World Bank unveils digital strategy to boost MSMEs, create jobs

The World Bank has unveiled a new strategy to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries.

The World Bank stated that it would use digital technology and data-driven solutions to boost business growth and create jobs.

The President of World Bank, Ajay Banga, announced the strategy while speaking at one of the Bank’s flagship event in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

Banga said the strategy focused on making MSMEs visible, connected, enabled and funded, with the aim of helping small businesses overcome structural barriers to financing, expand their operations and generate employment.

Banga said MSMEs accounted for 90 per cent of firms and employed 75 per cent of workers in developing countries, making them critical to economic growth and job creation.

He added that the employment challenge would intensify over the next 15 years, when 1.2 billion young people in developing countries would reach working age, while only about 420 million jobs were expected to be created.

Banga stated that the ability of young people to find jobs, establish businesses, and build sustainable livelihoods would determine the strength of economies, trade and social stability in the coming years.

He said the World Bank was directing financing towards infrastructure, governance and private capital mobilisation to strengthen the foundations required for businesses to grow and employ more people.

Banga said the institution committed 40 billion dollars to infrastructure and another 24 billion dollars to improving governance in the previous year, with the investments accounting for more than half of its financing.

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He identified energy and infrastructure, agribusiness, primary healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing as five sectors with significant potential for job creation, stressing that MSMEs remain central to their development.

“MSMEs are the backbone of all five of these. They cannot create jobs without funding. They cannot create jobs without the right capacity building,” Banga added.

Banga said MSMEs in developing countries faced an annual financing gap of more than four trillion dollars, attributing the challenge to high lending costs, collateral requirements, regulatory constraints and limited credit information.

He said: “Digital payments, electronic invoicing and access to tax and utility payment records can establish reliable credit histories for small businesses.

“The World Bank will also support digital platforms that connect MSMEs to customers, suppliers, logistics, professional services and financing, while helping governments simplify business registration, licensing and regulatory processes.”