The world's most impactful AI startups will be built in emerging markets

In Nigeria, a startup built a voice-based tool that transcribes and structures clinical notes in real time, offline, to address the shortage of doctors (one per 9,000 patients). In Ghana, a WhatsApp math tutor supported by the World Bank delivered a full year of learning gains in eight months at five dollars per student. In Kenya, a solution embedded in M-Pesa turns transaction data for small merchants into business insights. In India, an AI app analyzes coughs to detect tuberculosis. Less than one percent of people in low-income countries use generative AI, compared to nearly a quarter in high-income countries.