Every year I say the same thing: “I can’t believe the year is almost over.” And yet, here we are again. As 2025 comes to a close, ’tis the season to reflect.
For Global Prosperity, this year was defined by a collision between global urgency and deeper questions about growth, technology, and prosperity. Amid uncertainty and rapid change, our goal remained constant: to help leaders understand what kind of innovation actually expands opportunity.
This year, we pursued that goal by studying the rise of artificial intelligence, revisiting the often-misunderstood mechanisms behind scale, and examining real market-creating opportunities in Nigeria. Below are some of the highlights and biggest lessons from our work in 2025.
The trending topic: AI and the future of…well, just the future.
Artificial intelligence dominated global conversation this year. Would it take our jobs? Would it change society? What does disruptive innovation theory actually predict about AI?
But for global development, the more important question is this: who does AI create opportunities for, and who does it leave behind?
Through our research, we’ve learned that AI differs from past technologies in a fundamental way. It does not merely automate tasks; it automates intelligence itself. Historically, intelligence has been an input into new technologies. With AI, it becomes the output. In doing so, AI has the potential to reshape how new technologies are generated and, in turn, how work and society are organized.
That reality can feel unsettling. But it is not inherently hopeless.
As Efosa Ojomo explains in his recent piece, disruptive innovation theory suggests that AI can either deepen inequality or help create global prosperity. The outcome depends less on the technology itself and more on the institutions and incentives that shape how it is deployed.
An underrated lesson: Why profit enables scale
This focus on incentives leads to one of the most underrated, yet powerful lessons we were reminded of this year: the importance of profit.
We often associate the development world with nonprofits, grants, and aid. We forget that profit is the most powerful engine for scaling impact, dignity, and prosperity.
Profit is not only a signal of value but also a feedback mechanism and a way to sustain solutions beyond grants and pilots. The most successful market-creating innovations we study solve real struggles profitably and in doing so, create jobs, build infrastructure, and give back to their communities over the long run.
From theory to real markets: Learning from Nigeria
In March, our research moved from theory to practice during a field trip to Lagos, Nigeria – an experience beautifully captured in this video by our digital strategist.
From our conversations with entrepreneurs and leaders from organizations such as Tolaram, MAX Mobility, Reelfruit, Sunfi, and Mastercard Foundation we learned that entrepreneurship requires an ecosystem approach, that financing needs structural change, and that there is a major opportunity to empower marginalized groups through innovation.
Being on the field was both an incredible learning experience and instrumental in developing our: Nigeria MCI Opportunities Series. In this series, we examined seven markets across multiple sectors ranging from poultry to eyecare and identified where nonconsumption persists and where investors and entrepreneurs can build new markets that expand access and participation.
What resonated most with our readers
Because this work is ultimately for you — leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs, and engaged citizens — we close each year by reflecting on what resonated most.
Our most popular article of 2025 was Efosa’s “What I learned after studying 80 innovation programs in Africa”. And our most popular “older” blog (not that old, this one is from 2024) was, “How the history of electrification in the United States can help the World Bank’s ambitious plan to electrify Africa”. Readers leaned into history and data patterns to learn about the best ways to create a prosperous future.
In our external media engagements, there was a similar trend, Efosa spoke with Shega on why Africa needs market-creating innovation, not aid, and joined Dr. Ivo Pezzuto of the Forward Thinking Lab for a conversation on life, leadership, and market creation.
Looking ahead
As 2025 comes to a close, this reflection period does too, but the work does not stop here.
We carry these lessons into the new year, continuing our mission to learn alongside entrepreneurs and leaders around the world, and to share what we learn. Because prosperity grows when we focus on creating markets that make participation possible.
