Africa risks losing AI dividend without urgent skills investment, GFTN chief warns
Africa’s next digital leap will not come from artificial intelligence hype alone but from investment in people, infrastructure and governance, according to GFTN Solutions chief executive Maha El Dimachki.
Speaking at the 3i Africa Summit 2026 in Accra, Maha El Dimachki said the continent risks losing out on a multi-billion-dollar AI opportunity unless governments and industry urgently strengthen digital skills, innovation systems and regulatory readiness.
She argued that Africa has already demonstrated its ability to scale transformative financial technology, pointing to the continent’s dominance in mobile money and agent banking. Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for roughly 66 per cent of global mobile money transaction value, reinforcing the region’s position as a global leader in inclusive digital finance.
But she cautioned that artificial intelligence would require a deeper foundation than earlier waves of fintech innovation.
“Technology only works when combined with human expertise,” El Dimachki said, warning against excessive reliance on automation without adequate oversight, technical understanding and governance structures.
Citing estimates from the African Development Bank, she noted that AI could contribute as much as $1tn to Africa’s economy by 2035, generate up to 40mn jobs and materially accelerate GDP growth. Even more conservative projections, she said, place the opportunity at about $250bn in additional economic value.
Artificial intelligence is already beginning to reshape sectors including healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and financial services, with early deployments in Ghana featuring AI-driven identity verification systems and locally adapted payment technologies.
Yet El Dimachki said the continent’s preparedness remains uneven. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to record some of the world’s lowest digital skills levels, while weak infrastructure, fragmented governance systems and limited technical capacity continue to constrain adoption at scale.
“This is not the full story, but it is a reality we must address,” she said.
She outlined three priorities she believes are essential if Africa is to capture the benefits of AI-led growth.
The first is smarter regulation. Policymakers, she argued, must design frameworks that encourage innovation while maintaining safeguards against systemic risks. She referenced ongoing work on a Fintech Regulatory Features Index aimed at helping countries benchmark their digital finance readiness against international standards.
The second is investment in infrastructure and experimentation platforms, including regulatory sandboxes, governance systems, innovation hubs and public-private partnerships capable of supporting responsible technological testing and deployment.
The third, and most urgent, is human capital development. El Dimachki stressed that AI systems require skilled professionals capable of understanding model limitations, mitigating bias and exercising judgement when automated outputs fail.
“Every model has limits. We must know when to trust the machine and when human judgement must lead,” she said.
She concluded by calling for closer collaboration among governments, regulators, academia and the private sector, arguing that Africa has reached a decisive point where innovation, investment and implementation must converge.
According to El Dimachki, institutions such as the Bank of Ghana and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems are already playing a significant role in advancing the continent’s digital finance ecosystem.
“This is Africa’s moment to innovate, invest and implement,” she said.
