AI needs us to invest in our people

Last week, I read a World Bank report on how artificial intelligence can help Africa’s economy. Its message is worth pondering: for Africa to reap AI’s benefits, we should not focus solely on building infrastructure but also on preparing people to use it.

The World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa could receive an economic boost of up to 4 percent through AI adoption and scaling over the next decade. AI can increase productivity across industries while lowering barriers to innovation.

With a phone or laptop and internet connection, people with no programming experience can now identify a problem, develop a solution and create a working prototype within minutes. Increasingly, all it takes to get started is a prompt. So why does Sub-Saharan Africa remain one of the least AI-ready regions in the world?

The International Monetary Fund attributes slow AI adoption to gaps in infrastructure, particularly electricity, internet access and digital skills. Kenya’s experience illustrates the challenge. In 2024, the country attracted a $1 billion digital ecosystem investment from Microsoft and UAE-based G42, including plans for a geothermal-powered data centre.

The project has since faced challenges over the electricity capacity required to support the planned infrastructure and has been suspended.

The lesson is that building AI infrastructure will take time and sustained investment. But as we build the systems that will power AI, we must also prepare the people who will put it to work.

Other countries are already investing in this capacity. Singapore, for instance, has made AI skills a priority in its workforce strategy. A pulse survey by the Infocomm Media Development Authority found that nearly three in four workers regularly use AI tools, with 85 percent of users saying the technology had improved their efficiency, productivity or work quality.

Africa does not need to replicate Singapore’s model, but the lesson is clear: preparing people to use AI can happen alongside building the infrastructure that supports it.