Artificial Intelligence in Sub-Saharan Africa - Enterprise Report

Small and Medium Enterprises represent more than 90% of African businesses, are responsible for 38% of the continent’s GDP, and employ about 60-70% of the workforce. Yet these businesses, despite their critical role in employment and economic growth, are prone to failure. In fact, 70-80% of African SMEs fail within the first five years of operation.

Despite their hard work, the journey is littered with barriers: lack of access to markets, operational inefficiencies, and a rapidly changing digital landscape. Even their limited financing options are limited, with 49% of SMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa operating without access to formal financial services.

Yet the road to success is not insurmountable. AI can help African SMEs compete and grow by addressing multiple hurdles, from streamlining operations and automating processes to reducing costs and improving customer engagement.

Achieving these outcomes, however, requires additional work to improve the infrastructure, establish formal systems and address skill gaps that position SMEs to take full advantage of AI technologies.

This report identifies the enablers and barriers to AI adoption among SMEs in Africa, presenting recommendations for policymakers, governments, and private-sector actors to foster an AI-ready ecosystem that enables SMEs to thrive in the global economy.