AI Will Create Over 200M Digital Jobs In Africa, Report Says
Mastercard released a whitepaper highlighting Africa’s readiness, opportunity, and roadmap for responsible artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Harnessing the transformative power of AI in Africa shares insights into how AI can unlock significant outcomes across the continent’s major industries, including agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, and finance.
The whitepaper also details the potential positive impact of AI on digital infrastructure, policy and governance, research and development, local language processing, and investment into Africa. Additionally, it examined how AI can create more jobs, with up to 230 million digital jobs projected by 2030 on the continent, according to an IFC report.
Key findings from the report
Investment in AI Africa is growing, with big firms like Google committing $1 billion to support digital transformation. As over 1,000 languages are spoken in Africa, AI-driven Natural Language Processing (NLP) is key for inclusivity.
South Africa attracted $610 million in AI-focused venture capital in 2023, with total AI investment expected to reach $3.7 billion by 2030.
Kenya has leveraged its “Silicon Savannah” status to deploy AI across sectors securely. Platforms like Tala use mobile data for credit scoring, while Jacaranda Health’s UlizaLlama, an AI-powered chatbot, provides maternal health support in five local languages.
Nigeria is using AI to personalize learning (Rising Academies), deliver microfinance via Kudi.ai, and strengthen governance with AI tools that monitor public fund allocation.
Read: Mastercard Foundation Pulls Out Of Its $100M Commitment To Top African VC Firm
Mastercard in Africa
Mastercard has built a significant presence in Africa. In January, it announced the opening of its first office in Ghana as the company aims to strengthen its presence in the West African country. The company has grown its footprint all over the continent, with current offices in Cairo, Casablanca, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, and Mauritius.
It has a history of working with local businesses and fintech startups to move financial inclusion in Africa. They’ve partnered with established Absa Bank Ghana and the Mastercard Foundation to start initiatives like the Absa Fintech and Agritech Support Program.
Image: Emmanuel Ikwuegbu
