AI could lift Sub-Saharan Africa economy 4% if power, internet improve, IMF says
The IMF said gains could shrink to 0.2% without reforms, as low internet use and weak power supply limit AI adoption.
- An International Monetary Fund paper showed on Tuesday that artificial intelligence could boost Sub-Saharan Africa's economy by about 4% over the next decade with improved electricity supply, internet access, and digital skills.
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest on the IMF's AI Preparedness Index due to infrastructure shortfalls; only 38% of Africans used the internet in 2024, compared with 68% globally, limiting adoption capacity.
- Microsoft and G42 announced a $1 billion geothermal-powered data center campus in Kenya, while Cassava Technologies and NVIDIA struck a $700 million deal to deploy 12,000 GPUs across multiple African nations.
- Africa hosts only about 160 data centers, around 5.5% of the global total, risking wider regional inequalities. Martin Schindler, Deputy Division Chief and Mission Chief in the Fund's African Department, warned growth gains could be just 0.2% without decisive policy action.
- For Sub-Saharan Africa, "the central concern is not the risk of technological disruption, but whether countries will be able to adopt, adapt, and scale AI quickly enough to capture its benefits and avoid falling further behind," the paper says.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Africa: Ai's Growth Potential in Africa Hinges On Electricity, Connectivity and Skills, IMF Says
Artificial intelligence could increase Sub-Saharan Africa's economic output by about four percent over the next decade, but only if governments make substantial investments in electricity, internet connectivity and digital skills, the International Monetary Fund said in a report released Tuesday.
Africa’s data center growth needs power sector overhaul
The NewsAfrican countries must open up their power markets in order to court the private investors needed to supply the electricity that AI will demand, a data center executive told Semafor, as a new report warned the continent risks seeing little economic benefit from the technology.Africa’s economy is barely expanding on a per capita basis, and household living standards are stagnant across the continent. With the labor force projected to almo…
AI could lift Sub-Saharan Africa economy 4% if power, internet improve, IMF says
Artificial intelligence could boost Sub-Saharan Africa's economy by about 4% over the next decade with better electricity supply, internet access and digital skills, an International Monetary Fund paper showed on Tuesday, but without such reforms the growth dividend could be negligible.
AI could add 4% to Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa's GDP, says IMF
The IMF reports that AI could add 4% to Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP over the next decade with strategic investment in digital infrastructure and s Read More: https://punchng.com/ai-could-add-4-to-nigeria-sub-saharan-africas-gdp-says-imf/
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