Small AI for Development Hackathon Challenge at the Global AI and Digital Summit 2026

About the opportunity

The Small AI for Development Hackathon Challenge is organized by the World Bank Group’s Digital and AI Vice Presidency in collaboration with the Youth Summit, Development Economics Vice Presidency, Information and Technology Solutions, and managed by Hack-Nation. It invites young innovators worldwide to spend a weekend building working small AI solutions tailored to the real constraints of developing economies, focusing on health, agriculture, or tourism. Small AI emphasizes targeted, use-case-driven solutions that function with limited connectivity, train on local data, and interact through familiar tools like basic phones, SMS, or voice. Three winners—one from each sector—will be selected to travel to Seoul, South Korea, to showcase their solutions and participate in high-impact talks during the Global AI and Digital Summit 2026.

Funding and benefits

• Fully-funded trip to Seoul, South Korea, to attend the Global AI and Digital Summit 2026.
• Opportunity to present a High Impact Talk during relevant sectoral breakout sessions on October 21, 2026.
• Coverage of reasonable travel costs, accommodation, and designated event-related expenses for the winning representative.
• Potential facilitated bilateral meetings with investors, private-sector representatives, MSMEs, government officials, and other Summit participants.

Who can apply?

• Open to individuals aged 18 to 35 at the time of application, aligning with the UN definition of youth.
• Applicants must be nationals/residents from World Bank member countries, with emerging economy applicants strongly encouraged.
• Can apply as an individual or in a team of up to 4 members.
• Each team member must register individually, satisfy all eligibility requirements, and be identified as part of the same team before the deadline.
• Active staff of the World Bank Group, including Consultants and Interns, are strictly ineligible.

Required documents

• Official application form submitted via the Hack-Nation website.
• Competition entry and proposed Small AI solution developed and submitted through the dedicated submission portal during the competition window, complete with the referral code WBGSmallAIGADS.

When to apply

• Applications are open now.
• Hackathon application deadline: September 26, 2026.
• Competition weekend: October 3–4, 2026.
• Winners notification and preparation: October 5–6, 2026.
• Winners travel to Seoul: By October 18, 2026.
• Ignite Talk at Global AI and Digital Summit: October 21, 2026.

How to apply

• Step 1: Apply for the Hackathon by completing the official Hack-Nation application process through the application form on the Hack-Nation website by September 26, 2026, using referral code WBGSmallAIGADS.
• Step 2: Develop and submit your proposed Small AI solution through the dedicated submission portal during the official competition window on October 3–4, 2026, ensuring all requirements are met in English.

Additional information

• Applications and submissions must be entirely in English.
• An individual may participate in only one competition entry, and team membership cannot be changed after the hackathon begins.
• While travel expenses to Seoul are covered, winners are solely responsible for securing and paying for their own visas, though the World Bank Group will provide a letter of support upon confirmation.
• Entrants retain ownership and copyright of their submissions, but grant the World Bank Group a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to review, evaluate, reproduce, display, and publish summaries for competition administration, educational, promotional, and knowledge-sharing purposes.