Artificial intelligence is poised to become a transformative growth driver for African economies, which will also export its own AI in the coming years, according to the head of a data infrastructure company.
At Fortune’s Global Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday, Amini founder and CEO Kate Kallot said her company is building computing power that will enable purpose-built AI solutions for Africa.
The former Nvidia executive also predicted that AI will add $2.9 trillion to Africa’s economy over the next five years as governments begin to view data and computing capacity as critical infrastructure, alongside roads and hospitals. Kallot served as head of emerging areas at Nvidia before departing in 2022 to start Amini.
As infrastructure investments grow, governments are demanding that large language models deployed in Africa actually reflect local realities, given that nearly a billion Africans are still offline while LLMs are trained on internet data, Kallot said.
This new mindset of strategic partnerships has expanded from the governmental level to the private sector, and startups have emerged that will help shape the future of their countries and their economies, she said.
“We’re seeing technology and AI as potentially one of the biggest equalizers that Africa has ever seen,” Kallot added.
But that’s not yet reflected in the global narrative, which doesn’t recognize AI innovation in Africa, she pointed out.
The reality is that the continent is actually a leader in developing AI that’s efficient, responsible, and inclusive—and the rest of the world is about to find out.
“Within the next five to 10 years, we’re going to see African intelligence being exported in other countries across the Global South,” Kallot said.
Changing the global narrative
The negative narrative about Africa is costly, according to Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, CEO of the global advocacy group One Campaign.
That bias has made borrowing costs for African countries more expensive, with negative reporting about the region costing an estimated $4.2 billion. But in fact, certain sectors are seeing returns as high as 10x.
“We’re changing the narrative, and we’re saying Africa is a return on investment, not a risk,” she told Fortune’s Diane Brady. “And this is the time to partner with us with fair financing that delivers results and delivers jobs.”
Flipping the script is also top of mind for Boris Kodjoe, cofounder of the investment and impact platform Full Circle Africa.
The former model and Hollywood actor noted that Africa’s diaspora—the world’s third-largest after China’s and India’s—has been structuring its capital in recent years and is key to the growth story.
Today, Africa’s economy is young, creative, digital, and moving fast, defining itself with culture and technology rather than just its natural resources, Kodjoe explained.
“Africa is the only region where population is getting younger, more connected, and more entrepreneurial all at the same time,” he added. “I think the world is no longer asking ‘why Africa,’ but ‘when can we get in?’ And i think the time is now.”