Africa and AI: Revolutionizing Economic Financing

Africa's Quest for AI to Boost Its Economy

Africa, despite its rich potential, has not yet fully harnessed the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI). However, mastering this technology could be a crucial lever to reduce the continent's dependence on external funding. While the United States and China are engaged in a fierce battle for dominance in the AI sector, Africa is striving to structure its own strategy. Currently, the continent contributes only 1% of AI training data. Nevertheless, African countries have every reason to intensify their investments in this technology. The goal is twofold: to develop locally adapted solutions and ensure their implementation at all levels of society. The stakes are high, as AI could transform a promise into an economic revolution, creating 40 million jobs and increasing GDP by $1 trillion by 2035, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) in June 2025.

AI as a Tool to Secure Investments

In the global context, AI presents a major opportunity for African finance, which is undergoing a significant transformation. This change is particularly crucial as digital finance gains traction on the continent, exacerbating an information asymmetry between local entrepreneurs and investors. This imbalance cannot be corrected by human intervention alone. The accumulation of financial and non-financial data now requires automated processes to extract meaningful insights. Africa, often mistakenly perceived as a risky continent, must double its efforts to provide better risk assessments to investors. As highlighted by Akinwumi Adesina, president of the AfDB, these risks are often lower than in other regions of the world. Nevertheless, the volume of information to consider for each investment decision justifies the use of AI. It can help improve risk assessment, detect fraud, facilitate compliance checks, and ensure better traceability of flows and data.

Speed and reliability are essential to attract potential investors and convince them of a project's viability. If properly adopted, AI can promote a more transparent and inclusive finance. To meet the strong demand for funding development projects in Africa, it is not enough to attract foreign capital. It is also crucial to mobilize resources from local investors. Financial inclusion primarily relies on better accessibility and the ability to analyze financial information. This is essential to capture liquidity, often significant but dispersed, that remains dormant or misallocated on the continent. AI can play a key role in processing and synthesizing large amounts of information that are often opaque or difficult to access for a significant portion of the African population.

A Continental Strategy Necessary for AI

For Africa to fully leverage AI, it is necessary to adopt a selective approach focused on priority sectors. According to the AfDB, by 2035, certain sectors are expected to capture 58% of the total anticipated gains from AI: agriculture (20%), trade (14%), manufacturing and 4.0 (9%), finance and inclusion (8%), and health and life sciences (7%).

Although the path forward seems clear, its implementation requires strengthening Africa's digital capacities, as well as bold sectoral reforms to facilitate the use of AI and break down investment silos. Currently, these investments are primarily directed towards a "big four" of technology: South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria, which account for 72% of funding for African tech startups in 2025, according to Partech. It is crucial to redirect capital towards other countries on the continent to encourage the development of an AI that is better rooted in local realities.

Towards African Financial Sovereignty

The implementation of AI in Africa could also contribute to the long-desired construction of financial sovereignty. While victory is not yet secured, it is important to note the robust health of the African financial sector. Indeed, nearly 74% of leaders of financial institutions are optimistic about economic prospects, according to Deloitte and AFIS in 2026. This dynamism is supported by a profound structural transformation, with more than half of these institutions now considering themselves digitally mature.

By capitalizing on this financial and technological context, where resilience against cyber risks must be a top priority, AI offers the possibility to finally unlock the full potential of African finance. More than just a technological leap, AI can be a catalyst for financing capabilities that match the continent's ambitions. Africa now has all the necessary levers to write a new chapter in its economic history, with the guiding principle of sovereignty.