PwC study finds major gap between Africa’s AI ambition and results

African organisations are running artificial intelligence pilots at impressive rates but failing to translate that activity into measurable business growth, according to new research by PwC that exposes a widening gap between the continent’s AI ambitions and those of global leaders.

The study, which surveyed 1,217 senior executives across 25 sectors globally, found that 82% of African organisations are running AI pilots — yet enterprise-wide adoption remains rare.

Average AI investment across the continent stands at 2% of revenue, compared with 5% among global leaders, and only 32% of African executives believe their current investment is adequate.

The pattern that emerges is of a continent using AI defensively. Where global leaders are deploying AI to generate new revenue streams, redesign value chains, and enter new markets, African organisations are concentrating its application on cost reduction and productivity — a narrower ambition with a lower ceiling.

“Focusing AI only on efficiency is a narrowing strategy,” said Olufemi Osinubi, Consulting and Risk Services Leader at PwC West Market. “The real opportunity lies in using AI to unlock growth, expand into underserved markets, and create entirely new business models.”

PwC identified cross-sector collaboration — what it calls industry convergence — as one of Africa’s most underutilised AI opportunities. Healthcare, financial inclusion, and energy access are all problems that cut across traditional industry boundaries, and AI is well-suited to address them at the ecosystem level.

But African organisations remain less likely than global peers to pursue that kind of collaboration, limiting the scale of value they can create.

One significant bright spot: workforce readiness. The research found that 64% of African workers are already using AI in their roles — a higher adoption rate than organisational strategy currently supports.

“The workforce is ahead of the organisation in many cases,” said Laolu Akindele, a partner at PwC Kenya. “Employees are ready to use AI, but leaders are still building trust in AI-driven decisions.”

PwC Africa CEO Dion Shango framed the stakes plainly: “The organisations that will win are not those running the most pilots, but those that scale the right AI to transform how they create value.”