Africa leads global AI readiness

Companies plan to double AI spend in 2026, but not everyone is as ready as Africa. The continent has been named the world’s top region for AI workforce readiness, with more than half (55%) of employees already upskilled in AI.

This is revealed in the 2026 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) AI Radar report, the third annual edition examining the state of the global AI landscape. The research is based on a survey of 2,360 executives, including 640 CEOs. It spans nine industries and 16 markets, including South Africa.

“Corporate transformation is moving from a CIO-led to a CEO-led initiative,” said Christoph Schweizer, BCG CEO, during a media briefing last week. “[Globally], 72% of CEOs say that they are the main decision maker on AI in their organisation. We have never seen this before. In fact, that number has doubled since a year ago.”

Among African CEOs surveyed, 82% say they are the main decision makers on AI within their organisations, placing the region 10% above the average. This leadership role is reinforced by a strong personal commitment to skills development, with African executives spending an average of 8.3 hours per week on AI upskilling, the highest level recorded in the study.

“Effectively, the CEO is becoming the chief AI officer,” said Schweizer.

Within this context, 42% of African leaders qualify as AI Trailblazers, an archetype defined by BCG as organisations driving AI-powered transformation through decisive investment, rapid upskilling and a strong belief in AI’s return on investment (ROI). This percentage is nearly three times the average of about 15%, positioning Africa ahead of many more established markets.

The less aggressive archetypes include Followers, who account for about 15% globally and recognise AI’s potential but lack full conviction, resulting in cautious early investments. Pragmatists make up roughly the remaining 70% and are optimistic about AI but only invest when value is clearly proven and risk is low.

The decisive African leadership is driven by a sense of urgency. The survey reveals 71% of the continent’s executives report their job stability depends on successfully executing an AI strategy by 2026. This is significantly higher than the 51% average.

The global outlook is positive: an average of 82% of CEOs are more optimistic about AI’s potential for a positive ROI this year than last year. The African mindset mirrors this at 84%.

For Africa, AI momentum is tempered by a clear strategy gap. For example, the South Africa Generative AI Roadmap 2025, conducted by World Wide Worx in partnership with Dell Technologies and Intel, found that while 67% of large enterprises are already using generative AI tools, fewer than one in seven have a company-wide strategy in place. A further 22% operate with divisional strategies only, highlighting that adoption can outpace structured, organisation-wide planning.

The 2026 African leadership focus is reflected in spending plans. The BCG AI Radar reveals that more than half (59%) of African companies expect to invest more than $50-million in AI in 2026. Globally, companies plan to double corporate AI investment spending. This accounts for about 1.7% of revenues, more than twice the increase for 2025.

“Despite economic uncertainty, this anticipated surge in spending reflects how much of a priority AI has become in the business world,” said Schweizer in a press release. “AI is no longer confined to IT or innovation teams; it’s reshaping strategy and operations from the top down with CEOs taking a leading role.” 

According to BCG, Africa is moving beyond pilot projects and into large scale execution, with AI increasingly applied to address structural and infrastructure related challenges. This shift positions the continent’s organisations to use AI as a lever for accelerated growth, rather than a purely experimental technology.

Trailblazers, in general, have been earlier and more assertive in pursuing AI agents. They are directing more than half of their 2026 AI corporate investments to agents and are more than twice as likely as Followers to deploy agents end-to-end across a workstream or process.

AI spend is being directed toward high-impact areas, says BCG, including agentic AI and massive workforce transformation. Currently, African organisations’ lead in workforce readiness is supported by an allocation of 46% of the total AI budget toward ongoing retraining and capability building.

The continent’s narrative has shifted from exploration to large-scale execution. Organisations are leveraging AI to leapfrog traditional infrastructure challenges, now accounting for some of the most aggressive AI budget allocations globally. These leaders are moving with a value-first mindset, says BCG, viewing AI as a primary engine for regional economic growth.

In doubling the investment, companies globally are drawing from budgets beyond the tech pool and CEOs have committed more than 30% of their organisations’ AI investments on agentic AI. Almost all (94%) of chief executives say they will continue investing in AI at current or higher levels even if the investments do not pay off in the next year. 

The findings indicate that AI in Africa has moved beyond experimentation to become a central business priority. African CEOs are taking an active role in shaping how the technology is deployed, rather than simply adopting it. Through substantial investment in agentic AI and large-scale workforce upskilling, organisations are applying global advances to address local challenges, including financial inclusion and industrial productivity. This value-driven focus places Africa among the leading regions for AI adoption and supports a long-term competitive position in the digital economy.

All industries included in the survey expect to increase their AI investment in 2026. Financial institutions plan to allocate 2.0% of revenue to AI, close to the 2.1% forecast by technology companies, while industrial and real estate firms are set to invest about 0.8% of revenue.

As CEOs steer their organisations through the next phase of AI, BCG says the survey points to the following set of actions that will matter most:

• Make AI your key priority. Position the organisation to be the disruptor, not the disrupted.
• Deepen AI literacy. Expand individual AI fluency to effectively lead transformations.
• Commit investments at scale. Invest decisively across end-to-end business functions.
• Upskill the organisation. Upskill the workforce to optimise productivity, creativity, and judgment.
• Expect measurable ROI from AI. Track AI’s impact to drive sustainable ROI over time.

Sylvain Duranton, global leader of BCG X, the tech build and design division of BCG, said in a press release: “CEOs have a defining role in shaping how AI delivers value. The true competitive advantage lies with those CEOs who will reshape functions end-to-end and invent new products and services that drive growth. The fact that nine out of ten CEOs tell us that by 2028 the measure of success for a company will be heavily tilted towards those that are able to get AI right reflects the significant change we are seeing in the market.”

* View the 2026 BCG AI Radar report here.