A survey conducted among 750 CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs across South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria has revealed that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a top priority for African businesses, with 85% of companies surveyed having already invested or planning to invest in AI within the next 3-5 years.

The research, conducted by cybersecurity leader Fortinet, also un-earthed unexpected regional dynamics. Kenya and Egypt emerged as front-runners in AI adoption, while South Africa – traditionally viewed as the continental technology leader – showed more measured adoption rates.  

Key findings of the survey:

• 85% of the surveyed companies have already invested in, or plan to invest in AI within 3-5 years
• The key challenges of implementing AI were cited as integration with existing systems (60%), staff training, (58%), and data privacy concerns (52%)
• 80% of respondents consider AI’s potential to enhance cybersecurity a major factor in investment decisions
• Top uses of AI in cybersecurity are cited as data leakage protection (64%), risk management (64%), and threat detection and prevention (63%)
• 82% of those surveyed view AI as essential for operational efficiency
• 78% of those surveyed consider AI crucial to their digital strategy

Cybersecurity hailed a key area for AI investment

In Interpol’s 2024 African Cyberthreat Assessment Report, Africa was cited as the region facing the highest year-over-year increase in cyberattacks globally. Moreover, it’s well known that cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging AI to create more sophisticated and scalable attacks.

It is therefore perhaps surprising that less than 2 in 10 organisations - a mere 16% of businesses surveyed by Fortinet across five key African markets - reported their AI adoption for cybersecurity purposes to be at an advanced stage.

That said, the research showed that business leaders do believe that AI will enable them to strengthen their security defences, with over 80% considering AI’s potential to enhance cybersecurity a major factor in their investment decisions.

The top three priority areas for integrating AI into cybersecurity strategies were cited as data leakage and protection (64%), enhancing risk management (64%), and threat detection and prevention (34%).

Key benefits that businesses said they hoped to gain from implementing more advanced cybersecurity technology included real-time threat detection (65%) followed by improved data analysis and anomaly detection (61%).

South Africa’s shifting position in the AI landscape

The survey also highlighted interesting findings regarding the maturity of South Africa’s AI adoption rates.  When assessing the level of adoption of AI in cybersecurity across the continent, of those surveyed, South Africa was only in fourth position (13%) in terms of having advanced adoption, with Egypt leading the way at 24% of businesses at an advanced stage, followed by Kenya at 17% and Algeria at 15%.

Furthermore, South African respondents demonstrated a more conservative approach to overall AI adoption compared to their continental peers. Only 72% of South African respondents considered AI crucial to their digital strategy – below the survey average – with both Kenya and Egypt showing stronger conviction, at 85% and 82% respectively.

This pattern extends to future investment plans. When businesses were asked about their plans for AI technology investments over the next three to five years, Kenya led the pack, with 90% of businesses committed to AI investment, followed closely by Egypt at 89%. South Africa trailed at 83%, suggesting a more cautious approach to the technology.

The impact of technical skills shortages

While cost considerations influence AI adoption rates, the findings suggest an even more fundamental challenge across all markets: the skills gap. Despite a strong interest in AI adoption, all surveyed markets reported skills gaps as a major limiting factor, with 58% of respondents saying staff training and upskilling was critical.

“To have a successful AI programme, and to benefit from AI, you need to have the right knowledge, skills, and expertise – particularly in the realm of cybersecurity. Without this foundation, even a substantial investment is unlikely to translate into effective implementation. Research estimates a global shortage of around 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals, which Fortinet is actively addressing by offering free cybersecurity training for IT professionals. For businesses, investing in internal or external training for the staff that will oversee new AI projects is essential,’’ commented Doros Hadjizenonos, Regional Director at Fortinet South Africa.

‘’Of course, we know that cost considerations are also significantly influencing South Africa’s AI adoption rate. In the current economic climate, many companies are prioritising cost reduction, leading to more conservative technology investment decisions. For African businesses looking to advance in the realm of AI, it’s crucial that they have a clear and comprehensive strategy aligned to their existing business initiatives. Adoption must support the business outcomes for that specific organisation and have buy-in from senior executives.

When it comes to deploying AI in the area of cybersecurity, it will be important to choose a partner that has been already using AI for some time and has a solid understanding of its application – it should be part of their DNA. At Fortinet, we’ve been actively developing and integrating artificial intelligence into our cybersecurity solutions for over a decade, using AI to power threat detection, prevention, and response across our portfolio,” he concluded.