Why 2026 should be the Year of Artificial Intelligence for Africa

THERE'S enough evidence which suggests that 2025 has been the "Year of Al" due to widespread adoption, the rise of AI agents, significant advances in reasoning capabilities, and major business and government focus on the technology.

- WESLEY DIPHOKO

Key trends include AI agents performing complex tasks, advancements in reasoning and planning abilities, and the increasing commercial revenue generated by Al companies, with businesses heavily investing in AI tools.

One unique difference is that we have seen the rise of AI Agents that are capable of making decisions and taking actions without direct human intervention.

We've seen advanced reasoning being piloted where AI models became much better at complex tasks with major AI companies releasing systems that could plan, verify and reflect.

We've also seen mass adoption with businesses significantly increasing their use of AI, with a large percentage of US companies paying for AI tools, and AI-first startups growing faster than their peers. We've also started to see economic green shoots.

The Al industry is generating billions in annual revenue, with the cost of AI capabilities falling while performance rises. Lastly, countries are increasingly recognising AI as a strategic imperative for economic and security reasons, and educational institutions like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have declared 2025 the "Year of Artificial Intelligence" to transform education.

In Africa, we've recently witnessed what can be described as the first major step towards AI implementation in the continent.