World Bank Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

09/02/2026

APPLY NOW for the Small AI for Development Hackathon Challenge!

Over 2 billion people are still offline. 1.2 billion young people in the Global South will reach working age in the next decade - with far too few jobs to meet them. AI can help close that gap, but only if it's built for the real world.

That's the challenge. Can you build something that works with limited connectivity, local data, and familiar tools like SMS and voice?

The World Bank Group's Small AI for Development Hackathon Challenge — organized by the Digital and AI Vice Presidency, in partnership with the World Bank Group Youth Summit, Development Economics Vice Presidency, and Information and Technology Solutions — is an open call to young innovators aged 18–35 across 150+ countries.

The hackathon itself is run by Hack-Nation, our competition partner bringing the platform, the process, and the energy to make it happen. Spend one weekend — October 3–4, 2026 — building a small AI solution in health, agriculture, or tourism.

The three winners will travel to Seoul to present at the Global AI and Digital Summit in October.

Applications are now open.

Learn more at: https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2026/10/19/global-ai-and-digital-summit-2026 -4191e1bc24-item-96e7506702-tab

Apply today via the Application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_d2qp0yT8MciGi45Tp4HtvFofHd_JDybZnDzseEqU7h7R2w/viewform

OR on the Hack-Nation website: https://hack-nation.ai/and

Click “Apply” and use WBGSmallAIGADS for your referral code.

08/26/2026

Water underpins good health, food production, and the energy that powers businesses. It also supports an estimated 1.7 billion jobs worldwide.

As we look forward to , water insecurity remains a fundamental barrier to growth for billions of people and entire economies.

Closing the water financing gap requires more resources but it also requires making better use of budgets already available. Between 2009 and 2020, water-sector budget ex*****on averaged just 72% meaning nearly 28 cents of every dollar allocated went unspent. Stronger public financial management and public investment management can help change that.

A new World Bank Group blog explores why better budget planning is critical to turning water financing into results that improve health, support job creation, and expand economic opportunity.

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/Money-on-the-Table-Why-Better-Budget-Planning-IsKey-to-Fixing-the-Water-Crisis

Water Week - Stockholm International Water Institute

Money on the Table: Why Better Budget Planning Is Key to Fixing the Water Crisis — Explore how weak public financial management leaves billions in water budgets unspent, and why strengthening planning systems is essential to closing the global WASH financing gap.

08/21/2026

تقرير جديد: من المتوقع أن ينكمش الاقتصاد اللبناني بنسبة 6.4% في عام 2026، مع تجدد الصراع الذي عكس التعافي الهش المسجل في عام 2025. يبقى التقدم في تنفيذ الإصلاحات ضرورياً لاستعادة الثقة ودعم مسار تعافٍ مستدام. https://www.albankaldawli.org/ar/news/press-release/2026/08/21/renewed-conflict-derails-lebanon-s-fragile-economic-recovery

08/21/2026

New Economic Monitor: Lebanon’s economy is projected to contract by 6.4% in 2026as renewed conflict derails the fragile recovery initiated in 2025. Progress on key reforms remains essential to restore confidence and support recovery.
Learn more here: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/08/21/renewed-conflict-derails-lebanon-s-fragile-economic-recovery

08/14/2026

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN for the World Bank Group’s 5th Global Manufacturing Conference in !

Join us on October 26-28 to hear from industry leaders in emerging markets, meet the key policymakers and investors, and build new networks. Gain cutting-edge insights on:

🔗 Resilient and inclusive value chains: Where is real value addition being captured in clean-energy supply chains, and by whom?
🔮 Future of manufacturing in emerging markets: Which technologies move the productivity needle today, and which are still nascent?
⚒️ Industrial ecosystems for sustainable manufacturing: What does it actually take to build competitive supplier networks at country and regional level? Where are the gaps and who is closing them?

Learn more: 👉 https://web.cvent.com/event/7b49ed6d-6998-4d88-913b-1f4d82e01d54/summary
Register: 👉 https://web.cvent.com/event/7b49ed6d-6998-4d88-913b-1f4d82e01d54/register

08/07/2026

بعد أربعة عشر عاماً من الصراع، لا يزال القطاع المالي في سوريا صغيراً، ويرتكز على البنوك، ويعتمد بشكل كبير على العمليات النقدية، مع وساطة مالية محدودة، وبنية تحتية متقادمة للمدفوعات الرقمية، إلى جانب تحديات تتعلق بالرقابة والنزاهة المالية والاستقرار المالي.

إن وجود نظام مالي فعّال أمر حيوي لتحقيق التعافي الاقتصادي، لما يتيحه من صرف الأجور والمعاشات التقاعدية والتحويلات المالية، وإنجاز المعاملات التجارية، وتيسير أنشطة التجارة والاستثمار، وضمان إيصال المساعدات الإنسانية والإنمائية بصورة آمنة وشفافة، فضلاً عن تعزيز كفاءة تحصيل الإيرادات العامة وتنفيذ المدفوعات الحكومية.

وافق مجلس المدراء التنفيذيين للبنك الدولي أمس على منحة بقيمة 100 مليون دولار من المؤسسة الدولية للتنمية (IDA) لدعم سوريا في بناء الأسس لقطاع مالي حديث وآمن وقائم على التكنولوجيا الرقمية.

https://bit.ly/4xuTDYM

08/07/2026

After 14 years of conflict, ’s financial sector remains small, bank-centric, and heavily reliant on cash with minimal financial intermediation, outdated digital payment infrastructure, and challenges in supervisory, financial integrity, and financial stability systems.

A functioning financial system is vital for recovery, enabling wage and pension payments, remittances, business transactions, and facilitating trade and investment, secure and transparent delivery of humanitarian and development assistance, and more effective public revenue collection and government payments.

The World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors approved yesterday a $100 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA) to help Syria build a modern, secure, and digitally-enabled financial sector.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3RYqLZD

08/05/2026

Can AI help accelerate development, or could it widen existing gaps?

Our podcast series on the new World Development Report 2026 explores why AI's impact depends on investments in skills, infrastructure, data & institutions.

Tune in now and subscribe: https://bit.ly/4ce8Ip9.

Also available in Spanish, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Hindi, and Chinese.

08/04/2026

Healthcare systems are under growing pressure, while millions of young people are entering the workforce with too few jobs available.

Digital health offers an opportunity to tackle both challenges at once.

From the world's largest virtual hospital in Arabia to digital health systems supporting millions in , technology is helping expand access to healthcare while creating new economic opportunities. But technology alone isn't enough. Success depends on strong health systems, smart policies, and a clear strategy for jobs.

Read Paschal Donohoe's, WBG Managing Director & Chief Knowledge Officer, latest op-ed: https://bit.ly/4pUe1zZ

08/02/2026

Will AI create enough jobs for the next generation?

Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people will enter the workforce, but only around 400 million jobs are currently projected.

In the new World Bank Group , entrepreneur Marina Mogilko, IFC's Mohamed Eissa, and LinkedIn's Sharat Raghavan explore how AI is reshaping work, the skills that matter most, and why the biggest AI opportunity isn't building models.

It's using them to solve real-world challenges.

🎧 Listen now and join the conversation. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/podcast/2026/07/24/will-ai-make-or-take-the-next-billion-jobs?cid=ECR_FB_worldbank_EN_EXT