Africa’s artificial intelligence push could add up to $1 trillion to GDP by 2035, according to a new report from the African Development Bank (AfDB), positioning AI as a central pillar of the continent’s productivity and growth strategy.
The report, Improving AI Productivity in Africa: Pathways to Labor Efficiency, Economic Growth and Inclusive Transformation, outlines how AI adoption can boost output across key sectors by improving labor efficiency rather than eliminating jobs. Agriculture, fintech, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and public services have been identified as high-impact sectors where AI tools can bring rapid benefits.
According to the report, AI dividends are expected to be concentrated in selected sectors with high impact, rather than being distributed evenly across African economies. The analysis identified five priority sectors: Agriculture (20%), Wholesale and Retail (14%), Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 (9%), Finance and Inclusion (8%), and Health and Life Sciences (7%), which together are projected to capture 58% of total AI benefits, or approximately $580 billion, by 2035. These sectors combine economic scale, readiness for AI adoption, and strong potential to deliver comprehensive development outcomes.
Nicholas Williams, ICT operations manager at the bank, said: “In this report, we have set out key initiatives and identified areas to focus on for initial implementation.” “The Bank stands ready to make investments to support these actions. We look forward to the private sector and governments leveraging this investment to ensure we achieve productivity gains and create quality jobs.”
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According to the AfDB, translating the promise of AI into measurable economic value depends on five interrelated enablers: data, computing, skills, trust, and capital. The bank argues that fragmented data ecosystems, limited computing infrastructure, skills shortages, weak governance frameworks and lack of investment remain the main bottlenecks to large-scale AI adoption across the continent.
The report was produced under the G20 Digital Transformation Working Group and highlights Africa’s growing relevance in global digital policy discussions. We position AI as a breakthrough opportunity, enabling African economies to circumvent traditional development constraints by scaling digital solutions built on mobile connectivity and cloud infrastructure.
From a finance and investment perspective, AfDB’s forecast strengthens the long-term outlook for sectors that are already attracting increased private equity and development capital flows, including fintech, digital payments, AI-driven credit scoring, data centers and cloud services. In particular, AI-powered financial services are considered important for expanding financial inclusion while improving risk management and capital allocation.
As global competition for AI intensifies, the AfDB’s message is clear. For Africa, AI is no longer a distant dream, but a near-term economic catalyst that could transform productivity, competitiveness, and inclusive growth over the next decade.
