Africa, home to the world’s largest young population, stands at the threshold of the artificial intelligence era. Yet, 860 million people remain offline, isolated from the very tools that could shape their future. In 2024, just 38% of people on the continent used the internet, far below the global average of 68%. Despite widespread internet coverage, many people in Africa remain offline, unable to access the digital tools that drive innovation.
Even where phones are available, the cost and the skills required often keep people offline, with many would-be users lacking basic literacy or training. For example, Rita, a 20-year-old secondary school graduate from northern Nigeria, owns a mobile phone but struggles to use it effectively because she lacks basic literacy skills. Millions of young Africans face similar obstacles and risk missing out on economic and social opportunities.
Progress made so far
Despite these challenges, the continent has made notable progress. From 2016 to 2021, the number of internet users in Western and Central Africa almost doubled from 23% to 47%. For their part, Eastern and Southern Africa both saw increases from 16% to 27%.
Coastal and island states such as Sierra Leone, Senegal, and Togo installed new submarine internet cables that boosted broadband speed more than threefold from 2.68 megabytes per second in 2019 to 8.31 Mbps in 2022.
4G access has also expanded dramatically, leading to Nigeria’s 4G population coverage jumping from 41% in 2019 to 84% by 2024. Across the continent, roughly 70% of people live within reach of 4G compared to just 20% in 2020. Consequently, smartphones now form the backbone of internet access in Africa.
AI’s current landscape in Africa
In 2024, the African Union approved a continental AI strategy, seeking to “position Africa as a leader in inclusive and responsible AI development”. The continent’s AI market is expected to reach US$16.35 billion by 2030 at an annual growth rate of 27.42%.
Africa is host to over 2,400 AI-related companies dealing with healthcare, FinTech, and education. However, 63% of these are still in early development. Moreover, 50% operate in only seven African countries, with Nigeria holding the lead with about 400 AI companies. On the other hand, in 2023, sub-Saharan Africa was rated a low 30 on the AI readiness index by Oxford Insights. Experts have warned that with such a disproportionate distribution, Africa risks facing not only a digital divide but an AI one as well.
Impact of the internet access gap on Africa’s AI future
AI depends on connectivity, data, and digital skills, all of which remain scarce across much of Africa. The consequences of the internet usage gap include:
- Limited user base. With only about a quarter to a third of Africans online, AI-powered services currently reach a very small, often urban and affluent slice of the population, leaving rural communities largely excluded.
- Data and content shortages. Africa generates relatively little digital data. Only about 0.02% of all internet content is in African languages. Therefore, AI models, such as speech recognition or medical diagnostic tools, have almost no training data in local languages or contexts. This scarcity makes such AI systems inaccurate or irrelevant for Africans.
- Skills bottleneck. Offline communities rarely develop digital skills or AI expertise, so most African AI research and start-ups cluster in a few countries (Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, etc.). In turn, the offline majority rarely contributes to or benefits from this innovation ecosystem.
- Economic drag. Africa accounts for only 2.5% of global AI investment. Studies show that a 10% increase in African broadband penetration could raise GDP per capita by about 2.5%, underscoring the economic cost of inaction.
- Infrastructure constraints. With fewer than 100 large-scale data centers concentrated in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, and about 600 million people still lacking reliable access to electricity, building AI ecosystems remains difficult. Without local infrastructure, African developers depend on expensive overseas cloud services which raises costs and slows projects down.
- Weak digital public infrastructure. ID, payment, and health record systems are still underdeveloped across much of the continent. Without these, AI cannot be widely deployed in governance, education, or health.
Bridging the usage gap: Progress and solutions
Efforts to close the digital divide are underway. Submarine cables, regional fiber networks, and experimental satellite projects are reducing costs and expanding coverage. Affordable device initiatives, such as Ghana’s Uniti Networks which offers smartphones on instalment for farmers, are helping rural communities to come online.
Digital literacy programs are also growing. The World Bank’s Inclusive Digitalization and Rwanda’s IBM Digital Nation Africa give young people access to AI, cloud, and data courses. Local-language apps in health and agriculture are also emerging, making digital tools more relevant.
Affordability and inclusion policies are advancing. Some governments have cut taxes on devices, launched public Wi-Fi, and supported GSMA-led training for women and refugees. Continental initiatives such as the African Union’s 2030 Digital Strategy and the World Bank’s DE4A program aim to build a continental digital single market and fund inclusive digital growth.
The bottom line: Africa risks being sidelined in the AI economy if the usage gap persists. But, with coordinated investments in broadband, devices, education, and local innovation, the continent can empower its people to both create and adopt AI solutions in agriculture, health, and governance to ensure that no one is left behind.
