A new report from PwC has identified a significant gap between ambition and execution in artificial intelligence adoption across Africa, warning that the shortfall is slowing the continent’s digital transformation and weakening competitiveness.
Findings from PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey show that while 75% of African chief executives expressed strong intent to adopt AI in the past year, cautious investment strategies and structural constraints are limiting the ability of organizations to scale the technology effectively.
According to the survey, AI features prominently in boardroom discussions across the continent, but deployment across core business functions continues to lag behind global peers. PwC said this disconnect risks widening the competitive divide between African firms and their international counterparts.
One major constraint is infrastructure readiness. Many organizations have completed basic cloud migrations but have not optimized applications for cloud-native environments, leaving them without the scalable platforms required to support advanced AI workloads.
Investment pressures are also weighing on adoption. Only 26% of African CEOs said their current levels of investment are sufficient to meet their organization’s AI objectives. Currency volatility and the high cost of capital-intensive technologies were cited as key factors limiting sustained spending.
Talent shortages further compound the challenge. Just 37% of CEOs reported having access to the technical skills needed to implement AI initiatives. PwC noted that competition from global employers is drawing skilled professionals away from local markets, making it harder for African firms to build and retain in-house expertise.
Governance and strategic planning gaps are another barrier. The survey found that only 41% of organizations have a clearly defined AI roadmap, while 37% have established formal processes for responsible AI use and risk management. Many executives are prioritizing short-term operational resilience amid economic uncertainty, often at the expense of longer-term AI strategies.
Dependence on global hyperscale cloud providers also presents challenges related to data sovereignty, latency and cost, PwC said.
The report highlighted additional risks linked to the rise of agentic AI, autonomous systems capable of performing complex tasks. PwC warned that deploying such technologies requires mature data governance and strategic alignment, areas where many African organizations remain underprepared.
Despite these obstacles, the survey found evidence of early gains. About 23% of African CEOs who invested in AI reported revenue growth, while 25% achieved cost reductions over the past year.
PwC said these results show AI’s potential but cautioned that incremental improvements are not enough. The firm urged African business leaders to translate intent into decisive action and sustained investment to secure long-term competitiveness and strengthen the continent’s position in the global digital economy.
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