Mastercard Discloses Pan-African AI Research Showcasing a Projected $16.5 Billion Market Value by 2030
Mastercard Unveils Whitepaper on AI's Transformative Potential in Africa
Mastercard has released a comprehensive whitepaper, titled "Harnessing the Transformative Power of AI in Africa." The document provides insights into how AI, deployed responsibly and inclusively, can unlock transformative outcomes across major African industries.
The whitepaper is a pan-African study of Africa's readiness, opportunity, and roadmap for responsible AI adoption. It highlights Africa's unique demographics, mobile-first infrastructure, and entrepreneurial spirit as positioning it as an active architect of the future.
Key Findings
The whitepaper identifies several key findings, including the significant growth of Africa's AI market, projected to grow from USD 4.5 billion in 2025 to USD 16.5 billion by 2030. AI adoption could catalyze up to 230 million new digital jobs by 2030, fostering economic inclusion.
AI is transforming critical sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, and finance. In agriculture, predictive analytics can improve food security, while in healthcare, AI-powered health chatbots can bridge access and language gaps. In education, AI is being used to personalize learning, and in finance, mobile-based credit scoring is expanding financial inclusion.
However, challenges such as data fragmentation, language diversity, inconsistent regulatory frameworks, and infrastructure deficits must be addressed to fully unlock AI's potential.
Recommendations
The whitepaper offers several recommendations to navigate these challenges. Investment in digital infrastructure, local language AI capabilities, data ecosystems, and skill development is critical. Adopting responsible and ethical AI principles, such as transparency, fairness, privacy, human oversight, accountability, inclusivity, and safety, is also essential to promote trust and prevent misuse.
Clear, proactive AI policies and regulatory frameworks are needed across African countries to manage risks and enable innovation. Collaboration among governments, tech companies, academia, and fintechs is crucial to ensure AI benefits reach all segments of society, avoiding privilege concentration.
The paper emphasizes the importance of AI solutions rooted in local realities, languages, and cultures to maximize relevance and impact.
AI Adoption Across Africa
Examples of AI adoption can be seen across the continent. Kenya, with its "Silicon Savannah" status, has securely deployed AI across sectors. Tala uses mobile data for credit scoring, while Jacaranda Health's UlizaLlama provides maternal health support in five local languages.
Nigeria, which ranks second in the number of AI startups in Africa, secured USD 218 million in VC investment in 2023. Under its Digital 2030 strategy, Morocco aims to attract USD 1.1 billion in investment and create 240,000 digital jobs by 2030.
South Africa, under its Digital 2030 strategy, attracted USD 610 million in AI-focused venture capital in 2023 and is projected to have a total AI investment of USD 3.7 billion by 2030. The Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa serves as a gateway for students and professionals to access world-class education, research, and industry news in South Africa.
Mastercard believes that responsible, locally rooted AI can drive inclusive growth and connect more people to opportunity. The whitepaper serves as a roadmap towards a bold, inclusive, and responsible AI-powered future for Africa.
[1] https://www.statista.com/outlook/10010000043/forecast-for-ai-in-africa [2] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/africa-ai-digital-transformation/ [3] https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/vision/future-of-commerce/ai/harnessing-the-transformative-power-of-ai-in-africa.html [4] https://www.africa.com/africa-ai-market-growth-projections-and-potential-impact/ [5] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/africa-ai-ethics-regulation-policy-governance/
- The AI market in Africa is projected to grow significantly from USD 4.5 billion in 2025 to USD 16.5 billion by 2030, according to data from Statista.
- AI adoption could foster economic inclusion by creating up to 230 million new digital jobs by 2030, as outlined in Mastercard's whitepaper, "Harnessing the Transformative Power of AI in Africa."
- In the education sector, AI is being used to personalize learning and improve accessibility, with examples including the Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa.
- To fully unlock AI's potential, it's crucial to address challenges such as data fragmentation, language diversity, and infrastructure deficits, as recommended in the whitepaper.
- Collaboration between governments, tech companies, academia, and fintechs is essential to ensure AI benefits reach all segments of society and avoid privilege concentration, as outlined in the whitepaper.
