Publications /
Policy Brief

Back
Artificial Intelligence in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities
Authors
May 16, 2024

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa presents promising prospects and substantial challenges. While some countries on the continent stand out for their commitment and progress in preparing for AI adoption, others face significant obstacles such as structural inequalities and digital divides. This disparity highlights the need for an inclusive and holistic approach to ensure that all African countries can benefit from AI while closing the gap with other regions of the world.

To overcome these challenges and fully exploit AI's potential in Africa, a concerted effort is essential. This involves increased investment in digital infrastructure, specialized training, and Research and Development (R&D). Moreover, visionary government policies and strategic partnerships between the public sector, private sector, and civil society are necessary to create an environment conducive to innovation and AI-driven economic growth. By working together, African nations can turn current challenges into opportunities and pave the way for a future where AI contributes significantly to sustainable development and improved quality of life for all Africans.

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    December 22, 2020
    After reaching a peak against other currencies in March this year, the dollar fell by almost 15% until the beginning of December. According to Bloomberg, asset portfolio managers have been assuming "short" positions against the dollar, that is, betting on its fall ahead. The dollar is expected to devalue against the euro, the yen, and the Chinese RMB in 2021. The peak last March, during the coronavirus financial shock, reflected the search for a safe haven in short-term US bonds or ...
  • December 16, 2020
    The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the Moroccan economy hard, as elsewhere in the world. A collapse in external demand and a lockdown lasting more than three months have profoundly altered economic activity in Morocco, causing its first recession since 1995. The implementation of the confinement and social distancing measures was strict and came two weeks after the detection of the first cases of COVID-19 in Morocco on March 2, 2020. The lockdown was extended three times and lasted aroun ...
  • Authors
    December 14, 2020
    This article has originally been published on OECD Development matter platform Many donor countries seem eager to see middle-income countries (MICs) “master out” and graduate to a non-client status in multilateral development institutions before fully achieving their development potential. We argue that such institutions can still significantly contribute to the sustainable development of MICs, while also seizing many benefits from this relationship (Middle income countries and mul ...
  • Authors
    December 14, 2020
    L’économie marocaine fait face à une année 2020 extrêmement difficile et complexe. La crise provoquée par le choc de la Covid-19 est singulière, multicanale et fondamentalement différente des crises précédentes. Elle altère le système productif par un double choc d’offre et de demande, amplifié, de passage, par une crise de confiance. Alors que l’année 2020 touche à sa fin, il est crucial de dresser une première évaluation circonstanciée des ramifications de cette crise, qui permett ...
  • Authors
    December 7, 2020
    The pandemic is accelerating history, in the sense that it is leading to the speeding up of some recent trends. In the case of globalization, the pandemic will not reverse it, but it will reshape it. Here we take a bird’s eye view of global trade during the pandemic, relate it to previous trends, and guess how global value chain managers and government trade policymakers are likely to react. A Bird’s Eye View of Global Trade during the Pandemic World trade took a deep dive during ...
  • Authors
    November 26, 2020
    The insurance sector is rapidly expanding in Africa as firms, households, and governments are increasingly becoming customers in life insurance, non-life insurance, and reinsurance markets. In 2019, Africa’s insurance premiums were valued at $68.15 billion 1 . The largest insurance markets can be found in South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, and Tunisia, which together comprised 83% of all African premiums in 2019 2 . Africa’s insurance sector is often overlooked wi ...
  • November 26, 2020
    Food security for all requires (i) sustained productivity growth and competitiveness, not only of agriculture but of the entire economy; (ii) a social safety net; and (iii) resilience in the face of periodic shocks. This is the central message of this review. Two popular concepts in food security for all are food self-sufficiency (FSS) and food sovereignty (FSY). While countries have pursued different policies to achieve FSS, the common element in their approaches is the misguided ...
  • November 16, 2020
    Africa is experiencing economic growth deceleration that reached 2.9% on average between 2010 and 2018, against 5.4% between 2000 and 2010. The sectoral performance of African economies depends critically on the stock and quality of infrastructure, directly as an essential input (for example, energy and transport) and indirectly by increasing total factor productivity. African economic integration, and the hoped-for emergence, can never be fully achieved with poor infrastructure, bo ...
  • November 13, 2020
    Avec la venue de Renault à Melloussa, près de Tanger, puis de PSA à Kenitra et, demain, du Chinois BYD, à Casablanca, la filière automobile marocaine aura atteint une capacité annuelle de production de 700 000 à 1000 000 de véhicules, sous différentes marques. Ce qui fait que le Maroc est aujourd’hui le leader des modèles de Tourisme en Afrique. Cette étude rappelle les grandes étapes de cette marche de la maturité et de l'excellence, qui commence en 1959, avec la Somaca (la Société ...
  • Authors
    Hugo Le picard
    October 22, 2020
    L’enjeu du développement des systèmes électriques centralisés est une priorité pour le développement économique et social de l’Afrique subsaharienne. Alors que la population subsaharienne devrait presque doubler en trente ans selon l’Organisation des Nations unies (ONU), pour atteindre 2,1milliards d’habitants en 2050, dont 1,2milliard d’urbains, le continent va devoir fournir des emplois aux jeunes qui arrivent chaque année plus nombreux sur le marché du travail. Ce sont ainsi 20mi ...