I recently gave a talk in New York on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in Africa’s development and was reminded of Kwame Nkrumah, the former Ghanaian president who said “we shall accumulate machinery and establish steel works, iron foundries and factories… it is within the possibility of science and technology to make even the Sahara bloom into a vast field with verdant vegetation for agricultural and industrial developments.”

More than 60 years after Nkrumah made this speech, we are still battling to economically develop Africa. Despite many setbacks, this speech signified building a new development trajectory and forging a new identity for the continent.

Now, in a post-pandemic setting, Africa is somewhat in an economic malaise. Despairingly, this represents a significant setback for the continent that boasted an impressive growth story just a few years ago. Yet, this no longer seems to be the case.

A recent African Development Bank (AfDB) report revealed that climate change, pandemics and conflicts in 2022 could thrust a further 1.8 million people on the African continent into extreme poverty, and in 2023, 2.1 million due to additional financing needs, estimated at $432-billion.

Therefore, it is apparent that Africa is facing a trough and seems far from the rising story that dominated before the pandemic. Approximately 30 million people in Africa were pushed into severe poverty in 2021, and 22 million jobs were lost.

Furthermore, growth has faltered significantly, and some analysts have called for a “great reset to relaunch African economies”. The reality is that Africa has had difficulty shaking off the stereotypes of underdevelopment. Too often Nkrumah’s vision is seen as incompatible with African society, but this need not be the case.

As we map out possible approaches, it is apparent that we need a deliberate and strategic overhaul to return to a growth and development path. Arguably, one way of achieving this is through the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), focusing on artificial intelligence (AI).

The 4IR is revolutionising how we live, work, and communicate and thus reshaping government, education, healthcare, and commerce. We now have access to more data and information than ever before, and the confluence of cyber, physical, and biological technologies impact us every day.

According to a recent PwC report, AI could expand Africa’s economy by $1.5-trillion by 2030 — about 50% of the continent’s current GDP — if it could only capture 10% of the fast-growing global AI market.

There is a misconception that here in Africa, we cannot forge ahead with the 4IR because of the infrastructure gaps. Yet, Africa boasts the fastest-growing and the youngest population. We must ensure that these become a demographic dividend rather than a liability.

A growing concern has been how Africa has lagged due to exponential technological growth. Globally, progress has been measured by the ability of humans to adapt to change. Here in Africa, we have primarily missed that call.

We have witnessed the knock the continent has taken in being late to the previous three industrial revolutions — where gaps in infrastructure still exist today, where we have not yet been able to unleash our potential.

Yet, there has been much progress. For instance, the 2022 State of AI in Africa report published by AI Media Group indicates that in the past five years, many African companies have been investing in leveraging AI for business efficiency. Over 2,400 companies list AI as a speciality, of which 40% were founded in the last five years and 34% of companies using AI are medium enterprises with fewer than 100 staff, while 41% are start-ups with fewer than 10 employees.

There are already technological hubs and start-ups driven by youth across the continent. As of 2019, it was projected that there were approximately 440 innovation hubs and centres across the continent.

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A good example is Stellenbosch in the Western Cape of South Africa, which some call the Silicon Valley of Africa. We have also seen a push towards national AI guidelines and even an African Union (AU) version throughout the continent.

Rwanda, Mauritius, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa are among the countries that have national AI blueprints. Yet, as the pan-African AI for Africa Blueprint points out, no African country is currently ranked in the top 10 or likely to benefit from AI and automation because of the continent’s slow adoption.

There is a double-edged sword the 4IR presents if we do not approach this paradigm shift with the right policies. Perhaps the question is how do we leverage AI to ensure that we are afforded the opportunities technology presents?

In the first place, there needs to be a skills revolution, focussing on communication, logical and numerical skills. These skills should create a critical mass of people who can code, think mathematically, think computationally, and have a holistic approach to problem-solving.

Tertiary education must become multi-disciplinary, where the curriculum blends science and technology with human and social sciences for all students. A mixture of skills must be aligned with the industry for social impact.

We need to invest in projects for mass skills development which should be scaled for market absorption and exponential skills pipeline development in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.

While part of the challenge is building technical skills for the vast swathes of the unskilled population, there should be a great emphasis on upskilling the existing body of skilled workers.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in their Future of Jobs report, AI will create far more jobs than it destroys. Seventy-five million jobs are expected to be displaced by automation; 133 million new ones will emerge.

Nonetheless, if we don’t take the right steps to educate and (re)train the workforce in Africa, there will be a severe shortage of talent with the necessary AI skills to fill the new jobs. Our policies need to be reframed to speak to these advancements and an ethical approach.

While AI enables new technologies that improve efficiency and productivity, it may also lead to increased inequalities among and within countries. Our policies and strategies need to speak to these possibilities, ensuring that there are no gaps in transparency, accountability, safety and ethical standards, which could hinder the development and sustainability of AI.

Regional collaboration is required to ensure that policy is based on harmonisation, inclusivity and best practices. We need to create an enabling environment for open data to boost African AI exchange and innovation to develop markets.

We should establish AI data as a public asset and push towards open public sector data to reduce entry barriers and promote AI innovation.

There needs to be a more significant investment into AI on the continent. This calls for a focus on AI centres that focus on localised applications of AI. Solid investments in facilities and spending for research to facilitate the consolidation of researchers and professors is pivotal to creating an AI-driven economy. For example, in South Africa, we are launching the National Artificial Intelligence Institute at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), which focuses on applying AI to all sectors of the economy.

Additionally, there is a need to build 4IR-specific infrastructure which integrates with existing economic and social infrastructure. We need to look at energy generation and delivery, and the extension and improvement of water, health, and educational infrastructure to create a coherent and comprehensive infrastructure network.

These are but a few tangible steps we can take. What is apparent is that this is not a moment for us to rest on our laurels. Innovation is believed to emerge elsewhere, with Africa as a receiving agent. In other words, we are — realistically speaking — not innovating like other countries.

Yet, as we track the use of AI in economies, across industries and in society, there are pockets of opportunity for the African continent that we cannot afford to miss. We can use this moment to leapfrog — we certainly have the mobile technology capabilities and the demographics to make this a reality. DM