2025 KPMG Africa CEO Outlook

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in daily business operations, CEOs are prioritizing talent development, recognizing that skills are being fundamentally redefined. Leaders are approaching this change proactively, embracing the opportunities AI presents rather than viewing it as a threat.

The 2025 Africa CEO Outlook also shows a shift in attitudes towards ESG. Most CEOs remain strongly committed to navigating regulatory complexities to achieve their sustainability objectives, balancing innovation with responsibility.

As a leader, I concur with the point shared by our Global Chairman and CEO, Bill Thomas that “Ultimately, those leaders who can embrace market volatility and focus their investments on the right strategic priorities will be best placed to unlock new opportunities and deliver sustainable, long-term growth.

Leadership today is no longer solely about profit; it is about trust and resilience”. As the outgoing CEO of KPMG Africa in early 2026, I too have had the privilege of these insights over the past six years, I have seen the importance of leadership’s ability to guide organizations through uncertainty. CEOs are adapting, reshaping their boardrooms, and addressing these challenges head on - particularly in areas such as Technology and AI.

Across Africa, a quiet sense of optimism is beginning to take shape, tempered but present. While global uncertainty continues to cast a shadow over business sentiment, confidence among Africa CEOs is showing early signs of recovery. This year, 53 percent of CEOs across the continent expressed confidence in the growth prospects of the global economy over the next three years, compared to 68 percent of CEOs globally. Though this gap highlights the relatively cautious mood in Africa, it also reflects a steady improvement from 50 percent in 2024 - suggesting that business leaders on the continent are gradually regaining confidence in global market stability.

Despite newfound optimism, CEOs’ confidence was balanced by realism. CEOs across Africa continued to navigate a demanding landscape shaped by three pressing challenges: integrating AI into core operations (32 percent), managing regulatory pressures (25 percent), and strengthening cybersecurity (24 percent). These pressures have redefined what it means to lead. In fact, 84 percent of African CEOs said they now feel more responsible for ensuring the long-term prosperity of their organizations, compared with 80 percent globally.

In response, leaders are becoming more deliberate in where they channel their resources. Cybersecurity and digital resilience topped the list of investment priorities (45 percent), followed by AI integration across business workflows (41 percent) and investments in new technologies and solutions for expansion (34 percent). These choices reflect a pragmatic approach: securing today’s foundations while building tomorrow’s growth engines.

Infrastructure gaps complicate progress. Many African organizations continue to face unreliable power supply, limited broadband connectivity, and outdated computing systems that restrict the use of data-intensive AI solutions. Essential components such as GPUs, edge devices, and secure cloud environments remain costly, placing a heavy burden on smaller enterprises. Yet, instead of slowing innovation, African leaders are taking a pragmatic step forward. The survey shows that 34 percent are investing in technology and solution innovation, compared to 26 percent of their global peers. In the face of structural limitations, African firms are prioritizing immediate, scalable technology investments that build the foundation for long-term AI readiness. 

When assessing AI development and adoption, the nature and quality of the data used to train AI systems is often overlooked. Much of the data that fuels today’s leading AI models originates from Western economies, where digital behavior, language structures, and socioeconomic patterns differ significantly from those in Africa. Comparing Africa’s AI readiness to global benchmarks without accounting for these dataset disparities introduces a systemic bias that distorts both performance and applicability. Models trained primarily on Western datasets often struggle when applied in African contexts. They can mis-identify faces, misinterpret intent, or produce outputs that reflect foreign social norms. This is not a failure of the technology itself, but a reflection of bias in the underlying data. Tackling this issue requires African organizations, research institutions, and governments to invest in local data curation, labelling, and open-data partnerships. 

The most significant barrier to AI-driven growth remains human capital and infrastructure. Thirty-two percent of global CEOs are concerned about bridging the gap between current and desired AI skills. In Africa, CEOs cite intense competition with global technology firms and high salary expectations as the main challenge in attracting and retaining AI talent (23 percent). Despite these constraints, AI adoption is generating more opportunities than risks. 

Economic outlook brings out AI understanding and literacy as one of the top 3 of 17 leadership capabilities that is becoming most essential in today’s fast-changing and unpredictable environment according to Africa CEOs. As a result of this and other factors, 97 percent of Africa CEOs indicate that their roles have evolved with half attributing this to new expectations and greater complexity, and the other half noting moderate change due to some new demands.

Across Africa, CEOs are placing talent at the core of their AI strategies. A significant 81 percent believe that upskilling their workforce in AI will directly impact on their organization's success over the next three years, compared to 77 percent globally. At the same time, only 64 percent of African CEOs are concerned that competition for AI talent will negatively affect their business, in contrast to 70 percent of global CEOs. This indicates that African CEOs prioritize nurturing AI talent from within their organizations and are investing in long-term skill development rather than relying on rapid external recruitment. 

Aging is a concern for both global and Africa CEOs. However, Africa’s relatively younger workforce may provide a buffer, giving more time to plan and build future-ready talent pipelines. Only 15 percent of Africa CEOs report generational gaps in critical future skills such as AI adoption, compared to 30 percent of global CEOs. Meanwhile, 28 percent of Africa CEOs express concern about retirements and the shortage of skilled replacements, slightly above the global CEOs at 24 percent - underscoring the need to strengthen talent pipelines and succession planning.

Africa currently faces fewer generational divides but must plan ahead as digital transformation accelerates.

As AI adoption grows, CEOs are focused on preparing their people, not just their systems, for the future. Africa CEOs understand that growth will depend on how quickly organizations build skills, support learning, and foster cultures that adapt with agility. Africa CEOs are more optimistic and internally focused on developing AI talent internally than their global peers and benefit from younger workforce that positions them well to lead sustainable AI transformation.