While African CEOs are outpacing global peers in AI conviction and leadership, South Africa faces a significant ‘delivery gap’ caused by deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of technical skills to match executive ambition. (Photo: Istock) 
South African executives like to see themselves as fast followers in global tech trends. New global data suggests something more surprising. On artificial intelligence, African CEOs are not following at all. They are leading. The problem is that the country’s systems, skills and structures are not moving nearly as fast as its leaders.
According to Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) AI Radar 2026 report, responsibility for AI strategy has moved out of IT departments and into the corner office.
“Seventy-two percent of CEOs now say they are the main decision makers on AI in their organisation. We’ve never seen that before. That number has doubled since a year ago,” said Christoph Schweizer, the CEO of BCG.
/file/attachments/2987/Screenshot2026-01-21at144605_774295.png "With so many CEOs taking ownership of the success of their AI initiatives, AI is poised for a consequential year in 2026. (Graph: BCG AI Radar 2026)")
The findings are based on a survey of 2,360 executives, including 640 CEOs, across nine industries in 16 global markets, including SA and Morocco.
“In the past, there have been major technological changes. The advent of the internet, mobile, cloud – most of those were largely led by technological teams,” said Schweizer. “With AI, that is different. Effectively, the CEO is becoming the chief AI officer.”
Half of the CEOs surveyed also believe their job security depends on getting AI strategy right.
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Nowhere is this more pronounced than in Africa. BCG found that 42% of African CEOs fall into its most aggressive category of AI leaders, known as “trailblazers”, compared with just 14% in the European Union.
Yet, this C-suite optimism intersects with SA’s operational realities where an execution gap threatens to turn its confidence into a missed opportunity.
The three CEO archetypes
BCG’s research categorises CEOs into three distinct groups based on their approach to AI adoption, investment, and upskilling:
🚀 Trailblazers (~15% globally): These leaders drive AI-powered transformation through decisive investment and rapid upskilling.
⚖️ Pragmatists (~70% globally): This is the largest group. These CEOs are excited and confident about AI but act with caution, investing only when they see evident value and low risk.
🐢 Followers (~15% globally): These CEOs recognise AI’s potential but move cautiously, often waiting for competitors to set the direction or for clearer evidence of impact.
Confidence without fear
African CEOs are not only committing capital to AI innovation. BCG found that executives on the continent spend an average of 8.3 hours a week expanding their own AI expertise, more than any other region surveyed.
The motivation for investing in and adopting AI also differs from their Western counterparts. Schweizer explained that while many US and European CEOs feel investor pressure to adopt AI quickly, leaders in the Global East, including Africa, are driven by belief rather than fear.
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He described this as an “unflappable confidence” in AI’s ability to create value. According to BCG, 63% of CEOs in the Middle East and Africa believe AI investment will pay off due to its strategic value.
/file/attachments/2987/Screenshot2026-01-21at144748_530508.png "A larger share of Western CEOs say their organisations are investing in AI to avoid falling behind or because they feel pressure. One reason may be stronger investor scrutiny in Western markets, where short-term stock market pressure shapes decision making. (Graph: BCG AI Radar 2026)")
On paper, workforce readiness also looks strong. BCG found that 55% of African employees are already upskilled in AI – the highest rate globally – supported by an average of 46% of AI budgets being directed towards retraining.
From content to control
The nature of AI companies are investing in has also changed. “The year 2026 is a moment in AI with increased investment and acceleration of the AI wave. This increase will be massively driven by agents,” said Sylvain Duranton, the global leader of BCG X.
Despite concerns in 2025 about slow returns, BCG found that 94% of CEOs are prepared to “stay the course” on AI because it has become a strategic priority. Trailblazer companies are directing more than half of their 2026 AI investment towards agentic systems that can execute tasks autonomously.
Vilochanee Reddy, head of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (Cips), said SA retailers such as SPAR and Woolworths were already investing heavily in these technologies, but cautioned that “human-centred AI” was essential, as agility and adaptability mattered more than removing people from systems.
“Retailers can adjust supply in real time and finance and support teams easily automate workflows,” Reddy said. “Companies like Walmart and Starbucks are already using these tools, and soon each of us may have multiple AI agents helping us manage daily tasks.”
The execution gap
This is where the narrative fractures.
“SA is not short on ambition when it comes to artificial intelligence. What we are short on is execution,” said Joshua Harvey, the head of growth at digital innovation and software development company Specno.
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While global benchmarks show SA is about 35% to 40% behind the US in AI readiness, the gap widens when looking at actual implementation. Enterprise data reveals that AI implementation rates in SA are roughly half the level of the US. This is according to Specno.
“This gap reflects not a lack of will, but differences in skills, data infrastructure, organisational alignment, and the integration of AI into core business strategy,” Harvey said.
Skills are a particular pressure point. While BCG’s data suggests Africa leads in upskilling, SAP’s Africa-focused research shows that 90% of organisations are already experiencing negative impacts from AI skills shortages, including failed innovation, project delays and lost clients.
Harvey believes that the execution gap in South Africa reflects weaknesses in data infrastructure and organisational alignment, rather than a lack of will from leadership.
The illusion of readiness
Jessica Apotheker, chief marketing officer at BCG, outlined the importance of what she calls the 10-20-70 rule, where 10% of AI success comes from algorithms, 20% from technology, and 70% from management and upskilling.
SAP’s findings show that SA is moving in the opposite direction. While 94% of organisations offered training at least monthly, the share of African IT and HR budgets allocated to training has fallen to an average of 7%, down from 14% two years ago.
Current capabilities in focus
Harvey says South Africa needs to stop planning from an ideal future and start benchmarking honestly against current capability, particularly on skills and infrastructure, through closer collaboration between industry and the government.
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BCG’s research suggests CEOs are willing to give AI time to deliver, but that patience is not unlimited. By 2028, the firm expects companies to move beyond using AI for routine tasks and towards building entirely new ways of operating.
African CEOs may be the world’s most enthusiastic AI adopters, but optimism alone will not carry the SA systems that lack infrastructure, data governance and management capability.
“SA businesses tend to look for immediate return on investment,” Reddy said. “But to truly benefit from AI, you need to balance that with a long-term mindset.” DM