We are quickly reaching an inflection point where withholding Generative AI solutions from healthcare systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) will be as morally indefensible as denying any other life-saving intervention. Subscribe Now for more digital health insights! Recent research reveals a sobering reality that challenges our traditional ethical frameworks: AI now outperforms doctors in diagnostic accuracy while LMICs face an insurmountable physician shortage that will cost millions of lives.

 How many promising digital health pilots have you seen celebrated at conferences for addressing mental health, only to disappear into the graveyard of good intentions? The sector's obsession with perfect pilots is killing scalable solutions. The real challenge isn't proving your intervention works. It is designing something the government can actually operationalize within existing budget constraints and administrative capacity.

Despite record progress in financial inclusion, 1.3 billion adults worldwide remain unbanked, with women comprising 55% of this excluded population. For communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia, limited access to financial services perpetuates cycles of poverty and vulnerability, particularly as climate shocks increasingly threaten economic stability. Yet recent data shows 40% of adults in developing economies now save formally - the fastest rise in over a decade - indicating growing readiness for innovative financial products.

When the WHO Science Council released its 2025 report Advancing the Responsible Use of Digital Technologies in Global Health, I saw digital health practitioners nod approvingly at the familiar recommendations. The report follows a predictable pattern that echoes decades of global health strategy documents. We need to improve governance frameworks, interoperability standards, and workforce development. But buried within Recommendation 6 lies a dangerous confusion.

The authoritarian playbook is clear: shut down the internet, silence dissent, surveil citizens, manipulate elections. As a result, authorities cut internet access to 111 million Africans in 2024. This censorship inflicted $1.56 billion in economic losses and silencing citizens during elections, protests, and conflicts. Subscribe Now to get more funding leads Digital authoritarianism is accelerating across the continent. In Equatorial Guinea, residents of Annobón island have been…

We are witnessing one of the most dangerous narratives to emerge in the ICT4D space in decades. While Washington and Beijing battle for technological supremacy, development practitioners are being pushed to pick sides in a competition that misrepresents the global distribution of AI capabilities and undermines the potential for international research and regulatory cooperation. The US-China “AI Cold War” Narrative…

Sadly, countless health chatbot projects crash and burn across low- and middle-income countries each year. It's not about artificial intelligence limitations, insufficient funding, or even poor internet connectivity. The truth is that most chatbot implementations fail because we're building sophisticated technology solutions backwards. The Frontier Technologies Hub recently released findings from four health chatbot pilots across Peru, Kenya, and Nigeria that should make every development professional pause.

While development practitioners debate whether smartphones have rendered Community Information Centres obsolete, new research from Ghana reveals a more complex truth: CICs aren't competing with mobile technology—they're complementing it in ways that are crucial for equitable development. The conventional wisdom suggests that with Ghana achieving a 55% mobile adoption rate and 10.7 million people accessing the internet through mobile devices, traditional telecentres should be withering away.

1.8 billion people still lack access to essential social services. Yet the nonprofit sector faces a persistent technology gap that undermines mission delivery. Sign Up Now for more funding insights Organizations working in child welfare, crisis response, and environmental protection often operate with fragmented systems, paper-based processes, and limited digital capacity. This digital divide doesn't just affect internal operations—it directly impacts the communities these organizations serve.

I have lost count of how many digital health pilot projects promised to revolutionize healthcare access in LMICs. Most delivered a few thousand consultations before quietly disappearing. Then there's eSanjeevani, India's national telemedicine platform, which just delivered 163 million consultations across 28 states in under four years. The scale alone demands attention. However, what fascinates me about the new research published in Oxford's Digital Health journal…

Most development organizations are sleepwalking into a generative AI crisis. While we're busy celebrating ChatGPT's latest capabilities, ASEAN's new Expanded Guide on AI Governance and Ethics has identified six critical risks that could derail our digital transformation efforts across low- and middle-income countries. The reality is more complex than the typical "AI will solve everything" narrative. The Six Generative AI Risks…

The development sector faces a paradox. Despite decades of innovation in ICT4D solutions, most social ventures remain trapped in a cycle of small grants and limited reach.  The challenges we face today demand innovative solutions that can scale impact to billions of people. Sign Up Now for more calls for proposals In an era where digital transformation has accelerated post-pandemic adoption of everything from…

The dream of upward mobility is increasingly out of reach for millions. Low-income workers around the world face systemic barriers to better jobs, education, and public benefits. Barriers that trap families in cycles of poverty despite their best efforts. Please Subscribe Now for more grant announcements! Traditional approaches to workforce development and social services struggle to scale personalized support, leaving those who need help most navigating complex systems alone.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 10-12 million young people enter the labor market annually, yet only 3 million formal jobs are created. Meanwhile, Europe and the Gulf face acute shortages in hospitality, construction, and healthcare. The mismatch is clear: African talent is ready, global demand is rising, but the systems connecting them remain broken, risky and underinvested. Sign Up Now for more funding opportunities…

Large, resource-intensive, general-purpose Generative AI models are causing undeniable harm to the environment, the climate, and communities around the globe. Small language models, built in purposeful and controlled ways, and managed with thoughtful design, can be an alternative. Built with fewer computational resources, they can lead to faster processing, increased possibilities on smaller devices, more privacy and security, and they can be tailored by you and your tasks!

The global startup ecosystem faces a persistent challenge: early-stage ventures struggle to secure both capital and visibility in an increasingly crowded marketplace. However, venture capital often concentrates in established tech hubs. We need to actively seek solutions from diverse geographies. Subscribe Now to Get More Funding Emails The mobile ecosystem continues driving digital transformation in low- and middle-income countries, where connectivity remains fundamental to accessing education, healthcare, and financial services.

I've spent years advocating for digital inclusion, arguing that Internet access is fundamental to closing development gaps. But new research from the University of Zurich has me questioning everything we think we know about connectivity and its benefits for young people in low and middle-income countries. The findings are stark and uncomfortable: 3G internet coverage leads to substantial increases in smartphone ownership and internet usage among adolescents, but also results in significant declines in test scores in math, reading, and science, with magnitudes roughly equivalent to the loss of one-quarter of a year of learning.

Many nonprofit organizations still lack the resources or support to shape artificial intelligence for public good. OpenAI’s People-First AI Fund aims to change that. This opportunity offers a large scale investment in organizations that are building AI literacy, fostering innovation from the ground up, and creating inclusive economic opportunities. Sign Up Now for more funding leads. OpenAI has committed $50 million to support mission-focused and nonprofit organizations working where innovation intersects with public welfare.

We've spent years watching development organizations celebrate every new digital initiative as a silver bullet for poverty and poor governance. The conventional wisdom is seductive: build the digital rails, and development will follow. But Ethiopia's experience with digital infrastructure tells a different, more sobering story that should make us all pause before our next digital transformation pitch. The Data Doesn't Lie—It Confounds…

Artificial intelligence is moving from hype to reality, offering powerful tools to transform health, education, livelihoods, and climate resilience. Yet in Ethiopia, many communities remain underserved by both technology and policy. Sign Up Now to get more funding updates Responsible AI solutions can help close service gaps, improve efficiency, and build resilience—if they are designed inclusively and ethically. That is exactly the goal of the EthiopiAI Programme from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

While development practitioners obsess over access to capital and business training, groundbreaking research from The Gambia reveals something far more powerful: how platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp connect women entrepreneurs and actually amplify the strength of their relationships in ways that transform businesses. The concept is called "tie-strength amplification," and it's reshaping how we should approach digital development programming. Let me explain why this matters for your work.

The MIT report declaring that 95% of generative AI pilots are "failing" has sent shockwaves through boardrooms and generated countless LinkedIn hot takes about artificial intelligence's imminent demise. Headlines scream about wasted billions and broken promises, feeding into a familiar cycle of technological disillusionment. But here's what the doomsayers are missing: this spectacular "failure" rate isn't evidence of AI's weakness.

Africa's women entrepreneurs face a staggering $42 billion financing gap, and traditional venture capital continues failing them spectacularly. They need strategic economic development that recognizes women entrepreneurs as Africa's most underutilized growth engine. Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge 2025 Tech FoundHER Africa Challenge offers $100,000 grants combined with mentorship and investor networks to address the systemic barriers that keep women-led tech innovation marginalized.

Against the backdrop of rapidly evolving digital technologies, it is unimaginable that one third of humanity – or 2.6 billion people – still remain offline. Sign up now for more funding emails. This lack of connectivity means that many children have fewer opportunities to learn and fulfill their potential. Closing this digital divide requires global cooperation, leadership and innovation in finance and technology.

Collaborative international research and development, and technology development, projects can help society prepare for, respond to, and recover from different kinds of disasters, such as: Human-caused: including widespread destruction resulting from conflict and war, urban fires, and industrial accidents of various kinds. Natural: including avalanche, flooding, extreme cold and hot weather, drought, earthquake, storms, volcanic activity, and wildfire. Research and development products and solutions can save life, prevent or limit environmental catastrophes, and help society prepare for a future where climate change is expected to increase the frequency and scale of many kinds of disasters.