In markets like Nairobi and Lagos, traders compete daily with tools they’ve never used, digital ones.
Across Africa, 78% of workers earn a living in the informal economy, while only 38% of the population was online by the end of 2024.
So, while we see artificial intelligence changing businesses globally, have you ever wondered how it can serve those who are still offline?
Africa’s informal economy is ‘the economy’, not a fringe. We have artisans in Aba, farmers in Eldoret and other informal workers driving nearly 60% of the region’s GDP and employing most of its labour force.
But then, these are the same entrepreneurs least likely to use digital tools. The irony is that the people who could gain the most from automation, insight, and market prediction are also those furthest from it.
The Gap: Connectivity, Literacy, and Trust
While conversations about AI are everywhere now, what’s actually on the ground is uneven. Even where there is connectivity, data is expensive and unreliable.
According to the GSMA, fewer than 30% of micro-enterprises can use digital productivity tools effectively.
Digital literacy is another challenge. For a market woman in Kano or a tailor in Kigali, the vision of AI usually seems far or abstract.
Without local-language interfaces, voice-first technology, or tools designed for low-data environments, innovation are at risk of increasing exclusion rather than reducing it.
Who’s Benefiting So Far?
AI adoption in Africa is growing, but mostly at the top. Recent surveys show that over half of medium and large enterprises are testing or deploying AI-driven solutions, while 61% of companies now use cloud technology to automate customer service, logistics, or risk management.
Banks, health providers, and telcos are using algorithms to score credit, detect fraud, or personalise services.
But the majority of businesses in Africa, including the micro-traders, street vendors, and informal manufacturers, still operate without digital records, electricity, or broadband. The danger is that a new “AI divide” may replace the old digital divide.
Local Innovation That Works
The challenges have not limited some African innovators from closing the gap with practical, inclusive models:
- Twiga Foods (Kenya) uses data analytics to match small farmers with urban vendors, cutting waste and improving incomes.
- M-KOPA turns micropayments from solar and smartphone purchases into credit histories, giving low-income users access to financial services for the first time.
- Moove Africa applies income data from drivers to assess creditworthiness, financing vehicles for those without formal banking history.
These examples show that inclusion is possible and can be profitable. The key is building for constraint, not against it.
Policy and Public Action
Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa have introduced national AI strategy frameworks that emphasise ethics, skills, and localisation.
The African Union’s AI Blueprint (2025) calls for responsible AI that aligns with local realities, promotes open data sharing, and ensures small enterprises and the informal economy are not left behind.
But frameworks alone won’t bridge the divide. Affordable data, rural connectivity, and digital education are the foundation stones. Without these, policy stays on paper while the informal sector stays offline.
The Opportunity
If designed inclusively, AI could become the continent’s most affordable employee, a virtual assistant that speaks local languages, works offline, and learns from community trade patterns.
Imagine a market trader in Ibadan using voice commands to check prices or restock inventory; or a mechanic in Accra predicting demand for spare parts from simple text messages.
That’s not a far-off dream but a design challenge.
The actual measure of progress shouod not be limited to how many AI startups Africa produces, but how many businesses in the informal economy find those tools useful.
When the tomato seller in Onitsha can plan her stock using a feature phone or the boda rider in Kampala can access fair credit through automated scoring, we can say the technology is working.
Until then, the digital revolution is unfinished, the vision is commendable, but limited in reach.
