MCDF Describes Connectivity Infrastructure’s Potential to Help Mitigate AI-Induced Digital Divide During FBAS 2026 Panel

The Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) participated in a panel on development opportunities that could arise from artificial intelligence (AI) growth in developing countries at the Special Session of the 6th International Forum on Big Data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (FBAS 2026) held in Beijing on 4 September.

FBAS 2026 was co-organized by the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals and the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the support of United Nations bodies and partners. Setting the stage for the panel were keynote speeches by former Mauritius President H.E. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Dr. Luo Hui, Executive Secretary at the China Association for Science and Technology.

Participants in the panel, entitled “From Digital Intelligence to Resilient Economic Transformation, Investment, and Decent Jobs,” included Mr. Ayumi Konishi, Senior Advisor to MCDF’s CEO, Dr. Taidong Zhou, Associate Research Fellow at the Development Research Center of the State Council of China, and Prof. Zhengzhong Xu of Shanghai University. The panel was moderated by Professor Wang Lei, Secretary General of FBAS 2026.

Mr. Konishi described AI’s rapid diffusion in developing countries, its huge potential as a tool for advancing the SDGs, and the need to mitigate the risk of creating another digital divide between those who can take advantage of AI and who cannot.

It was noted that AI use requires access to data centers and appropriate power supplies. As such, the promotion of investment in sustainable, high-quality cross-border digital connectivity infrastructure and regional power grid development is becoming even more important for developing countries, offering an alternative to building their own data centers and enhancing domestic power generation, Mr. Konishi explained.

He discussed a USD525,000 grant approved by MCDF in 2023 which resulted in USD150 million in investment for a submarine fiber optic cable connecting El Salvador with other countries in the region and a USD1.68 million grant approved by MCDF that same year to develop a project to bring digital connectivity to Antarctica. He also highlighted MCDF’s USD2.62 million grant approved in 2024 to support a project that aims to deliver universal broadband in Nigeria and enhance regional digital connectivity, which is being implemented by the African Development Bank and cofinanced by the Africa Finance Corporation and World Bank.

It is advisable for developing countries to make connectivity an integral part of their strategies for science, technology, and innovation, panelists agreed.