World Bank Warns Africa’s AI Gains Could Bypass Poorer Households
The World Bank says artificial intelligence could support productivity and poverty reduction across Africa, but unequal access to affordable internet, devices, electricity and digital skills risks concentrating the benefits among wealthier households and formal businesses.
Artificial intelligence could support economic growth and poverty reduction across Africa, but millions of poorer people may struggle to benefit because of gaps in digital access, the World Bank has warned.
In its October 2026 Africa Economic Update, the bank identified internet affordability, access to suitable devices, reliable electricity and digital skills as major obstacles to wider use of AI technologies across the continent.
Nigeria has nevertheless recorded rapid growth in software development activity. According to the report, the country's GitHub developer population has increased tenfold since 2020. Ghana's developer base expanded by nearly eight times over the same broad period, with registrations accelerating after free AI coding tools became available.
The World Bank said greater access to AI could help expand Africa's digital services sector and improve productivity in areas such as agriculture, education, health and finance. It also sees potential for stronger collaboration between countries as software development activity grows.
Access remains uneven, however. The report said mobile internet in Sub-Saharan Africa is the world's least affordable relative to income, with the price of a basic data package amounting to roughly twice the United Nations affordability benchmark of 2% of average monthly income.
Devices present another barrier. For people in the poorest fifth of the population, the price of an entry-level internet-enabled handset is equivalent to about three-quarters of one month's income, according to the bank.
Electricity shortages further limit digital participation. Across 19 African countries with comparable information, 12% of households in the poorest income group had both a phone and access to the electricity grid, compared with 54% among the wealthiest fifth.
The gap is also visible in internet usage. In many African countries, fewer than one in 10 adults in the poorest income group are online, while usage exceeds 60% or 70% among wealthier households in some better-connected economies.
The World Bank said these differences create a risk that AI-driven productivity improvements will mainly benefit highly educated workers, formal companies and wealthier urban households. Farmers, informal businesses, schools, health facilities and communities with weak digital infrastructure could remain outside the emerging AI economy.
Rather than widespread job displacement among poorer workers being the immediate concern, the bank said the larger near-term danger is unequal access to the productivity gains created by AI.
It called for greater investment in internet connectivity, electricity, digital skills and computing infrastructure, particularly for underserved communities. The bank said broader access would determine whether AI becomes a tool for widespread productivity growth and poverty reduction or mainly strengthens the advantages already enjoyed by people who are digitally connected.