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.
Most nations believe AI is at the center of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) , described as a period of rapid transformation anchored on frontier technologies such as AI, 5G, blockchain, IoT, cloud, 4D printing, quantum computing, and the metaverse. They are pushing through their individual challenges to make it a business enabler. Much of Africa’s AI growth has been attributed to the covid-19 pandemic which accelerated digital transformation.
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.
By 2030, AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s GDP
Founder chair of outreach at United Nations—International Telecommunication Union AI for Good project Stephen Ibaraki says in the report that Africa is at the heart of the current global digital reshaping of industries.
“With $500 trillion in wealth held globally in 2022, Africa represents the greatest investment target and opportunity,” he says.
PwC projects (pdf) that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, more than the current output of China and India combined. Analysts say AI could expand Africa’s economy by a staggering $1.5 trillion by 2030—about 50% of its current GDP—if it could only capture 10% of the fast-growing global AI market.
Continue reading: https://qz.com/africa/2180864/africa-does-not-want-to-be-left-behind-in-the-ai-revolution/
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.
Most nations believe AI is at the center of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) , described as a period of rapid transformation anchored on frontier technologies such as AI, 5G, blockchain, IoT, cloud, 4D printing, quantum computing, and the metaverse. They are pushing through their individual challenges to make it a business enabler. Much of Africa’s AI growth has been attributed to the covid-19 pandemic which accelerated digital transformation.
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.
By 2030, AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s GDP
Founder chair of outreach at United Nations—International Telecommunication Union AI for Good project Stephen Ibaraki says in the report that Africa is at the heart of the current global digital reshaping of industries.
“With $500 trillion in wealth held globally in 2022, Africa represents the greatest investment target and opportunity,” he says.
PwC projects (pdf) that AI could contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, more than the current output of China and India combined. Analysts say AI could expand Africa’s economy by a staggering $1.5 trillion by 2030—about 50% of its current GDP—if it could only capture 10% of the fast-growing global AI market.
Continue reading: https://qz.com/africa/2180864/africa-does-not-want-to-be-left-behind-in-the-ai-revolution/
