Prof Bitange Ndemo, a leading advocate of Africa’s digital transformation, once said: “Africa stands at a crossroads: we can either remain consumers of foreign Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies or become architects of our own future by building homegrown AI giants.”
Now, AI is no longer a distant dream in Africa; it has already become a key tool for transforming the continent, sector by sector from healthcare, finance, to agriculture.
The global AI landscape is increasingly being shaped by dominant players such as DeepSeek, Qwen2.0, agentic AI and ChatGPT among others, whose cutting-edge models are setting the industry standards in natural language processing, automation, and deep learning.
However, as the world’s digital landscape evolves, Africa remains largely a consumer rather than a creator of AI technologies.
The continent, home to over 1.4 billion people, must take bold steps toward developing its own AI giants—companies that drive innovation, shape policy, and ensure Africa’s interests are represented in the global AI economy.
Africa has a unique opportunity to challenge this status quo by embracing innovation, fostering homegrown AI solutions, and disrupting the existing global market dynamics.
In January this year, Artificial Intelligence for Development (AIFOD) Forum was held in Geneva, Switzerland, and had over 150 key stakeholders including government officials, civil society, leaders at World Trade Organization, ITU.
Founders of Startups solving challenges using drones, telemedicine, climate ventures funds, and Professors from developing nations academia including Kenya, alongside representatives from India, Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia and several other developing economies not forgetting the developed nations too. The discussions revolved around the pressing need to scale up AI innovations.
The forum emphasised that AI is no longer a luxury exclusive to developed nations but a powerful tool that can drive economic transformation in emerging markets.
Notably, AI is set to revolutionise industries and economies at an unprecedented scale. McKinsey’s June 2023 research estimates that generative AI alone could contribute between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually across 63 analysed use cases, amplifying AI’s overall impact by 15 percent to 40 percent.
On a broader scale, PwC predicts that AI will add $15.7 trillion to global GDP by 2030, making it the single largest commercial opportunity in the rapidly evolving economy.
This transformation extends to the workforce, with the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 projecting that AI-driven technologies will reshape 86 percent of businesses by 2030, leading to 170 million new jobs while displacing 92 million existing ones.
However, this shift demands continuous learning, as 39 percent of workers' core skills are expected to change, and 63 percent of employers cite skills gaps as the biggest barrier to AI-driven business transformation. As AI adoption accelerates, the focus must be on upskilling and reskilling to ensure inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
However, one of the primary challenges posed by dominant AI models like DeepSeek and ChatGPT is their limited understanding of diverse cultural contexts, languages, and regional specific challenges. It has emerged that developing countries have a strategic advantage in developing AI models trained on localised data, ensuring better adaptability and addressing realworld problems unique to their societies.
For instance, Chat GPT content was developed and moderated in Kenya through Cloud Factory BPO. This is an indication that Kenya and other emerging economies can become real producers and not just consumers.
Already, Ajira Digital under the Ministry of Communication Technology and Digital Economy has a module on AI applications tailored for Kenyan SMEs, helping automate business processes while incorporating indigenous languages.
Through fostering innovation-friendly policies, startup ecosystems, and AI-driven education, emerging economies will be able to attract investments, create jobs, and elevate their standing in the global AI economy.
The AI revolution presents both challenges and opportunities for emerging economies. Through investing in localised AI, reducing dependency on foreign tech, leveraging AI for economic growth, fostering international collaboration, and ensuring strong regulatory support, emerging nations will redefine the global AI landscape and carve their space in the industry.
During the AIFOD Forum, participants highlighted concerns over the heavy reliance on AI technologies developed by foreign entities. This dependence places emerging nations at a disadvantage in data sovereignty, cybersecurity, and economic sustainability.
Investing in domestic AI research and development, these emerging markets such as Kenya will be able to mitigate risks associated with foreign AI monopolies and create their own AI-driven economies.
In fact, the economic potential of AI is immense, with the technology poised to contribute billions of dollars to global GDP. India, for instance, has significantly boosted AI talent development, positioning itself as a key AI hub in Asia.
One of the key takeaways from the AIFOD Forum was the importance of inter-country collaboration among developing nations. Countries like Brazil, Nigeria, and Indonesia are exploring joint AI research programs, data-sharing initiatives, and AI-driven digital trade partnerships to counterbalance the dominance of Western and Chinese AI firms.
Governments in emerging markets must create proactive AI policies that support startups, encourage AI entrepreneurship, and provide funding for AI-driven research. Regulatory frameworks must also be developed to ensure ethical AI use, data protection, and intellectual property rights that protect homegrown AI solutions.
The discussions at the AIFOD Forum reaffirmed that the future of AI is not just in the hands of a few dominant players, but in the collective innovation efforts of emerging economies willing to embrace disruption and create AI solutions that truly serve their unique populations.
Indeed, emerging economies have the potential to become producers of disruptive AI and other emerging technologies by investing in local talent, fostering innovation ecosystems, and implementing supportive policies.
Governments and private sector players must prioritize education in STEM fields, provide AI-focused training, and create incubation hubs that support startups working on groundbreaking solutions.
Additionally, establishing partnerships between universities, tech companies, and international research institutions will facilitate knowledge exchange, while targeted incentives like tax breaks and grants to encourage investment in AI research and development.
Cultivating a strong base of AI engineers, data scientists, and entrepreneurs, emerging economies will build homegrown tech solutions tailored to their unique challenges.
The writer is co-founder and MD eMobilis Technology Training Institute
