Harnessing AI for business development: a review of drivers and challenges in Africa

Abstract

An accumulating body of research has demonstrated that artificial intelligence (AI) is an indistinguishable feature of the fourth industrial revolution. This study integrates the literature on AI and new technologies to examine the constraining and facilitating forces for developing and scaling-up AI-enabling technologies in Africa. This article proposes an integrated conceptual model to elucidate the range of external drivers encompassing global competitive drivers, and market and industry drivers. The internal drivers include the potential to enhance product development speed, improve quality, drive production cost down, and minimise errors and manual processes in organisations. The barriers identified include institutional dysfunction, poor infrastructure to support development of large-scale AI, lack of skilled AI experts, and lack of access to latest technologies in the regional population. The public policy implications for Africa as the potential next frontier market for AI development are discussed alongside contributions to theory.