“Africa is determined not to be left behind when it comes to the rapid advance of AI and the tangible impact it is already having elsewhere,” says Takeshi Oikawa, a BCG managing director and partner based in Nairobi who attended the summit.
“While there are already numerous use cases being rolled out by governments, enterprises, and startups across the continent, there are also many barriers to scale, including the shortage in datasets and computing resources, skilled talent, and regulatory frameworks.”
AI is expected to contribute almost $16 trillion to the global economy by 2030. But only 10% of this will be felt in the Global South, according to the UNDP.
And BCG’s AI Maturity Matrix, which assesses the readiness and exposure of 73 global economies to AI, also shows that many African nations are at the nascent stages of their AI journey.
