Africa: Africa Can Grow Faster With AI - If It Moves Now

What the report says

AllAfrica, republishing an Inter Press Service article dated 22 July 2026 from Washington, DC, reports that artificial intelligence could become a significant growth tool for sub-Saharan Africa if governments and firms move quickly to widen adoption. The article, written by IMF African Department officials Martin Schindler, Nikola Spatafora and Andrew Tiffin, points to early uses including mobile farming advice in Kenya, chatbot-supported maths learning in Nigeria and data analytics for tax audits in South Africa.

According to the authors’ research, AI would add only about 0.2% to regional GDP over the next decade under current levels of readiness. They argue that, with stronger foundations and wider use beyond already connected firms, the potential gain could rise to around 4% over the decade, equal to nearly half a percentage point of additional annual growth. The article frames this as especially important because sub-Saharan Africa is expected to account for roughly half of new entrants to the global labour force by 2030, while many workers remain in low-productivity informal businesses or smallholder agriculture.

The authors say the main opportunity is not mass replacement of office workers, but productivity gains across farms, informal firms, mid-sized companies and public services. They warn, however, that AI adoption in the region trails other parts of the world, raising the risk that richer economies pull further ahead.

The report identifies two priorities: building reliable electricity, affordable broadband, data infrastructure and digital skills; and creating trust through practical rules on data, competition, consumer protection, cybersecurity and public-sector AI use. It also says regional cooperation will be needed because many African economies are too small to develop AI ecosystems alone.