{"id":21546,"date":"2024-08-21T09:47:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T08:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=21546"},"modified":"2024-08-21T09:47:28","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T08:47:28","slug":"gsma-highlights-ais-potential-to-drive-south-africas-socio-economic-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/gsma-highlights-ais-potential-to-drive-south-africas-socio-economic-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"GSMA Highlights AI\u2019s Potential to Drive South Africa\u2019s Socio-Economic Growth\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

21<\/strong>st<\/sup><\/strong> August 2024, Johannesburg<\/strong>: The GSMA has identified South Africa as a pivotal player in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for socio-economic development and solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ impact. In its recent report, “AI for Africa: Use Cases Delivering Impact<\/a>,”, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the GSMA highlights that while Africa currently accounts for only 2.5% of the global AI market, emerging AI applications hold the potential to boost the continent’s economic growth by an astonishing $2.9 trillion by 2030, according to research from AI4D Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa, with its robust compute capabilities, data centres, and a vibrant R&D ecosystem, stands out as a regional leader in AI. While the country has fewer AI use cases in the areas covered in the research compared to peers like Kenya and Nigeria, its focus on advanced sectors such as financial inclusion, manufacturing, education, and health presents significant opportunities to extend AI’s benefits to broader social and environmental challenges. This newly released analysis on South Africa<\/a> underscores AI\u2019s transformative capacity in agriculture, energy, solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ action, and health. However, unlocking the full potential of AI will require overcoming barriers such as limited data availability, high technology costs, and a gap in AI skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agriculture: Enhancing Productivity and Food Security<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa has a relatively advanced agricultural sector, employing less than 20% of the workforce and featuring a mix of developed commercial players and subsistence farmers. The report identifies substantial opportunities for digital technologies and AI to enhance resource allocation efficiency, boost agricultural productivity and yields, improve market access for farmers, and minimize inputs and crop wastage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, several challenges hinder the widespread adoption of AI innovations in agriculture. These include the availability of data and devices such as smartphones and sensors, as well as unreliable connectivity in some rural areas. Although smartphone penetration is relatively high in South Africa, the cost of mobile data can remain a barrier, and there is a notable lack of digital skills among key end users, which further complicates the integration of AI technologies.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy: Optimising Access and Efficiency<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa\u2019s energy sector grapples with challenges that include ageing infrastructure, reliance on coal, and the need to ensure reliable and sustainable energy access for all. AI has the potential to transform the energy sector by driving efficiency, sustainability, and resilience, but its application is still in the early stages.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, despite successes in expanding access and incorporating renewable sources, South Africa’s energy sector faces significant challenges in reaching rural areas and maintaining reliability. AI technologies can be used in combination with tools like geospatial mapping to enhance energy distribution and reliability as well as increase the uptake of off-grid solutions like solar home systems. Mobile operators like Vodacom and MTN are investing resources to optimise their own energy usage and improve network resilience, particularly in areas with inconsistent power supply.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate Action: Building Resilience<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highly vulnerable to the impacts of solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ change, South Africa stands to benefit significantly from AI-driven solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ action solutions. AI applications in disaster preparedness, natural resource management, and biodiversity conservation are highlighted as critical in mitigating the effects of solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ change. For instance, the Microsoft AI for Good Lab\u2019s project with the South African National Parks leverages AI to prevent human-wildlife conflict, while the World Food Programme\u2019s SKAI initiative uses AI to develop real-time insights for disaster response.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health: Reducing Inequalities<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s health sector faces challenges including a high disease burden and unequal access to quality services. AI has the potential to significantly enhance efficiency and scale existing digital solutions. By automating tasks such as patient management and hospital resource allocation, improving the accuracy of medical imaging diagnostics, and deploying AI-powered telemedicine platforms, AI can make healthcare more accessible, particularly in rural areas. The report highlights innovative start-ups like Envisionit Deep AI and Quro Medical, which are leveraging AI to advance medical imaging and enable remote diagnosis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenges and Opportunities<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the potential for AI to drive socio-economic growth in South Africa is immense, several barriers need to be addressed. The report identifies the limited availability of high-quality local data, the high costs of AI-related technologies, and an AI skills gap as primary challenges. It emphasises the importance of building robust data ecosystems, increasing investments in AI infrastructure, and enhancing digital skills training programmes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To fully harness AI\u2019s transformative capabilities, the report advocates for a multi-faceted approach involving partnerships across the public and private sectors, investment in local data and AI ecosystems, and policy support. Encouragingly, South Africa\u2019s smartphone penetration, currently at 56%, is expected to reach 75% by 2030, positioning mobile-based AI solutions as a practical way to extend AI\u2019s benefits across the population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, Head of Mobile for Development at the GSMA, said: “AI has the power to support the transition of South Africa\u2019s key industries by significantly boosting efficiency, sustainability, and resilience. Our latest report outlines AI\u2019s transformative potential across agriculture, energy, solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ action, and health, showcasing innovative solutions poised to elevate productivity and reliability. By overcoming barriers like local data availability or digital skills, the country can hope to harness AI\u2019s potential to propel socio-economic growth and sustainable development for all.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-ENDS-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About GSMA<\/strong>
The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite you to find out more at\u202fgsma.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media Contacts<\/strong>
GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

21st August 2024, Johannesburg: The GSMA has identified South Africa as a pivotal player in leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for socio-economic development and solutions-and-impact\/connectivity-for-good\/external-affairs\/climate-action\/ impact. 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