Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading centres of artificial intelligence activity, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according to the World Bank.
The assessment is contained in the bank’s latest Africa Economic Update, which examines the readiness of Sub-Saharan African countries to use artificial intelligence to support economic growth and development.
The World Bank said AI activity in Africa is heavily concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, which account for a significant share of the continent’s innovation ecosystem, venture capital investment, research output and advanced AI applications.
The three countries are at the forefront of Africa’s emerging AI ecosystem, although the bank noted that most African economies remain at the early stages of adopting and adapting existing AI technologies.
The report said 44 per cent of surveyed firms in Nigeria and Kenya were already using AI technologies, compared with 61 per cent of surveyed firms in the United States.
However, the bank said the sophistication of AI deployment remained lower in Nigeria and Kenya, with many businesses still relying on basic applications rather than deeply integrating AI into their operations.
Nigeria and South Africa were also identified as the continent’s leading centres of AI research.
Between 2000 and 2024, Nigeria produced 4,428 AI-related publications and recorded 64,925 citations, while South Africa produced 7,647 publications and 142,024 citations, according to figures cited in the report.
Nigeria’s expanding developer community and digital infrastructure are also contributing to its growing position in the sector. The World Bank has noted particularly rapid growth in Nigeria’s developer ecosystem since the global AI boom.
The bank said AI activity was increasingly concentrated around Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, with almost half of Africa’s roughly 160 data-centre facilities located in the three countries.
Infrastructure remains a major challenge
Despite Nigeria’s progress, the World Bank warned that significant infrastructure gaps could limit the benefits the country derives from artificial intelligence.
Reliable electricity, affordable internet access, digital skills, quality data, computing infrastructure, effective institutions and appropriate governance were identified as critical foundations for broader AI adoption.
The bank argued that African countries do not necessarily need to compete with advanced economies in developing frontier AI models.
Instead, countries can gain substantially by adopting affordable AI tools and adapting them to local languages, institutions and development needs.
Potential applications include improving education, agriculture, healthcare, finance, logistics and public administration.
The World Bank's 2026 World Development Report similarly argues that developing countries can benefit from smaller, lower-cost AI systems without having to build trillion-dollar frontier models or massive computing infrastructure.
The World Bank has described AI as a potentially important source of productivity growth and job creation across Africa.
Under an ambitious scenario cited in the Africa Economic Update, AI could add as much as $1 trillion to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035 and create between 35 million and 40 million digital jobs.
However, the bank has warned that the poorest households could be excluded from these benefits if governments fail to address gaps in electricity, internet access, affordable devices and digital skills.
The bank has also urged African governments to focus on practical AI applications rather than simply pursuing technological prestige.
Examples include AI tools that support student learning, help farmers identify livestock diseases and automate accounting and other routine tasks for small businesses.
Shared data centres and stronger data-protection laws could also help accelerate adoption, according to the bank.
For Nigeria, the World Bank’s assessment presents both an endorsement and a warning.
The country is already one of Africa’s major AI hubs, with a growing developer community, research base and business adoption.
But converting that activity into broad economic gains will depend on sustained investment in electricity, connectivity, digital skills, data, computing capacity and governance.
The bank’s message is therefore not simply that Nigeria is becoming an AI leader, but that the country must strengthen the foundations of its digital economy if it is to turn that momentum into jobs, productivity and improved living standards.
With AI adoption accelerating globally, Nigeria’s challenge will be to ensure that its emerging position in the technology ecosystem translates into opportunities that extend beyond a relatively small community of developers and technology companies.
The assessment is contained in the bank’s latest Africa Economic Update, which examines the readiness of Sub-Saharan African countries to use artificial intelligence to support economic growth and development.
The World Bank said AI activity in Africa is heavily concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, which account for a significant share of the continent’s innovation ecosystem, venture capital investment, research output and advanced AI applications.
The three countries are at the forefront of Africa’s emerging AI ecosystem, although the bank noted that most African economies remain at the early stages of adopting and adapting existing AI technologies.
The report said 44 per cent of surveyed firms in Nigeria and Kenya were already using AI technologies, compared with 61 per cent of surveyed firms in the United States.
However, the bank said the sophistication of AI deployment remained lower in Nigeria and Kenya, with many businesses still relying on basic applications rather than deeply integrating AI into their operations.
Nigeria and South Africa were also identified as the continent’s leading centres of AI research.
Between 2000 and 2024, Nigeria produced 4,428 AI-related publications and recorded 64,925 citations, while South Africa produced 7,647 publications and 142,024 citations, according to figures cited in the report.
Nigeria’s expanding developer community and digital infrastructure are also contributing to its growing position in the sector. The World Bank has noted particularly rapid growth in Nigeria’s developer ecosystem since the global AI boom.
The bank said AI activity was increasingly concentrated around Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, with almost half of Africa’s roughly 160 data-centre facilities located in the three countries.
Infrastructure remains a major challenge
Despite Nigeria’s progress, the World Bank warned that significant infrastructure gaps could limit the benefits the country derives from artificial intelligence.
Reliable electricity, affordable internet access, digital skills, quality data, computing infrastructure, effective institutions and appropriate governance were identified as critical foundations for broader AI adoption.
The bank argued that African countries do not necessarily need to compete with advanced economies in developing frontier AI models.
Instead, countries can gain substantially by adopting affordable AI tools and adapting them to local languages, institutions and development needs.
Potential applications include improving education, agriculture, healthcare, finance, logistics and public administration.
The World Bank's 2026 World Development Report similarly argues that developing countries can benefit from smaller, lower-cost AI systems without having to build trillion-dollar frontier models or massive computing infrastructure.
The World Bank has described AI as a potentially important source of productivity growth and job creation across Africa.
Under an ambitious scenario cited in the Africa Economic Update, AI could add as much as $1 trillion to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035 and create between 35 million and 40 million digital jobs.
However, the bank has warned that the poorest households could be excluded from these benefits if governments fail to address gaps in electricity, internet access, affordable devices and digital skills.
The bank has also urged African governments to focus on practical AI applications rather than simply pursuing technological prestige.
Examples include AI tools that support student learning, help farmers identify livestock diseases and automate accounting and other routine tasks for small businesses.
Shared data centres and stronger data-protection laws could also help accelerate adoption, according to the bank.
For Nigeria, the World Bank’s assessment presents both an endorsement and a warning.
The country is already one of Africa’s major AI hubs, with a growing developer community, research base and business adoption.
But converting that activity into broad economic gains will depend on sustained investment in electricity, connectivity, digital skills, data, computing capacity and governance.
The bank’s message is therefore not simply that Nigeria is becoming an AI leader, but that the country must strengthen the foundations of its digital economy if it is to turn that momentum into jobs, productivity and improved living standards.
With AI adoption accelerating globally, Nigeria’s challenge will be to ensure that its emerging position in the technology ecosystem translates into opportunities that extend beyond a relatively small community of developers and technology companies.
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Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading AI centres, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according to the World Bank, which says the country’s growing AI ecosystem could unlock significant economic opportunities if infrastructure and skills gaps are addressed. Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading centres of artificial intelligence activity, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according...
Key takeaways
- Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading AI centres, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according to the World Bank, which says the country’s growing AI ecosystem could unlock significant economic opportunities if infrastructure and skills gaps are addressed.
- Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading centres of artificial intelligence activity, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according to the World Bank.The assessment is contained in the bank’s latest Africa Economic Update, which examines the readiness of Sub-Saharan African countries to use artificial intelligence to support economic growth and development.The World Bank said AI activity in Africa is heavily concentrated in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, which account for a significant share of the continent’s innovation ecosystem, venture capital investment, research output and advanced AI applications.The three countries are at the forefront of Africa’s emerging AI ecosystem, although the bank noted that most African economies remain at the early stages of adopting and adapting existing AI technologies.The report said 44 per cent of surveyed firms in Nigeria and Kenya were already using AI technologies, compared with 61 per cent of surveyed firms in the United States.However, the bank said the sophistication of AI deployment remained lower in Nigeria and Kenya, with many businesses still relying on basic applications rather than deeply integrating AI into their operations.Nigeria and South Africa were also identified as the continent’s leading centres of AI research.Between 2000 and 2024, Nigeria produced 4,428 AI-related publications and recorded 64,925 citations, while South Africa produced 7,647 publications and 142,024 citations, according to figures cited in the report.Nigeria’s expanding developer community and digital infrastructure are also contributing to its growing position in the sector.
- The World Bank has noted particularly rapid growth in Nigeria’s developer ecosystem since the global AI boom.The bank said AI activity was increasingly concentrated around Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, with almost half of Africa’s roughly 160 data-centre facilities located in the three countries.Infrastructure remains a major challengeDespite Nigeria’s progress, the World Bank warned that significant infrastructure gaps could limit the benefits the country derives from artificial intelligence.Reliable electricity, affordable internet access, digital skills, quality data, computing infrastructure, effective institutions and appropriate governance were identified as critical foundations for broader AI adoption.The bank argued that African countries do not necessarily need to compete with advanced economies in developing frontier AI models.Instead, countries can gain substantially by adopting affordable AI tools and adapting them to local languages, institutions and development needs.Potential applications include improving education, agriculture, healthcare, finance, logistics and public administration.The World Bank's 2026 World Development Report similarly argues that developing countries can benefit from smaller, lower-cost AI systems without having to build trillion-dollar frontier models or massive computing infrastructure.The World Bank has described AI as a potentially important source of productivity growth and job creation across Africa.Under an ambitious scenario cited in the Africa Economic Update, AI could add as much as $1 trillion to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035 and create between 35 million and 40 million digital jobs.However, the bank has warned that the poorest households could be excluded from these benefits if governments fail to address gaps in electricity, internet access, affordable devices and digital skills.The bank has also urged African governments to focus on practical AI applications rather than simply pursuing technological prestige.Examples include AI tools that support student learning, help farmers identify livestock diseases and automate accounting and other routine tasks for small businesses.Shared data centres and stronger data-protection laws could also help accelerate adoption, according to the bank.For Nigeria, the World Bank’s assessment presents both an endorsement and a warning.The country is already one of Africa’s major AI hubs, with a growing developer community, research base and business adoption.But converting that activity into broad economic gains will depend on sustained investment in electricity, connectivity, digital skills, data, computing capacity and governance.The bank’s message is therefore not simply that Nigeria is becoming an AI leader, but that the country must strengthen the foundations of its digital economy if it is to turn that momentum into jobs, productivity and improved living standards.With AI adoption accelerating globally, Nigeria’s challenge will be to ensure that its emerging position in the technology ecosystem translates into opportunities that extend beyond a relatively small community of developers and technology companies.
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Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading AI centres, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according to the World Bank, which says the country’s growing AI ecosystem could unlock significant economic opportunities if infrastructure and skills gaps are addressed. Nigeria is emerging as one of Africa’s leading centres of artificial intelligence activity, alongside Kenya and South Africa, according...
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Glow 99.1 FM published this story with GlowRy Atuah listed as author.
When was it published?
October 8, 2026
