AI Could Expand Africa’s Economy by a Staggering $1.5 Trillion by 2030

Business leaders in Africa are optimistic about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in transforming the continent and are actively investing in the technology to gain a slice of the global AI market. The 2022 State of AI in Africa report (pdf) published recently by AI Media Group shows that in the past five years many companies across the continent are making efforts to leverage AI for business efficiency. Currently, over 2,400 companies list AI as a specialty of which 40% were founded in the last five years. In what shows that the industry is at its initial growth stages in Africa, 34% of companies using AI are medium enterprises with less than 100 staff while 41% are startups with less than ten employees. Much of Africa’s AI growth has been attributed to the covid-19 pandemic which accelerated digital transformation. Countries that dominate in AI in the continent’s cardinal regions are South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, and Nigeria. However, Mauritius was the first country in Africa to publish a national AI strategy and has an attractive tech and investment ecosystem. There are over 30 AI communities in the African region providing a range of services and support to new learners, entrepreneurs, and job seekers allied to a growing range of vendor-based programs supporting the creation of AI.

SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA