Africa’s AI market is projected to triple in five years, from $4.5 billion to $16.5 billion by 2030, according to a Mastercard report. Success will depend on responsible AI adoption, robust data infrastructure, and aggressive skills development.

The race to succeed with AI has already begun across the continent. In Nigeria, an AI model is streamlining patient note transcription from local dialect to the official language. In Egypt, deep-learning software is accelerating life-saving medicine development. Malawi has  AI-powered malaria detection.

Although, several African governments are prioritising AI, challenges, such as, epileptic power supply and poor computing infrastructure, persist. These governments have developed formal AI strategies to maximise the upside, while overcoming the challenges. For instance, Kenya has an  Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025-2030. Last year, Nigeria put forward a draft of its National AI Strategy (NAIS). In Northern Africa, Egypt also has since put forward its National AI Strategy with recent updates to support over 250 AI companies by 2030.

The forward-looking stance from these key African countries is driving funding to those countries.

Africa’s Big 4 accounts for over 80% of AI startup funding

Four countries—Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt—account for 83% of AI startup funding in Africa. They collectively host over 230 AI-specific startups and more than 7,000 general tech companies. South Africa leads with over 600 AI firms, followed by Nigeria (400+) and Egypt (200+).

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Despite Africa’s AI investment being just $2–3 billion in 2025, AI-focused companies have attracted around 13% of all venture funding.

The African AI startup’s to watch are:

• Intron Health (Nigeria): Founded in 2020, this company raised $1.6M in July 2024 for its speech-to-text AI chat tool. It accelerates clinical documentation by 6x across 200+ African accents, uniquely addressing the continent’s linguistic diversity.
• Proteinea (Egypt): Founded in 2019, this AI + biotech company has raised $590k to date. Its deep-learning models shorten drug development cycles, contributing to African pharmaceutical independence.
• Zindi (Pan-Africa): Founded in 2018, Zindi has secured around $1.95M across two 2021 seed rounds. It crowdsources data science competitions, connecting African AI talent with business challenges and serving as a gateway for future AI leaders.
• Xineoh (South Africa): Founded in 2017, this company has received $3.5M in funding. It helps retailers optimize stock by predicting customer behavior, excelling in emerging markets with incomplete data.
• DataProphet (South Africa): Founded in 2014, this AI-driven manufacturing optimization company has raised $10M in Series A (2022) and $6M (2020), making it one of Africa’s most funded industrial AI startups. It helps factories reduce defects and waste.
• Lelapa AI (South Africa): Founded in 2022, Lelapa AI has raised $2.5M in seed funding and launched InkubaLM (a multilingual African LLM) in 2024. It builds AI models for African languages, embedding cultural and linguistic nuances into AI systems.
• Sama AI (Kenya): Founded in 2008, Sama AI rebranded from Samasource and raised $70M in Series B in 2021. It provides data annotation services, employing East African workers, proving AI can create jobs.
• Oze (Ghana): Founded in 2017, Oze raised $3M in 2023 to scale SME analytics and lending. Its AI-powered financial management tools bridge the gap between informal enterprises and formal banking.
• mDoc (Nigeria): Founded in 2016, mDoc provides digital health coaching for chronic diseases, with undisclosed funding from grants like the Gates Foundation 2023 award. It uses AI to personalize patient care across Africa.
• ZeroComplex AI (Nigeria), founded in 2023 by Kehinde Olateru, Adegbenga Agoro, and Olusola Adebayo, helps businesses integrate artificial intelligence through simple “AI Workflows.” ZeroComplex AI gained early traction after placing second at the Pitch2Win competition, which attracted pre-seed backing from Voltron Capital’s Olumide Soyombo, Kaleo Ventures, and several angel investors.
• Curacel (Nigeria): Founded in 2019, Curacel raised $3M in seed funding in 2023. Its AI-powered claims automation for insurers reduces processing time and fraud losses across Africa and MENA.
• Yemaachi Biotechnology (Ghana): Founded in 2020, Yemaachi raised $3M in seed funding in 2022. It uses AI in cancer diagnostics for African genetic profiles, addressing a critical gap in global oncology research.

Some notable raises include: Egypt’s Infinilink (Egypt) raised $10M, Kera Health (Senegal) – $10M, Cerebrum (South Africa) – $8.5M, Leta (Kenya) – $5M, Qme (Egypt) – $3M, Widebot (Egypt) – $3M

AI is gaining strong traction in Africa’s Healthcare, Agriculture, Finance, and Education, with McKinsey projecting $61–103 billion in  economic gains by 2030. Initiatives like the African Development Bank and Intel partnership aims to train millions in AI and other Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skills. The goal is to build a local talent pool but progress hinges on overcoming challenges like unreliable infrastructure, limited computing capacity, and the risk of widening inequality if AI benefits are concentrated in only a few countries or sectors.