The Role of AI in Africa's Development
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Africa is not passively awaiting the future; instead, it is actively leveraging AI to address daily challenges across various sectors. Notably, AI is already making significant strides in agriculture, health, language, finance, infrastructure, and education throughout the continent.
Agriculture: Smarter Farming, Better Harvests
AI tools are significantly boosting agricultural output for millions of small farmers who rely on rain-fed fields. For instance, Hello Tractor's Farm Insights accurately predicts droughts, pests, and optimal planting seasons. In 2024, Kenyan farmers who utilised these tools experienced a 40% increase in yields. Similarly, Apollo Agriculture in Ghana leverages satellite data and machine learning to provide tailored advice and financial assistance, empowering farmers to enhance both their productivity and income.
In Malawi, the generative chatbot Ulangizi is aiding hundreds of farmers. Accessible via WhatsApp, it provides farming advice in Chichewa, allowing farmers to ask questions in their native language.
FarmDrive and Pula leverage AI to assess credit risk, offering farmers without conventional documentation expedited, equitable, and considerate access to loans or insurance.
Healthcare: Saving Lives Where It Counts
Doctors at Malawi's Area 25 clinic were able to intervene more quickly thanks to an AI-powered system that monitors the heart rates of unborn babies. This system has been in place for three years and has led to an 82% reduction in stillbirths and newborn deaths.
New services have emerged, such as Intron Health in Nigeria, which has developed a speech-to-text tool capable of recognising over 200 African accents with 92% accuracy. This innovation streamlines and clarifies medical record-keeping. Similarly, in Ghana, MinoHealth provides an AI assistant that aids in preliminary diagnoses by analysing patient symptoms and images.
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Languages: AI in the Tongue of the People
Africa's rich linguistic diversity, with thousands of languages, presents a challenge for AI integration. However, this is beginning to change. In South Africa, Lelapa AI has developed speech recognition tools specifically for Zulu and Xhosa, even for use in legal settings. Similarly, CDIAL in Nigeria is making strides by building models capable of understanding 180 African languages, facilitating communication for various sectors, including banking and telecommunications, in languages genuinely used by people.
Orange, a telecommunications leader, recently unveiled plans to leverage OpenAI's models for enhancing African languages. The company intends to customise these models and offer them freely to local governments and institutions throughout its network of 18 countries.
Finance, Fraud, and Access
In Africa, fintech is deeply committed to financial inclusion. For instance, Nigeria's Flutterwave leveraged AI in 2024 to achieve a 65% reduction in fraud-related losses through instant detection. Similarly, Kuda Bank, also in Nigeria, utilises AI to swiftly approve microloans within 10 minutes. By analysing mobile usage patterns and airtime purchases, they assess informal traders, leading to a 20% decrease in default rates.
In 2024, 200,000 smallholder farmers enrolled in Jubilee Insurance's "pay-as-you-plant" crop insurance scheme in Kenya. This innovative program allows farmers to make payments via mobile money. Claims are automatically processed by AI in the event of drought or floods, with payouts issued within 72 hours.
Infrastructure: Powering AI Locally
The growth of AI is dependent on robust power and connectivity, areas in which governments are increasing their efforts:
Kenya's National AI Strategy (2025–2030) aims to establish the nation as Africa's leading AI hub. This will be achieved by developing robust infrastructure, implementing sound data governance, and fostering innovation through dedicated hubs.
Since 2023, Rwanda has established Kigali as a highly connected center, boasting over 90 percent coverage, and has constructed three Tier-3 data centers.
Ghana is implementing edge computing centers in rural regions to ensure AI functionality even with unstable internet connectivity.
South Africa hosts Africa's AI "factory," powered by NVIDIA. Additionally, Microsoft is investing over $300 million to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in the country.
Capturing merely 10 percent of the global AI market could boost Africa's economy by US$1.5 trillion and generate 230 million new digital jobs by 2030, according to SAP.
Education and Skills: Building the Future
AI goes beyond just tools; it also serves as a valuable educational resource. Applications such as SuaCode facilitate smartphone-based coding instruction, while AutoGrad offers immediate feedback on programming assignments. Kwame functions as a bilingual teaching assistant for science and computing courses. Furthermore, the Deep Learning Indaba initiative convenes AI researchers from across Africa to foster collaboration and innovation.
Practical, Powerful, Yet Realistic
In 2025, AI in Africa is not a futuristic concept; it's a present reality. It manifests as practical tools for farmers, life-saving technology in healthcare, chatbots communicating in local languages, financial support for informal traders, and essential infrastructure development across the continent, from Kigali to Johannesburg.
Despite ongoing challenges like power outages, inconsistent internet access, and policy deficiencies, African governments, innovators, and communities are developing solutions tailored to the continent's unique circumstances and aspirations.
Africa stands to gain immensely by leveraging AI effectively through astute regulation, infrastructure investment, and fostering local innovation.
By Sesona Mdlokovana
UAE & African Specialist
Associate at the BRICS+ Consulting Group
** MORE ARTICLES ON OUR WEBSITE https://bricscg.com/
** Follow @brics_daily on X/Twitter & @brics_daily on Instagram for daily BRICS+ updates
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