AI Investments in Africa Expected to Reach $16.5 Billion by 2030: Mastercard Outlines Strategy for Continued Digital Progression
Mastercard's Whitepaper Highlights Africa's AI Revolution
Mastercard has released a comprehensive whitepaper titled "Harnessing the Transformative Power of AI in Africa". The report provides an in-depth look at the current state and future potential of AI in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Morocco, within the broader context of Africa's strong growth and responsible innovation.
South Africa leads the continent in AI infrastructure and investment, having attracted $610 million in AI venture capital in 2023. The country aims to develop 300 AI startups and train 5,000 AI professionals by 2030. South Africa's mature data and infrastructure readiness position it well to capitalize on AI's transformative impact, particularly in finance and healthcare.
Kenya, known as the “Silicon Savannah”, leverages AI in areas like mobile credit scoring and maternal health chatbots. The country's freshly launched National AI Strategy (2025–2030) seeks to scale domestic innovation and research, reflecting a focused policy approach to fostering AI-driven growth and solutions tailored to local needs.
Nigeria ranks second after South Africa in AI startup numbers and attracted $218 million in AI investment in 2023. Nigeria applies AI primarily in microfinance, education, and to boost public sector transparency. Its growing tech ecosystem is pivotal to Africa’s AI ambitions.
Morocco is emerging as a North African AI hub with initiatives spanning healthcare, agriculture, and energy sectors. Its government's Digital 2030 strategy targets $1.1 billion in digital investment and 240,000 new tech jobs, underscoring Morocco’s commitment to integrating AI broadly across its economy.
The whitepaper projects Africa’s AI market to quadruple from $4.5 billion in 2025 to $16.5 billion by 2030, driven by its mobile-first infrastructure, youthful population, and entrepreneurial spirit. It stresses that AI’s impact extends beyond technology into creating up to 230 million digital jobs by 2030 if adopted inclusively and ethically.
However, Mastercard emphasizes that realizing this potential requires investment in infrastructure, data governance, talent development, and coherent policy frameworks that respect local contexts, inclusivity, and ethical considerations. Challenges such as data fragmentation, language diversity, and regulatory gaps threaten equitable AI adoption, calling for multi-stakeholder collaboration among governments, tech firms, academia, and fintech players.
In summary, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Morocco are key regional leaders within Africa’s AI revolution, each with distinct strengths and strategic plans, highlighted in Mastercard’s whitepaper as pivotal to harnessing AI’s transformative and inclusive economic and social impact across the continent.
The whitepaper also provides insights into how AI can unlock transformative outcomes across major African industries like agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, and finance. AI can increase access to formal finance through AI-enabled credit scoring and fraud prevention.
Moreover, the whitepaper explores the importance of building AI that is responsible, inclusive, and built to bring value to customers, partners, and employees, according to Mastercard's chief AI and data officer, Greg Ulrich.
Kenya has launched a National AI Strategy (2025-2030) to position itself as a regional leader in AI research and development, innovation, and commercialization for socioeconomic development.
Mastercard's whitepaper draws on insights from leading African technologists, policymakers, academics, and entrepreneurs, including interviews with UNESCO, the African Center for Economic Transformation, and fintech leaders across the region.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being leveraged in various sectors in South Africa, particularly finance and healthcare, due to the country's mature data and infrastructure readiness.
Kenya's National AI Strategy (2025–2030) reflects a focused policy approach to fostering AI-driven growth and solutions tailored to local needs, with applications in areas like mobile credit scoring and maternal health chatbots.
