments should begin by drawing on voluntary industry standards to encourage responsible use, anchored in international cooperation to prevent regulatory fragmentation. When voluntary measures fall short, governments should apply existing laws to address harms directly. Improved public services and better learning outcomes in schools will reinforce trust — but if AI embeds bias in government decisions or erodes data privacy, that trust will be difficult to recover.

Canada wants to expand investment and business partnerships with Cameroon. Officials used this year’s Canada Day celebrations in Yaounde to present the country as a strategic economic partner in Central Africa.

The reception, hosted by the High Commission of Canada on July 8, brought together members of the Cameroonian government, diplomats, parliamentarians and a visiting Canadian parliamentary delegation attending the 51st Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF), which runs in Yaounde until July 12.

Speaking at the official residence of Canada in Yaounde, Canadian High Commissioner Marie-Claude Harvey said Ottawa is stepping up its economic engagement across Africa and sees Cameroon as a key partner because of its strategic location and economic potential.

“Here in Cameroon, we are working with you to strengthen the economy, support entrepreneurship and promote growth that is inclusive, particularly for women. Because investing in people is the best investment there is,” Harvey said.

She added that Canada’s renewed engagement with Africa aims to deepen economic partnerships with countries pursuing sustainable and inclusive growth.

“Thanks to its strategic position in Central Africa, Cameroon is a leading partner. We therefore wish to encourage more investment, innovation and mutually beneficial partnerships between our two countries,” she said.

Harvey also pointed to broader areas of cooperation between the two countries, including education, governance, innovation, entrepreneurship and cultural exchanges, while reaffirming Canada’s commitment to multilateralism at a time of heightened global economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

Parliamentary Delegation Visits Yaounde

The Canada Day celebration coincided with the visit of a high-level Canadian parliamentary delegation led by Marie-France Lalonde, president of the Canadian Branch of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie.

The delegation is taking part in the 51st Session of the APF, where representatives from 99 member sections are meeting to discuss issues including multilateralism, peacebuilding and sustainable development.

“Over the coming days, we will have the opportunity to exchange views with Francophone parliamentarians from every continent on issues that affect us all, including multilateralism, peace efforts and sustainable development. The relationship between Canada and the Francophonie is entering a pivotal period,” Lalonde said.

The gathering also provided an opportunity for Canadian officials to reaffirm their ambition to broaden economic cooperation with Cameroon by encouraging greater investment, innovation and private-sector partnerships.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Investor confidence remains shaky after last week’s rollercoaster ride that saw markets whipsaw on the Middle East crisis and growing concerns about a tech bubble fuelled by the AI boom.

While there is an expectation that Washington and Tehran will finalise a deal to end their conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the process has been fraught with tensions between the long-time foes.

The two have traded strikes in recent days, disrupting shipping through the vital waterway and fanning concerns Iran will shut it down again.

The US Central Command said it had attacked 10 Iranian military targets over “continued Iranian aggression against commercial shipping”.

Iran said it retaliated with strikes against US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Both Kuwait and Bahrain denounced the Iranian attacks.

Tehran has been angered by Oman’s announcement of an alternative route through the strait that hugged the Omani shoreline, which Muscat said was in conjunction with the International Maritime Organization.

Iran insists on controlling passage through the vital strait, something it did not enjoy before the war.

Both countries agreed to stop attacking each other, US media outlets reported late Sunday citing senior US officials, and plan to meet Tuesday in Qatar for more talks.

US President Donald Trump has repeated past threats of military action if the Iranian strikes continue, saying on Saturday that Iran would “no longer exist” if the US is “forced” to resume the war.

Iran’s top diplomat warned Sunday that any attempt by ships to bypass its preferred route would “increase tensions”.

A US official said Sunday: “Technical talks are slated to continue on all areas of the MOU (memorandum of understanding). Both sides will stand down for now and vessels can move freely” in and around the strait.

Oil prices, which last week fell to pre-war levels, rose Monday, with West Texas Intermediate adding more than one percent.

Equity markets fluctuated, with Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington, Taipei and Manila up but Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Jakarta down.

Tech firms were again in the spotlight after leading hefty losses last week, with South Korean chip makers SK hynix and Samsung taking the brunt of the selling.

The sector has been hammered by concerns that valuations have gone too far and questions about when firms will see a return on the trillions of dollars pumped into AI.

The tech rally has sent Seoul, Tokyo and Wall Street’s three main indexes to record highs this year, with SK hynix alone soaring 300 percent in the first six months of the year.

The Bank for International Settlements — considered the central bank of central banks — warned Sunday of a possible bust following a long-running investment boom by companies looking to keep ahead in the AI race.

“Disappointment in returns could trigger a sudden pullback in financing and turn the capex boom into a protracted investment bust, with potential knock-on effects on financial conditions,” it said in its annual report.

It added that “a major equity-market correction could have larger macroeconomic consequences today than in the past”.

Investors are looking ahead to the release of US jobs data, which could have a bearing on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy plans.

The bank has taken a more hawkish turn amid concerns over surging inflation that has been caused by the Iran war.

“Last month, the strong data triggered a four percent sell-off on the Nasdaq, its worst single-day decline in over a year, as higher-for-longer fears weighed heavily on the AI trade,” said IG market analyst Fabien Yip.

“A repeat beat on Thursday could trigger a similar rotation; a miss, by contrast, may dampen hike expectations and lift rates-sensitive equities.”

Key figures around 0230 GMT

Seoul – Kospi: DOWN 1.9 percent at 8,254.35

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7 percent at 68,869.43 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.7 percent at 23,048.81

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,032.52

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $70.00 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $72.47 a barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1391 from $1.1388 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3208 from $1.3200

Dollar/yen: UP at 161.79 yen from 161.75 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.25 pence from 86.28 pence

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 51,876.11 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 10,508.02 (close)

Source: AFP

Eyes are now on developments ahead of Friday’s signing ceremony in Switzerland, which will bring an end to more than three months of a war that has sent shockwaves through energy markets and sent global inflation soaring.

US President Donald said ships were again moving through the strait and it would be “completely open” by Friday, while Iranian media said three oil tankers and two cargo ships had passed through the area that had been subject to a US naval blockade.

Tehran blockaded the waterway after the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. The United States then blocked shipping to and from Iranian ports.

A senior US administration official, however, said Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had already signed the text electronically.

“Investors are increasingly pricing in a lasting improvement in the geopolitical backdrop,” wrote Fiona Cincotta at City Index.

“However, with several details yet to be finalised, any setbacks could trigger a sharp market reaction. For now, confidence is growing that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and energy supplies will normalise.”

She added that “the key question is not whether a deal is reached, but how quickly oil exports and production can recover”.

“Investors will also be watching compliance with the agreement and the pace of supply normalisation,” she added.

Oil industry watchers caution that market conditions will likely be tight for a period of weeks or months. Fresh US Department of Energy data showed strategic oil stockpiles sank last week to their lowest level since 1983.

Shipping groups warned Monday that it was too soon to safely resume sailing.

The deal sparked a huge relief rally across global equities, with the Dow on Wall Street hitting a record high, while crude prices plunged almost five percent.

The optimism remained largely intact Tuesday, with both main crude contracts barely moved and stocks mostly up.

Seoul led gains once more, surging more than one percent — a day after piling on more than five percent — helped by fresh advances in the tech sector.

That came on the back of another blockbuster day for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which jumped almost 20 percent for the second day in a row after listing Monday.

Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Manila also rose, though Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney were down.

There was little reaction to news that Chinese retail sales shrank last month for the first time since 2022.

Investors are keeping close tabs on the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting, where it is expected to hike interest rates to a 31-year high later in the day.

Key figures around 0230 GMT

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 69,234.42 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.4 percent at 24,507.31

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,099.70

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $80.77 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $83.19 a barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1586 from $1.1592 on Monday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3402 from $1.3416

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 160.15 yen from 160.30 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 86.45 pence from 86.40 pence

New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 51,671.03 (close)

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 10,430.62 (close)

Source: AFP

Cameroon and the United Arab Emirates have opened discussions on a new framework aimed at strengthening trade and investment ties.

The initiative was discussed during a meeting in Yaounde on June 10, 2026 between Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana and Salem Saeed Alsham, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Arab Emirates accredited to Nigeria and Cameroon. The talks focused on expanding economic cooperation and identifying new areas of commercial partnership between the two countries, which have maintained diplomatic relations since 1975.

A key proposal examined during the meeting was the possible conclusion of a Comprehensive Investment Partnership Agreement. The proposed framework would establish legal and institutional mechanisms to facilitate trade, encourage investment flows and provide a structured basis for long-term economic cooperation.

According to figures presented by the Emirati diplomat and relayed by the Ministry of Trade, non-oil trade between Cameroon and the UAE reached US$1.24 billion in 2024, representing a two per cent increase compared with the previous year. Both sides described the performance as encouraging while acknowledging significant scope for further growth in trade and investment.

From Cameroon’s perspective, the discussions focused on attracting investment into value-added industries rather than relying solely on exports of unprocessed commodities. Minister Mbarga Atangana highlighted opportunities in the agro-industrial sector, particularly in the processing of cocoa, palm oil, cotton and coffee.

The minister said the various derivatives produced from these commodities offer investment opportunities for foreign partners, including Emirati investors seeking projects beyond the hydrocarbons sector. The Ministry of Trade reiterated Cameroon’s commitment to creating favourable conditions for foreign investment while expanding commercial partnerships with strategic international markets.

According to information published by the ministry, the UAE’s growing interest in the Cameroonian market reflects the Gulf state’s broader strategy of diversifying its international economic engagement and exploring opportunities beyond the oil and gas sector.

For Cameroon, the discussions are part of wider efforts to attract productive investment capable of supporting industrial development and export diversification. Authorities view foreign direct investment in processing industries as a means of increasing local value addition and strengthening the country’s export base.

Both sides welcomed the prospect of concluding a trade and investment cooperation agreement, describing it as a potential instrument for strengthening economic ties and creating a more predictable framework for future business activity.

The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to deepen bilateral economic relations and explore mechanisms that could support increased trade, investment and industrial cooperation between the two countries, according to the Ministry of Trade.

Source: Business in Cameroon