Artificial Intelligence has the potential to contribute $2 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2035, according to experts in the tech ecosystem.
Experts say it is possible that AI could inject $2 trillion into Africa over the next decade, based on the potential for AI to boost economic growth and efficiency across various sectors in Africa. The African continent is currently experiencing significant economic growth, with projections estimating a combined GDP of $29 trillion by 2050.
Chatham House, in its report titled ‘Africa in 2025: Economic growth despite persistent problems,’ stated that Africa will be the second-fastest-growing region globally. The African Development Bank projects an annual economic growth rate of 4.3 per cent, up from 3.7 per cent last year.
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Boye Ademola, chief executive officer of Bazara technology, while speaking at Slush’D, Lagos, pointed out that “AI could inject $2 trillion into Africa in 2035, which is over the next ten years.
“There will be other things added to the continent’s GDP, but when AI is added, it can scale in Africa, and what is more important is how it will add the $2 trillion, and what we need to do.”
According to Charles Ilo, chief product and tech officer at Peerless, AI’s potential impact will be compared to that of the internet or electricity.
“It is estimated that the impact of AI will be greater. AI will have a massive impact on society,” he said.
Despite its potential, Malik Afegbua, a Nigerian filmmaker, highlighted that Generative AI is still biased when trying to create African people due to a lack of data. To achieve its potential on the continent, he noted that the AI data gap must be bridged.
