As AI Investments Surge, CEOs Take the Lead on Decision Making and Upskilling Themselves: With Africa leading in workforce readiness

New BCG report shows companies plan to double their spending on AI in 2026 and remain bullish on ROI
94% of companies plan to continue investing in AI even if it doesn’t drive immediate returns
CEOs are now driving AI strategy, with 72% saying they are main decision makers on AI
African organisations lead in workforce readiness, with 55% of the workforce already upskilled in AI – the highest rate globally
Africa and the Middle East see value-led transformation with 63% of CEOs in the region saying they are confident AI will pay off, driven by strategic value rather than competitive pressure
Half of CEOs believe their job depends on getting AI right
Four out of five CEOs are more optimistic about AI’s ROI potential than they were last year; 90% believe AI Agents will produce measurable returns in 2026

Corporate AI investment is growing significantly and will not pull back, with companies planning to double their spending on the technology in 2026, accounting for about 1.7% of revenues, more than twice the increase for 2025. CEOs are rolling up their sleeves and taking the lead as their companies’ main AI decision makers, with trailblazing chief executives now spending more than eight hours per week on their own AI upskilling and investing twice as much as their counterparts in upskilling and capability-building across their organisations.

“Despite economic uncertainty, this anticipated surge in spending reflects how much of a priority AI has become in the business world,” said Christoph Schweizer, BCG’s CEO and co-author of the report. “AI is no longer confined to IT or innovation teams; it’s reshaping strategy and operations from the top down with CEOs taking a leading role. Nearly three-quarters of CEOs say they are now the main decision makers on AI, and half believe their jobs depend on it.”

These are among the findings of the third annual study of the state of the global AI landscape from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Titled, BCG AI Radar: As AI Investments Surge, CEOs Take the Lead, the report is based on a survey of 2,360 executives across 16 markets, including Morocco and South Africa, and nine industries, including 640 CEOs.

Corporate AI investment will double this year

The intensity of AI investment in Africa is significant with 59% of African companies planning to spend more than $50 million on AI in 2026. This capital is being directed toward high-impact areas such as agentic AI and massive workforce transformation. Currently, African organisations lead in workforce readiness, with 55% of the workforce already upskilled in AI (the highest rate globally), supported by an allocation of 46% of the total AI budget toward ongoing retraining and capability building.

In Africa, the narrative has shifted from exploration to large-scale execution. Organisations across the continent are leveraging AI to leapfrog traditional infrastructure challenges, with the Middle East and Africa region now accounting for some of the most aggressive AI budget allocations globally. African leaders are moving with a ‘value-first’ mindset, viewing AI as a primary engine for regional economic growth.

This financial commitment of African organisations is backed by a workforce strategy that prioritises upskilling, ensuring that the next generation of local talent is equipped to lead these autonomous systems.

In doubling their investment this year, companies globally are drawing from budgets beyond the tech pool and CEOs have committed more than 30% of their organisations’ AI investments on agentic AI. Ninety-four percent of chief executives say they will continue investing in AI at current or higher levels even if the investments do not pay off in the next year.

Three archetypes emerging

While there are no real AI-deniers among CEOs globally, the survey findings reveal that three archetypes have emerged:

Followers (~15%) recognise AI’s potential but lack full conviction, making some early, cautious investments.
Pragmatists (~70%) are excited and confident about AI but only invest when they see evident value and low risk.
Trailblazers (~15%) drive AI-powered transformation through decisive investment, rapid upskilling, and strong belief in AI’s ROI.

Africa has emerged as a global leader in AI leadership commitment, boasting the highest percentage of Trailblazer CEOs globally at 42%, a stark contrast to the 14% observed in the European Union. This leadership is defined by a deep personal commitment to technology; African CEOs spend an average of 8.3 hours per week personally expanding their AI expertise, more than any other surveyed region. In markets like Morocco and South Africa, this top-down engagement is critical, as 82% of African CEOs identify as the primary decision-makers for AI within their organisations, well above the global average of 72%. This decisive leadership is driven by a sense of urgency, with 71% of African executives believing their job stability depends on successfully executing an AI strategy by 2026.

Globally, sixty percent of Trailblazing CEOs’ companies’ AI budgets are allocated to upskilling and retraining their current workforce on technology, compared to 27% and 24% for Pragmatists and Followers, respectively.

Trailblazers have also been earlier and more assertive in pursuing AI agents. They are directing more than half of their 2026 AI corporate investments to agents and are more than twice as likely as Followers to deploy agents end-to-end across a workstream or process.

Increasing levels of confidence

CEO confidence in AI is higher in the East than in the West. Roughly three-quarters of CEOs in India and Greater China are confident AI will pay off, compared with 44% in the UK, 52% in the US, and 61% in Europe. Conversely, a larger share of Western CEOs say their organisations are investing in AI to avoid falling behind or because they feel pressure.

Eighty-four percent of African CEOs are more optimistic about AI’s potential for a positive ROI this year than last year, above the global average of 82%.

The report confirms that across Africa, AI has shifted from a distant ambition to an urgent business priority, highlighting that African CEOs are not simply adopting technology rather they are becoming its architects. By committing significant capital to agentic AI and large-scale workforce retraining, leaders are ensuring that global innovations are adapted to solve uniquely local challenges, from driving financial inclusion to boosting industrial efficiency. This value-led approach is positioning Africa as a global frontrunner in AI, transforming conviction into a long-term competitive advantage that will redefine the continent’s role in the digital economy.

Among the industries surveyed, all of them plan to increase their AI investments in 2026. At one end, financial institutions are at 2.0% of revenues, only marginally behind tech companies who plan to spend 2.1% of revenues on AI this year. At the other end, industrial companies and real estate firms plan on spending 0.8% of revenues on AI.

The survey points to a set of actions that will matter most as CEOs steer their organisations through the next phase of AI:

Make AI your key priority. Position the organisation to be the disruptor, not the disrupted.
Deepen AI literacy. Expand individual AI fluency to effectively lead transformations.
Commit investments at scale. Invest decisively across end-to-end business functions.
Upskill the organisation. Upskill the workforce to optimise productivity, creativity, and judgment.
Expect measurable ROI from AI. Track AI’s impact to drive sustainable ROI over time.

Four out of five CEOs are more optimistic about AI’s ROI potential than they were a year ago. The rapid maturity of AI agents is one of the main reasons, with about 90% of chief executives believing that agents will enable their companies to see measurable ROI in 2026. As a result, CEOs have committed more than 30% of their organisation’s AI investment for this year into agentic AI.

“CEOs have a defining role in shaping how AI delivers value,” said Sylvain Duranton, co-author and Global Leader of BCG X, the tech build and design division of BCG. “The true competitive advantage lies with those CEOs who will reshape functions end-to-end and invent new products and services that drive growth. The fact that nine out of ten CEOs tell us that by 2028 the measure of success for a company will be heavily tilted towards those that are able to get AI right reflects the significant change we are seeing in the market.”

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Media Contact:

Paula Youens: +27 66 5874403

youens.paula@bcg.com

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