Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a transformative force across Africa, reshaping critical sectors from agriculture and healthcare to education and manufacturing. Yet despite its growing relevance, the continent’s ability to fully harness AI’s potential depends on one critical factor: infrastructure.
In an op-ed for Developing Telecoms, Angela Wamola, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at GSMA, emphasizes that while AI applications are already improving crop yields and enhancing medical diagnostics across the continent, these advances remain isolated due to persistent structural challenges. “The promise of AI in Africa can only be realised through bold investments in digital infrastructure, policy reform, and inclusive innovation,” Wamola writes [1].
Africa’s digital landscape remains starkly uneven. According to GSMA’s State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024 report, only 30% of the population was actively using mobile internet in 2023, while 59% had access but remained offline—a sign of deep usage and affordability gaps. Furthermore, 4G and 5G connections remain limited, accounting for just 31% and 1% of mobile internet connections respectively at the end of 2023, with only modest growth expected by 2030 [2].
These disparities are not just technological—they are social. Cost, gender, geography, and education continue to determine who can participate in the digital economy. Without decisive, inclusive policymaking, there’s a risk AI could reinforce existing inequities rather than help dismantle them.
The African Union’s Continental AI Strategy offers a promising framework, calling for a coordinated push toward infrastructure development, ethical AI governance, and inclusive access. Encouragingly, initiatives like the launch of Africa’s first AI-ready data centre in South Africa signal that momentum is building. But, as Wamola notes, this progress must scale rapidly to avoid leaving large portions of the population behind.
With South Africa set to assume the G20 presidency in 2025, Africa is uniquely positioned to put digital development on the global agenda. Public and private sectors must now come together to invest in broadband expansion, upskilling, and regulatory environments that enable responsible, people-centric AI deployment.
The continent stands on the edge of a major technological shift—but whether this becomes a story of transformation or exclusion will depend on the decisions made today.
References
[1] Angela Wamola, Unleashing AI’s Potential in Africa Requires Bold Action on Infrastructure, Developing Telecoms, 2024. [https://developingtelecoms.com/]
