Africa's AI Moment
Sources.
Every headline figure on this site, in the free report, and in the book, with where it comes from. If you quote a number, quote the source too.
The audit (Bonus Report and the book)
| Claim | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| G7 group score on the IMF AI Preparedness Index | 0.72 | IMF, AI Preparedness Index (DataMapper) |
| Sub-Saharan Africa score | 0.34 | IMF, AI Preparedness Index |
| South Africa (best in the sample) / Italy (lowest G7) | 0.50 / 0.62 | IMF, AI Preparedness Index, country annex |
| US data centres; US private AI investment in 2025 | 5,427 / $285.9B | Stanford HAI, AI Index Report 2026 |
| Organizations using AI in 2025 / using generative AI | 88% / 70% | Stanford HAI, AI Index Report 2026 |
| AI's potential addition to Sub-Saharan GDP over a decade, current vs stronger foundations | 0.2% / ~4% | IMF, 2026 Africa research (July 2026) |
The country explorer
| Claim | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Country ranks and six pillar scores, 195 countries, 69 indicators | 2025 | Oxford Insights, Government AI Readiness Index 2025 (published January 2026) |
| Sub-Saharan Africa regional average / North America | 29.1 / 81.5 | Oxford Insights, Government AI Readiness Index 2025 |
| 2024 ranks used for year-on-year movement | 2024 | Oxford Insights, Government AI Readiness Index 2024 |
"AI readiness" on the explorer is the equal-weighted mean of Oxford's six pillar scores, divided by 100; Oxford's own overall uses undisclosed weights, so it may differ by a few points. Rank is Oxford's published rank. The funding-gap figure is an illustrative estimate, not a source figure.
Figures in the book
| Claim | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile money worldwide, 2025 data | $2T · 2.3B | GSMA, State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 |
| African tech funding in 2025; share to Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria | $4.1B · 72% | Partech, 2025 Africa Tech Venture Capital Report |
| Young Africans entering the labour market each year vs formal jobs created; jobs needed per year | 12M · 3M · 28M | World Bank, "Building Skills, Creating Jobs, and Empowering Africa's Future," March 2026 |
| Digital-skills demand from online job vacancies (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda) | 2025 | World Bank, Exploring Digital Skills Demand, 2025 |
| Agrifood share of women's vs men's employment, Sub-Saharan Africa | 66% / 60% | FAO, The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems, 2023 |
| PlantVillage Nuru crop-disease app | Penn State | Penn State, PlantVillage, with CGIAR support |
| SMEs already using generative AI (seven-country survey) | 31% | OECD, Generative AI and the SME Workforce, 2025 |
| MSME finance barriers: collateral, records, documentation | 2025 | IFC, MSME Banking in the Digital Era, 2025 |
| Four foundations for AI: Connectivity, Compute, Context, Competency | 2025 | World Bank, Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025; IEA, Financing Electricity Access in Africa, 2025 |
| Governments must make administrative data AI-ready | WDR 2026 | World Bank, World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence |
| Africa Accelerator for Digital Public Infrastructure | AA4DPI | UNDP |
| Africans who want to choose leaders through open, honest elections (38 countries, 50,961 interviews) | 74% | Afrobarometer, 2026 |
| AI in electoral administration | 2026 | UNDP, From Promise to Practice: AI in Electoral Administration |
| Raxio DRC1, Kinshasa: US$30M Tier III data centre | Aug 2024 | Connecting Africa |
| Masakhane African Languages Hub | AI4D | AI4D Africa |
| African Union strategy | 2024 | AU, Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy: Harnessing AI for Africa's Development and Prosperity |
Found an error? Email hippolyte@africaaimoment.com. Corrections are made here first and in the next printing.
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