How AI won’t revolutionise entrepreneurship in Africa!

19.08.2025 by in category News

Johnni's AI article

In this thought piece, Johnni Kjelsgaard, Founder & Executive Chairman of GrowthAfrica, draws from his decades of experience to unpack why AI will not transform African entrepreneurship overnight.

Johnni recalls his own entrepreneurial journey during the dot-com era of the 1990s, when the hype around the internet promised immediate revolutions in business and society. The reality? A slower, more constrained evolution shaped by deep-rooted market realities.

Africa’s AI journey, he argues, will follow a similar path.

The AI “revolution” will be no different

For Africa, AI will not revolutionise entrepreneurship overnight. The speed and ripple effects may be amplified compared to the dot-com era, but the constraints remain:

  • entrenched power structures,

  • limited purchasing power,

  • and slow-moving markets.

At the global scale, the AI backbone and killer apps will come from the US, China, and a few Western players, not Africa. And if we’re not proactive, Western entrepreneurs will adapt these tools to our local problems and dominate our markets.

What African entrepreneurs must do

To thrive in the AI era, African entrepreneurs need to:

✅ Solve uniquely local problems – Build AI-driven solutions for SMEs, grassroots consumers, and local industries rather than chasing global TAMs.
✅ Prioritise SMEs – They are the backbone of African economies and offer competitive advantages global players cannot replicate.
✅ Hone strategic thinking – Let it handle the how and what. Entrepreneurs must focus on the why: vision, customer value, and long-term strategies.
✅ Deepen customer understanding – Anticipate evolving needs, cultural nuances, and competitor moves.

Because AI easily masters operational and tactical tasks, your edge lies in strategic foresight, customer intimacy, and contextual intelligence.

The path ahead

For African SMEs, the challenge is not whether AI will transform business, it will. The question is who will win:

  • Global players adapting their tools to Africa?

  • Or African entrepreneurs building context-driven solutions rooted in local realities?

The winners will be those who understand their “why”, anticipate customer shifts, and design strategies AI can empower but never replace.

AI won’t revolutionise entrepreneurship in Africa overnight. But African entrepreneurs who combine AI with local insight, strategic clarity, and customer focus will write the next chapter of innovation.