Only 13% of CEOs in Africa are willing to tolerate high risk in innovation projects, even as 55% say innovation is critical to their business strategy. The gap between ambition and action is the defining tension in PwC’s latest annual survey of business leaders across the continent.
The professional services firm’s 29th Global CEO Survey, released on 5 February 2026, polled more than 150 CEOs across Africa. It paints a picture of leaders who have built strong operational resilience but remain cautious about the transformative investments needed to sustain it.
High optimism, short-term focus
African CEOs are more bullish than their global counterparts: 81% are optimistic about improving economic conditions, compared with a global average of 65%. Nearly half (47%) expect revenue growth over the next year.
Yet the survey reveals a persistent short-term orientation. More than half (51%) of CEOs spend their time on activities with horizons of less than one year, while only 15% plan five years out. Investment appetite is similarly subdued, with 59% indicating little to no change in spending and just 8% willing to make large investments despite geopolitical uncertainty.
“The uncertainty we all live with today needs to be accepted as the new norm,” said Dion Shango, PwC Africa CEO. “Strategies cannot be static. They need to be responsive to unforeseen changes, enabled to adapt quickly, and designed with the agility to ensure business models aren’t compromised when major disruptions occur.”
AI adoption trails global peers
The survey’s starkest finding concerns artificial intelligence. Africa’s CEOs continue to lag their global counterparts in AI deployment across all business functions, with only 37% able to find and retain the talent needed to drive AI initiatives. Just 41% have developed clearly defined AI roadmaps, and 37% have formalised responsible AI and risk processes.
The investment picture is more nuanced. Among African CEOs who have invested in AI, 23% report revenue increases and 25% have achieved cost reductions. Overall AI adoption stands at 75%, up from the previous year, but only 26% believe their current investment levels are sufficient to meet organisational AI goals. A 2023 PwC report flagged cyber risks as a top business threat in Africa, and the new survey suggests that fragmented cloud environments and unclear data governance remain barriers to coherent AI strategies.
“The challenge is fundamentally a governance deficit rather than a lack of ambition,” said Vikas Sharma, Africa Cyber Leader at PwC Mauritius. “AI depends on trusted data, secure infrastructure and clear accountability.”
Diversification is already working
One bright spot is diversification. Nearly half (47%) of African CEOs have begun competing in new sectors over the past 5 years, with 24% of revenue now derived from these newer ventures. Technology leads planned expansion efforts at 17%, followed by real estate (13%), retail (13%), and transport and logistics (12%).
Acquisition appetite is also notable: 40% of African leaders plan to pursue growth through acquisition within the next 3 years, close to the 46% global average. The primary drivers are increasing market share (55%), portfolio diversification (51%), and achieving scale efficiencies (50%).
The reinvention imperative
The survey’s central message is that operational resilience alone will not be enough. While Africa’s business leaders have demonstrated remarkable ability to navigate currency fluctuations, political uncertainty, and infrastructure constraints, the cautious investment stance risks widening the gap with global competitors already scaling AI and other transformative technologies.
The continent’s growing digital infrastructure investment and expanding internet exchange capacity provide the foundations for bolder moves. Whether CEOs seize that opportunity will depend on bridging the gap between strategic intent and the willingness to take calculated risks.
“Africa’s CEOs are not short on ambition or ability,” said Hannelie Gilmour, Consulting and Transformation Platform Leader at PwC South Africa. “The leaders who will shape the next chapter of business in Africa are those who recognise that tomorrow’s stability comes from today’s innovation.”
The survey covered 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries and territories between September and November 2025, with results weighted proportionally to country nominal GDP.
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