Verraki: Why Africa should harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) Capabilities to improve Productivity and reduce Poverty

Following the recent webinar organized by Verraki Partners on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for business growth with the theme: “AI for Business Growth – Driving Digital Transformation through AI Integration”, Verraki’s Senior Partner in charge of Technology, Mr Niyi Tayo, speaks on highlights of the webinar and why Africa should harness AI Capabilities to improve productivity and reduce poverty. Emma Okonjipresents some excerpts:

What do you consider the major takeaways for African businesses from the recent Verraki Partners’ webinar on “AI for Business Growth”? 

Africans are beginning to realise that AI is here to stay. At the Webinar, we explored what AI is and what it is not; and went further to emphasise that successful AI initiatives must align with the broader business objectives and company mission. We highlighted the various stages of AI maturity organisations must progress through: from “AI Noise” to becoming “AI Ready,” “AI Provisioned,” and ultimately “AI Advanced.” Cultural readiness, driven by leadership, is crucial for successful AI adoption. Data is the backbone of AI, and quality data is critical for AI models to generate accurate insights. To win in the AI space, a well-defined AI strategy, which must begin with a clear vision and roadmap that articulates the organisational goals for AI implementation, is a top priority. We also let participants know about Responsible AI as well as the cost of inaction. That is, the failure to adopt AI can result in significant losses for businesses, from losing clients, poor customer experience to declining workforce productivity and diminishing market relevance.

Let us start from the fundamentals. What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how has it evolved?

AI is the capability of computer programs or machines to think, learn, and take actions without explicitly encoding commands. It’s able to do this by ingesting large amounts of data and then designing patterns in the data, such that it can then autonomously act and complete tasks that would ordinarily require human intelligence. This is made possible by recent developments in technology such as the Natural Language Processing (NLP), which is where computers can understand, manipulate, and interpret human language. Also, Machine Learning (ML) and particularly Deep Learning (DL) capabilities. This is where computers can ingest large amounts of data and then make sense of it. And lastly, the huge amount of data that is in the world today through social media and smart devices that are prevalent everywhere. These technologies have ensured that AI applications have exploded in the world today. And Africa can tap into this to increase its productivity. 

At the 2024 World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres called for a systematic effort to increase access to AI so that developing economies can benefit from its enormous potential. What is AI’s practicality and potential for African markets?

AI is no longer confined to research or specialised settings; it has found practical applications across various sectors globally, including banking, oil & gas, professional services, entertainment, amongst others. In the African oil and gas sector for instance, advanced analytics is used tooptimise exploration and drilling by identifying resource-rich locations with greater accuracy, while AI-driven monitoring ensures compliance and safety. This widespread integration shows that AI can significantly enhance everyday processes, benefiting both businesses and governments. According to UNDP, AI is projected to add about $15 trillion to the world’s GDP by 2030, and half to come from increased productivity. Similarly, Gartner projected that 36% organisations worldwide will be in the experimentation stage with AI by 2027 and will start to adopt use cases with high business value. Again, AI is here to stay, and African businesses and governments must key into this transformative innovation to deliver long-term value to Africa and Africans. 

For Africa, AI can address critical challenges in healthcare, agriculture, and governance. For instance, in healthcare, AI significantly improve productivity in administrative tasks of documentation and document content analysis, enables early disease diagnosis by analysing patient data against predictive models, improves care delivery in underserved areas, and tracks contagious diseases. Similarly, AI aids farmers by predicting weather patterns, managing plant diseases, and optimizing scarce resources like water and fertilizer, thereby increasing yields and alleviating poverty. Governments can harness AI to automate processes, deliver services efficiently, and craft data-driven policies that are citizen-centric.

What key initiatives are Africa implementing to leverage AI’s potential, and how are these efforts addressing the continent’s unique challenges while ensuring cultural relevance and sustainability?

Africa is still in the early stages of fully harnessing AI capabilities.  The opportunities are enormous, and Africa is making modest strides in harnessing AI capability, working with multilateral agencies and the private sector. For example, partnerships like the AI Hub for Sustainable Development, a collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This initiative has four foundational pillars. One is around data, making sure that Africa centric data is available for AI models so that it can minimise bias that may be specific to Africa. This initiative has already digitalised 18 different African languages, and this would also help in using it for AI models. The second is around training and upskilling of Africans. This initiative is pushing hard to upskill young engineers on AI and in addition, providing a platform for networking. Recently, there was a networking event that was held for over 380 different startups that are AI centric. This allowed them to talk about the development in AI and how that can be used in Africa. Thirdly, using AI responsibly such that it can respect African values, norms, and cultures remains imperative. And last is the computing infrastructure that is used in AI. The initiative is trying to ensure that green considerations are put into such computing infrastructure.

You mentioned Responsible AI was one of the major themes explored at the Verraki’s “AI for Business Growth webinar. Can you throw more light on this concept, particularly how African businesses can ensure they are implementing AI responsibly?

Responsible AI is about designing, deploying, and managing artificial intelligence in a way that aligns with ethical principles, respects human rights, and minimizes harm. At the AI for Business Growth webinar, we emphasized the importance of transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI systems, particularly in the African context, where unique challenges such as data gaps and socio-economic disparities exist. African businesses can ensure responsible AI implementation by prioritizing diverse and inclusive datasets, sensitivity to diverse cultural contexts, adhering to regulatory standards, and embedding ethical AI principles into their strategies. Additionally, fostering collaborations with policymakers, academia, and civil society can help build AI systems that are not only innovative but also equitable and sustainable. In summary, robust and diverse African data is necessary for AI to serve the continent fairly.

What role does the private sector play in Africa’s AI journey?

The private sector plays a pivotal role in driving Africa’s AI journey by serving as a key innovator, investor, and enabler of AI adoption across industries. Companies in technology, finance, agriculture, and healthcare are leveraging AI to address unique challenges, improve efficiency, and unlock new growth opportunities. By investing in AI talent development, fostering innovation hubs, and building partnerships with academia and governments, the private sector accelerates the continent’s digital transformation. For example, organisations such as Verraki Partners exemplifies the strategic roles private sector could play by helping organisations to envision the application of AI in their organisation, defining roadmaps for AI implementation, as well as helping to pilot and scale up such implementations, and ensuring readiness of the organisation to tap into AI.

What steps must Africa take to fully harness AI’s potential, particularly to help to improve productivity and reduce poverty. 

To fully harness AI’s potential, Africa must prioritize investment in digital infrastructure, ensuring reliable internet access, and affordable technology for all. Building a robust talent pipeline through education and upskilling programs focused on AI and data science is essential to empower the workforce. We must embed AI in education curricula across all levels in African school. Governments and businesses must collaborate to create policies that encourage innovation while ensuring ethical and inclusive AI practices. Leveraging AI to improve productivity in key sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and finance—through precision farming, predictive health diagnostics, and financial inclusion—can significantly reduce poverty. Additionally, fostering regional collaborations to share resources and insights will help scale AI solutions tailored to Africa’s unique challenges and opportunities. If we really want to make AI work for Africa, it needs to become part of our everyday lives.