African organisations are investing just 2% of revenue in artificial intelligence, less than half the 5% being committed by global leaders, according to new research from PwC.
The consulting firm’s AI Performance Research, released on 18 May 2026, surveyed 1,217 senior executives across 25 sectors in six regions, including Africa. It found that while AI adoption is widespread on the continent, few organisations are translating early experimentation into enterprise-wide returns.
Pilots without scale
More than 82% of African organisations are running AI pilots, but only a small share have scaled adoption across the enterprise. Only 32% of African executives surveyed believe their current AI investment is sufficient.
“Africa’s challenge is both adopting AI at scale and implementing it fast enough to remain competitive,” said Dion Shango, PwC Africa CEO. “While more than 82% of organisations are running AI pilots, this is not yet translating into enterprise-wide impact.”
The finding echoes PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey from February, which flagged African leaders as optimistic but cautious about bold AI investment.
Cost-cutting over growth
PwC also found a strategic divergence between African organisations and global AI leaders. African deployments are concentrated on cost reduction and productivity gains, while global counterparts are using AI to create new revenue streams, redesign value chains, and reposition for growth.
“Focusing AI only on efficiency is a narrowing strategy,” said Olufemi Osinubi, Consulting and Risk Services Leader for PwC’s West Market. “The real opportunity lies in using AI to unlock growth, expand into underserved markets, and create entirely new business models.”
The pattern is familiar: a Milken Institute report in April reached a similar conclusion about African manufacturing, urging the continent to scale AI deployment beyond pilots.
Workforce ready, leaders cautious
The brightest finding for Africa is workforce readiness. PwC said 64% of African workers are already using AI in their roles, a strong signal of grassroots adoption that has yet to translate into top-down strategy.
“The workforce is ahead of the organisation in many cases,” said Laolu Akindele, Partner at PwC Kenya’s Technology Consulting practice. “Employees are ready to use AI, but leaders are still building trust in AI-driven decisions.”
PwC’s research methodology covered companies primarily with USD 1 billion or more in annual revenue, with fieldwork conducted in October and November 2025. The firm’s AI Africa Leader, Christiaan Nel, said the continent stands at “a critical inflection point”, with intent and workforce readiness in place but execution lagging.
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