In October 2024, a Financial Times article highlighted the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa, focusing on its positive impact across the continent. In Ghana, for instance, a 22-year-old with a cleft palate, Oscar Darko-Sarfo, has leveraged AI to communicate, significantly boosting his confidence. Similarly, in Kenya and Ethiopia, AI has revolutionized sectors such as healthcare and agriculture.
Nature Index has also recently published a series of articles on AI, one of which spotlighted AI initiatives in Africa. These projects have shown immense promise, from AI-driven chatbots offering financial guidance to localized AI solutions addressing African countries’ pressing challenges.
However, alongside these success stories, there are voices raising concerns. Some articles warn that Africa is falling behind in the AI race, emphasizing the continent’s need to accelerate its progress. In 2023, our CEO contributed a thought-provoking piece to Africa Business, calling for a stronger African presence in the global regulation of AI.
Yet, there is another way to view Africa’s AI landscape. How is the sector evolving? What lessons can Africa learn from countries like China, which has rapidly advanced its AI industry in just a few years?
Africa’s AI journey began in the mid-2010s, driven by increased internet access and penetration. However, despite this growth, Africa still faces significant barriers, notably in data affordability. In 2022, for example, 84.6% of Africans had access to 3G internet, but only 2.7% had access to 5G. In contrast, China, with its rapid 5G expansion, grew from 2.7% in 2019 to 45% in 2022.
To accelerate AI growth in Africa, it’s crucial to draw lessons from China’s impressive 5G growth. African governments must actively encourage both local and foreign investments in 5G infrastructure. Moreover, the continent needs more data centers to support AI adoption. Currently, Africa has just 140 data centers—far fewer than smaller countries like the Netherlands, which has more than 400. In comparison, China had 449 data centers in 2022.
Equally important is the financing of AI itself. African AI startups continue to receive limited funding. Since 2019, Africa has accounted for less than 4.5% of global AI funding, and in 2023, that number dropped sharply to just 0.35%.
But here’s the key takeaway: Africa is not as far behind in AI as some might suggest. The potential for AI growth on the continent is immense, and steady progress is being made, supported by key enablers. However, to ensure Africa doesn’t fall further behind, it is essential that investments in AI infrastructure—particularly 5G and data centers—accelerate. Without this, and with the current imbalance in global funding, Africa risks being left out of the AI revolution. No matter how inspiring the anecdotal stories, like Oscar Darko-Sarfo’s, the reality is clear: the time to act is now.
Explore our infographic to gain a deeper understanding of the key factors driving Africa’s AI potential and why immediate action is crucial for the continent’s future in AI.
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Special thanks go to Ivory Kairo, Teta Mukulira and Trevor Lwere for their work on the graphics and for collecting/analysing the underlying data and this accompanying article.
The data was only collected from the GSMA intelligence, ALT Advisory’s Data Protection in Africa database, Our World in Data and Disrupt Africa.
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December 2024
