The Global South is at a pivotal moment where artificial intelligence (AI) can significantly impact development. While AI could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, emerging markets (excluding China) are projected to capture only $1.7 trillion, underlining both a challenge and an opportunity. Africa must leverage AI to overcome traditional barriers and promote inclusive development through localized innovation and digital sovereignty.
AI is already making a difference: in Zambia, it’s helping reduce maternal mortality; in Ghana, it supports efforts against antimicrobial resistance; and in East Africa, it boosts crop yields for smallholder farmers.
In Tanzania, Vodacom is leading the way by using AI to drive inclusive growth. Its M-Pesa mobile money platform, handling over $135 billion in transactions annually, uses AI to provide financial services to the unbanked, expanding access to credit and fueling entrepreneurship. M-Pesa’s modernization with cloud-based systems ensures continued reliability and scalability, reinforcing its role in Tanzania’s growing digital economy.
🌾 1. AI Is Improving Lives in Rural and Urban Areas
- Agriculture: AI is helping smallholder farmers detect diseases early, increasing crop yields and reducing losses—leading to better incomes and food security in rural areas.
- Utilities (Power & Water): Vodacom’s AI-enabled Internet of Things (IoT) solutions use smart meters and data analytics to monitor and optimize energy and water usage. This reduces waste, lowers costs, and supports sustainable urban growth, especially important as Tanzania’s cities expand rapidly.
📡 2. Investments in Digital Infrastructure Are Critical
- In 2024 alone, Vodacom invested over TZS 156 billion (~USD 60 million) in expanding its 4G and 3G network coverage, especially in remote areas like Zanzibar.
- Enhanced connectivity is vital for real-time AI applications such as smart farming, e-health, and mobile banking.
- Vodacom also upgraded internet infrastructure, improving bandwidth via national and submarine cables and expanding fiber optic networks in urban centers. This makes internet access faster and more reliable, which is foundational for any AI-driven ecosystem.
🔐 3. Data Sovereignty and Local Control
- Data sovereignty means that Tanzanian data stays within Tanzania. Vodacom has built a locally hosted IoT platform, ensuring user privacy and data security.
- This reduces dependency on foreign tech providers and ensures that AI systems reflect local values, cultures, and regulatory environments—a principle crucial to achieving “digital sovereignty.”
👩🏽💻 4. Africa’s Youth: The Continent’s Greatest AI Asset
- With 60% of Africans under age 25, the continent has a massive opportunity to harness the creativity, adaptability, and ambition of its young population.
- Many young Africans are building AI tools tailored to local challenges—for example, in agriculture, healthcare, education, and fintech.
- In Tanzania, a PwC report shows that over half (52%) of CEOs expect generative AI to boost profits in the near term, underscoring the private sector’s belief in AI’s value.
🤝 5. Regional & Global Collaboration Is Key
- Rwanda’s AI Scaling Hub and the Smart Africa Alliance (covering 40 countries) illustrate pan-African efforts to use AI in healthcare, education, and agriculture.
- NGOs and governments are starting to use generative AI to retain institutional knowledge and inform better policymaking, reducing their reliance on external (often Western) tech providers.
- Vodafone’s partnerships with Google and Microsoft show a hybrid model: blending access to global tech infrastructure with local control and governance.
🏙️ 6. Smart Cities & Urban Growth
- By 2050, 68% of the world’s population will live in cities. Africa’s rapid urbanization means it must plan now for data-driven urban infrastructure—traffic management, utilities, security, and service delivery—all of which benefit from AI.
📱 7. Infrastructure Gaps Are Still a Major Barrier
- Only 28% of Africans have access to smartphones, limiting their ability to use more advanced AI services.
- Many still use USSD technology (text-based systems), which restricts the interface and capability of AI-powered apps.
- Bridging Africa’s $109 billion broadband gap is critical. This requires equitable investment and partnerships, like Vodafone’s annual €1 billion commitment to improving networks across Africa.
⚖️ 8. Ethics, Equity, and Inclusion Must Guide AI Development
- Africa must not remain a passive consumer of AI technologies developed elsewhere. It must become a co-creator, ensuring AI reflects local languages, cultures, norms, and priorities.
- This means:
- Building local AI talent and institutions
- Establishing regulatory frameworks for ethical AI use
- Ensuring AI benefits are widely shared, not just concentrated in elite hands or foreign companies
📌 Summary: What’s at Stake?
AI holds the potential to transform the Global South, but the path forward must be inclusive, ethical, and locally driven. For Africa—and Tanzania in particular—to fully benefit:
- Digital infrastructure must be expanded
- Youth must be empowered
- Local data governance must be protected
- Global partnerships must be balanced with local control
In doing so, AI can be a tool not just for economic growth, but for equitable development, resilience, and human progress.
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