Amid global tensions, power shortages, and the struggle to rebound in the post-COVID era, Africa’s CIOs are finding lifelines in digitization. They are turning to technology to transform their businesses, improve efficiency, and empower workforces. They are also showing strong interest in emerging technologies such as AI. In fact, many leading organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa are already exploring and investing in generative AI (GenAI) use cases.
In this context, IDC believes that organizations need to be ready for an "AI Everywhere" world in the future. IDC forecasts that annual spending on AI-centric systems worldwide will surpass $300 billion by 2026, while ICT spending in Sub-Saharan Africa will exceed $110 billion by 2027.
In the era of GenAI-driven disruption, technology leaders are reassessing AI's pivotal role in the digitalization landscape. Given AI’s transformative power to significantly enhance digital innovation, customer experiences, operational efficiency, and sustainability, forward-thinking governments and digitally-driven organizations are adopting an ‘AI everywhere’ mindset and making AI a tech agenda priority to maintain competitive parity with early adopters.
As a result, today’s IT leaders increasingly find themselves in multidimensional, strategic, and collaborative roles in which reporting structures and mandates have evolved and risen in prominence. These new roles also have greater responsibilities. As it increasingly gets embedded in services, products, and experiences, AI will inevitably become intertwined with the lives of employees, customers, partners, and society at large. Indeed, AI will be everywhere — underpinning areas such as performance, growth, engagement, satisfaction, safety, security, governance, privacy, sustainability, ethics, wellbeing, payments, and more.
CIOs and IT leaders need to prepare their organizations for an "AI Everywhere" future. They must focus on building data-centric platforms, migrating workloads to cloud infrastructure, governing the economics of cloud, redefining security and digital trust, and investing in skills.
The IDC West Africa CIO Summit 2024 will provide an essential platform for empowering IT leaders. It will help leaders better understand their new roles in today's AI-infused landscape and deliver expert guidance on achieving success while crafting innovative solutions for current and emerging challenges. Join us as we discuss a multitude of hot topics, trends, and challenges, providing technology leaders with the critical insights they require to adapt to shifting business landscapes, forge new business models, and scale massively in today’s dynamic digital economy.
New Perspectives
Assess the progress of your team or your organization's growth while discovering what to do to correct common mistakes.
Professional Development
Learn new leadership skills that will set you apart and help you to advance in your career.
Peer-to-Peer Insights
Participate in immersive networking exercises and engage with your fellow leaders over lunch and dinner.
Persuasive Communication Techniques
Discover how to get you what you want when you need it.
New Product Offerings
Enhance your tech stack and strategy with exclusive access to the very latest services and solutions.
