By Olatunde Olajide, Partner, Technology Advisory, Verraki Partners (A Member of Andersen Consulting)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the key enablers of that future. Once dismissed as mere tech jargon, AI has become a business imperative. The world’s most competitive organisations today are no longer just product-driven or service-led, they are intelligence-powered. Yet, across Africa, AI adoption still lags, often perceived as a luxury for multinational giants rather than a necessity for local enterprises. That perception is no longer valid and it is increasingly a limitation.

AI is becoming foundational across sectors including retail, finance, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, and even governance. In the African context, its relevance is particularly urgent: to accelerate economic inclusion, reduce inefficiencies, and bridge long standing infrastructure gaps. With limited resources, AI offers a real opportunity for African businesses to leapfrog developmental stages rather than follow traditional trajectories.

AI: What It Is and Why It Matters

At its core, AI refers to machines mimicking human intelligence, recognising patterns, drawing conclusions, and automating complex tasks. It powers everything from automatic meeting transcripts to fraud detection, customer service bots, and inventory optimization.

In a typical African enterprise, the entry points for AI are surprisingly close to home. AI tools can:

• Handle customer service 24/7 without adding headcount.
• Translate documents and voice memos across languages.
• Predict stock movement based on historical sales patterns.
• Take meeting notes seamlessly with or without physical attendance.
• Suggest traffic routes, curate news for notification and recommend movies/music.

These tools are not future innovations; they are available now. The challenge is not whether AI can work for African businesses. It is whether African businesses are ready to work with AI.

Breaking the Myths Around AI

To scale adoption, we must confront the misconceptions clouding AI which are:

• “AI will eliminate jobs.”

While it is true that AI automates specific tasks like meeting notes once done by secretaries, it also creates new roles and opportunities. AI will certainly create new jobs and transform existing jobs, but it won’t eliminate human relevance. Like the shift from typewriters to computers, it will demand new skills while phasing out outdated ones. Those who choose to reskill and adapt will stay relevant, while those who resist change may be left behind.

• “Only large firms can afford AI.”

Wrong. In reality, every business, big or small, generates data and relies on it for decision-making. AI is already being used to facilitate simple tasks that were done manually in the past, like invoicing, screening transactions, or checking balances. Businesses that overlook AI may fall behind those that adopt it to drive growth and efficiency. Also, these AI tools have become more accessible so small businesses can now access them for little to no cost.

• “My business doesn’t use data.”

Every business uses data, whether it is customer complaints, stock levels, channel profitability, staff productivity etc. The issue is not about data availability; it is whether you’re harnessing it effectively.

• “AI always gets it right.”

AI only works as well as the data its fed. Bad data equals bad output. That’s why human oversight is still crucial, particularly in local markets where nuance, culture, and context can’t always be codified.

The First Step Is Literacy, Not Technology

An effective AI journey starts with awareness and alignment and not code. Before deploying any tools or platforms, organisations must invest in building AI literacy across all levels, from leadership to frontline teams. Just as cybersecurity protocols or regulatory compliance are now integral to business culture, understanding AI must become embedded in day-to-day operations.

When employees grasp the value and limitations of AI, they’re more likely to embrace it as a productivity enabler rather than a threat to job security.

To build this foundation, business leaders must be intentional about:

• Providing practical education on what AI can and cannot do.
• Actively addressing concerns about automation and job loss.
• Sharing relatable case studies that demonstrate successful application.
• Creating safe spaces for experimentation with entry-level, low-risk AI tools.

In parallel, AI governance must be clearly defined. Companies need robust policies that guide AI usage, data quality, ethical considerations, and accountability.

Equally critical is a realistic assessment of data readiness: Is your organisation’s data easily accessible, well-organised, clean, unified across teams or departments and usable?

Without quality data, even the most advanced AI solutions will fail to produce meaningful outcomes. AI thrives on clean data, data governance, and data integrity.

Without these, digital transformation efforts will stall before they start.

AI systems rely on structured, high-quality data to function effectively. Yet across Africa, data often remains hoarded, fragmented, messy, or uncollected.

To address these concerns about data quality and data readiness, businesses must:

• Implement data governance frameworks: clear rules for how data is collected, cleaned, stored, and used.
• Appoint data champions within each department.
• Run data quality audits to track progress.
• Use cloud-based tools to centralise access and avoid capital-heavy infrastructure investments.

How To Build AI Capability For Your Business

One of the quickest paths to failure in adoption of AI is overreaching too early. For African businesses, success lies in taking a measured, phased approach, one that balances ambition with practicality.

1. Start with simple, high impact use cases, like automated customer emails or invoice categorisation.
2. Measure returns, time saved, errors reduced, or engagement improved.
3. Refine, repeat, and scale. Gradually building complexity and capability.

This approach reduces risk, builds internal trust, and creates a feedback loop of continuous learning.

Recent findings from Verraki’s AI Readiness Framework for African Businesses further reinforce the urgency of these conversations. The report reveals that while 87% of African business leaders believe their organisations are ready to adopt AI, only 66% expect to reach mature or advanced AI readiness by 2027. This highlights a significant gap between ambition and actual preparedness.

Moreover, sectors such as technology, financial services, and telecommunications are perceived to be leading in AI readiness in Nigeria. However, challenges persist, over 55% of leaders cite regulatory and policy inadequacies as barriers to AI adoption.

To truly harness AI’s transformative potential, the report emphasises that readiness must go beyond technology. It calls for a holistic approach, involving strategic intent, robust data governance, executive sponsorship, and a strong digital foundation. As the report articulates, “AI readiness is not just about interest in emerging technologies; it is a structured evaluation of an organisation’s preparedness across multiple dimensions.”

African businesses must address infrastructure gaps, data challenges, and talent shortages head-on. This is not merely about acquiring the latest tools; it is about building foundational capabilities that will enable sustainable and scalable AI integration.

“AI will not replace people. But people who use AI will replace people who don’t.” “Businesses that spurn AI will fall behind those that adopt AI to drive growth and efficiency.”

The True Driver of AI Transformation

As with any technological shift, the long-term success of AI does not rest on software or platforms, it rests on people. No matter how sophisticated the tools are, it is human talent that determines whether AI delivers real business value or becomes another underutilised trend.

For African organisations, building an AI-ready workforce must be a deliberate strategy. This means:

• Partnering with training academies to expand access to technical knowledge.
• Incentivising internal upskilling through tailored certification pathways.
• Hiring young professionals with fluency in data science and related concepts.
• Embedding AI literacy into onboarding, leadership development, and change management initiatives.
• Redesigning the operating model of the business to allow for new ways of working across different organisational units, enabled by AI tools

This human-centric approach must also extend beyond individual companies. Governments, educational institutions, and the private sector need to align on a shared vision for AI capacity development. The Federal Government’s launch of the AI Academy, with plans to train over 100,000 Nigerians in foundational AI skills, is a welcome start. But lasting impact will only come with grassroots implementation, around the 774 Local governments and across schools, technical colleges, small businesses, and public sector agencies.

Collaboration is the differentiator

As part of Andersen Global, alongside Andersen Tax, Andersen Legal, Andersen Valuation, and Andersen Consulting, Verraki leverages the expertise of over 20,000 professionals across 500+ locations worldwide, helping African businesses tap into global standards while maintaining local relevance.

This gives our clients:

• Faster AI implementation using proven frameworks.
• Access to cutting-edge tools and platforms.
• Cross-sector insights into what’s working globally.
• And the confidence to scale AI from proof-of-concept to enterprise value.

One thing we must never forget is that AI is not just about technology, it’s about readiness. The readiness to think differently, act deliberately, and partner strategically.

The African businesses that will win in the next decade will not necessarily be the largest or the oldest. They will be the ones who can learn fast, adapt quickly, and act boldly with AI as a co-pilot, not a threat.

The future is not waiting. The question is: Are we ready to lead it?

To explore these insights in greater detail and learn practical strategies for building an AI-ready business, we invite you to download and read Verraki’s comprehensive AI Readiness Framework report. This resource provides actionable guidance, sector-specific data, and a roadmap tailored for African organisations ready to lead in an AI-powered future. Visit www.verraki.africa to access the full report.