Africa Emerges as Tech Powerhouse in Global AI Innovation Race

Read about how Africa joins the global AI innovation race and emerges as a tech powerhouse

The AI revolution that is shaking up business, government, and society around the world is also triggering a wave of AI innovation in Africa. The existential implications of this transformative technology will fuel a cross-border investment boom at GITEX Africa's AI Everything Expo in Morocco next month.

Africa's immense AI innovation was already driving digital transformation in industries ranging from finance to agriculture, healthcare, and mobility, and it has taken part in the global AI innovation race. This is driving a growing AI market that analysts at Statista predict will increase by 30 percent per annum over the next six years and reach US$17 billion in value by 2030.

This huge demand for AI, combined with an aging population (70 percent of the world's population is under 30 years old), makes AI acceleration a powerful tool in global AI innovation. Still, it also highlights challenges in terms of talent development, risk allocation, policy, and infrastructure.

These critical issues and opportunities will come to a head when the world's leading AI experts and key pioneers of widespread adoption join forces to accelerate the continent's next major technological breakthrough at GITEX Africa's AI Everything Expo, the year's biggest and most forward-thinking platform for AI research and Global AI Innovation profound tech powerhouse.

Marrakech, May 29-31, 2024: Africa's premier tech event will bring together the world's leading tech companies in the AI gold rush (Microsoft, IBM, Huawei, Nvidia, and Google) and hundreds of promising AI start-ups around the world with ambitious goals to transform Africa through AI-powered products and services.

The AI continent is 'full of investment opportunities,' with Microsoft, the world's most valuable company, as GITEX Africa's official AI Partner. Microsoft has partnered with some of the world's hottest AI model manufacturers, including G42 from the United Arab Emirates, a global pioneer in AI.

Microsoft's strategic investment of $1.5 billion in G42 to drive AI innovation in emerging economies like Africa will be welcomed by leading tech leaders, government officials, investors, and tech entrepreneurs at GITEX Africa 2024, including G42 big data analytics company Presight, which uses generative AI.

Microsoft Africa President Lillian Barnard said AI could open up "a continent full of investment opportunities." "We've known for a long time that Africa is ripe for growth, and AI has long been the key to unlocking that promise," she said. "I'm thrilled to be the keynote speaker at this year's powerful GITEX Africa conference."

"The AI-powered innovation we're seeing today is poised to reinvent every aspect of society from healthcare to financial services, manufacturing, and beyond. Suppose Africa is to benefit from the paradigm shift currently sweeping the globe. In that case, we must make the promise of AI real for people and organizations across the continent – and do so responsibly. GITEX provides us with a platform to come together and work towards fulfilling that commitment."

"Africa is the second fastest growing region in the world for AI adoption," said Dr. Adel Alsarji, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Presight. "Africa's AI journey is gaining momentum, and this progress highlights the continent's readiness to explore and harness the potential of AI for driving economic growth and addressing local challenges," said Alsharji; according to the report, the demand for AI jobs will double in the next three years. "AI could add US$13 trillion to the global economy by 2030, while the number of AI-related jobs in Africa alone is expected to grow by 200 percent by 2025."

AI Everything Expo is Africa's leading event in the AI revolution. The AI Everything Conference is one of 10 crucial conference stages of GITEX Africa, Africa's most prominent tech and start-up show.

AI Everything Expo will bring together the world's leading experts and the most innovative minds in AI.

Leading the way in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), speakers include Dragoș Tudorache, Vice President of Renew Europe Group. Mactar Seck Head of Technology and Innovation, UNECA. Jepson Taylor is the former head of AI strategy at Dataiku.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and its multifaceted impact will be front and center on the exhibition stage. Exhibitors will demonstrate how the AI revolution is driving innovation across every sector, from education and farming to transportation, retail, energy, and logistics.

Nigerian start-up Clinify is part of the global movement in the healthcare industry. It is one of the hundreds of start-ups from around the world that will showcase their innovations at GITEX Africa's North Star Africa start-up showcase, Global AI Innovation. Clinify is an EMR (Electronic Medical Records) platform that aims to digitize patients' medical records in Africa, where 90% of patient information is still printed.

Established in 2020, this AI-driven model will improve access to healthcare in Africa, where, says CEO and Founder Michael Omidele, there is a pressing need for centralized and digital medical records. Omidele explains that Africa's healthcare system faces several challenges. "There is only one doctor per 10,000 patients in Africa, compared to the average of one doctor per 250 people in developed countries," he says.

"Clinify is a one-of-a-kind African solution offering a digitally centralized and standardized interoperable aggregator of healthcare systems, a telemedicine platform, and an EMR solution giving patients access to their medical records. Our goal is to network with healthcare providers, expand this innovation from Nigeria, and export it across Africa."

Under the patronage of His Highness King Mohammed VI, GITEX Africa is hosted by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Administration Reform in collaboration with the Moroccan Digital Development Agency. Its second Blockbuster Edition, sponsored by KAOUL International, follows its groundbreaking launch in 2023.