Johannesburg, South Africa
Africa’s organizations are embracing artificial intelligence in large numbers, but a new PwC report says most are still struggling to turn that enthusiasm into meaningful business growth.
According to PwC’s latest AI performance research released on May 15, 82 percent of organizations across the continent are running AI pilots, yet only a small share has managed to scale adoption across the enterprise. The report warns that while many companies are experimenting with AI, few are using it to transform how they create value.
“Africa’s challenge is both adopting AI at scale and implementing it fast enough to remain competitive,” said Dion Shango, PwC Africa CEO. “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.”
The report says African firms are investing less than global leaders, with average AI spending at about 2 percent of revenue compared with 5 percent among top performers worldwide. Only 32 percent of organizations surveyed believe their current AI investment is sufficient.
PwC says a major reason for the gap is that many companies still treat AI as a collection of isolated experiments rather than as a core business strategy. That approach may build familiarity, the report says, but it does not deliver the scale needed for sustained returns.
The study also finds that AI use in Africa is still heavily focused on cost savings and productivity gains, while global leaders are increasingly using AI to generate new revenue, redesign value chains and expand into new markets.
“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 says one of Africa’s most underused opportunities lies in cross-sector innovation. Compared with global leaders, African organizations are less likely to collaborate across industries to build new value chains or solve shared problems. Christopher Ogirri, Chief AI Officer at PwC Nigeria, said the continent’s fragmented markets, infrastructure gaps and youthful population could actually make it well suited to ecosystem-based AI solutions.
“Africa’s structural complexity—fragmented markets, infrastructure gaps, and a growing youth population—positions it well for AI-enabled convergence, if organisations design for ecosystems rather than sectors,” Ogirri said.
The report notes that many of Africa’s biggest development challenges, including financial inclusion, healthcare and energy access, require solutions that cut across sectors. It says AI can help address those challenges, but only if organizations move beyond narrow industry thinking.
Another hurdle is the foundation needed to scale AI. PwC says successful adoption requires trusted data, modern technology architecture and strong governance. Mark Allderman, Africa Cloud and Digital Leader at PwC South Africa, said many organizations are still missing these basics, making it hard to move from pilots to consistent returns.
The study also points to Africa’s workforce as a major advantage. It found that 64 percent of workers are already using AI in their roles, suggesting that employees may be more ready for adoption than many leaders assume.
“The workforce is ahead of the organisation in many cases,” said Laolu Akindele, Partner, Technology Consulting at PwC Kenya. “Employees are ready to use AI, but leaders are still building trust in AI-driven decisions. Bridging that gap is critical to scaling adoption.”
PwC says the path forward requires more than enthusiasm. Organizations must focus on growth-oriented use cases, invest in the infrastructure needed to support scale, and build trust in AI-driven decision-making. Leaders also need to think beyond traditional industry boundaries if they want AI to generate new value rather than simply reduce costs.
“Turning AI ambition into measurable impact requires focus and discipline,” said Christiaan Nel, AI Africa Leader at PwC South Africa. “Leaders must invest with intent, prioritise growth, and create the conditions for AI to scale—combining strong foundations with workforce readiness and ecosystem thinking.”
PwC says Africa now stands at a turning point. The continent has the ambition, the workforce openness and the early adoption needed to make progress, but without faster execution the gap with global AI leaders could widen further.
The report argues that the strategic choice is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to use it—either to defend current margins or to shape future markets. According to PwC, the organizations that act decisively now will define the next phase of growth across the continent.
