CoM 2026, Committee of Experts - Opening remarks by Deputy Executive Secretary Mama Keita

Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

Committee of Experts

Opening Remarks

Deputy Executive Secretary

March 2026

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the United Nations Under Secretary General and ECA Executive Secretary, Mr. Claver Gatete, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this meeting.

The theme of this year's conference "Growth through innovation: harnessing data and frontier technologies for economic transformation in Africa" is timely and will provide a unique opportunity for us to discuss the role of data and frontier technologies in accelerating Africa's transformation and achieving sustainable growth through innovation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are grappling with a situation where innovation has not had a significant impact on growth in Africa. Between 2000 and 2023, the continent's growth in gross domestic product (GDP) averaged 3.5 per cent but the composition of the growth shows that the continent made limited progress in productivity-enhancing transformation.

Africa's growth has been propelled mostly by factor accumulation, capital and labour. Total factor productivity, which captures efficiency, technological progress, institutional quality and unmeasured inputs, has not contributed significantly. We need to increase this contribution. But how can this be done?

In order words, how can Africa leverage frontier technologies to utilize its natural resources, youthful population and its sizeable markets to boost productivity growth?

Distinguished delegates,

Frontier technologies and innovation are not only useful to unlock Africa's growth potential and enhance the competitiveness of African economies through productivity growth and diversification. They can also be used to accelerate structural transformation, allowing the much-needed reallocation of resources from low- to high-productivity sectors. When embedded within an enabling policy and regulatory environment, supported by adequate financing and informed by data analytics, frontier technologies and their ongoing innovation can improve living standards and build countries' capacity to secure a durable competitive advantage.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa is progressing in the adoption of frontier technologies but is clearly not doing so as quickly as other regions. Permit me to illustrate this point with a few examples:

1. Artificial Intelligence is expected to contribute 5.6 per cent to the GDP of Africa, Oceania and developing Asian markets by 2030. This may seem substantial but is far below the 10.4 per cent expected for developed economies in Asia, 14.5 per cent for North America and 10.3 per cent for Europe.

2. The market for the Internet of Things in Africa may expand from $7 billion in 2024 to more than $20 billion by 2031, driven by rising smartphone penetration, expanding licensed cellular connections, increased use of smart agriculture, logistics and utility management systems. The figure, however, is only about 0.9 per cent of the projected $2.65 trillion global market in 2031.

3. The biotechnology market size in Africa is expected to reach $138.2 billion by 2030, compared with a global market of $3.88 trillion.

Distinguished Delegates,

The opportunities offered by frontier technologies, across economic sectors, are enormous and multidimensional.

For instance, there is no doubt that digital platforms, underpinned by frontier technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and blockchain, to name just a few, hold significant potential to reduce poverty, generate employment opportunities, promote economic integration, and drive economic growth. Digital payment systems and mobile-money platforms are transforming Africa's economies by lowering transaction costs, boosting efficiency, enhancing access to finance and markets, and advancing financial inclusion.

At the same time, nearly 30 per cent of the world's critical minerals that are essential for clean-energy technologies are in Africa, giving the continent a comparative advantage over other world regions. Strategic industries such as digital technologies and telecommunications also depend on these critical minerals, making Africa an indispensable actor in this vital and fast-growing space.

Frontier technologies also have the potential to transform agriculture in Africa, since they can be used to boost crop productivity, enhance water and land-use efficiency and promote climate resilience and adaptation.

For example, in Kenya and Tanzania, a genetically modified, drought-tolerant hybrid variety of maize was developed that produces 35-50 per cent higher yields during drought conditions than conventional maize varieties and wastes 30% less water.

Similarly, sugarcane farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, are using multispectral satellite imagery to detect early signs of water stress, allowing for timely irrigation adjustments.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

The global digital revolution and advances in frontier technologies require an adaptive workforce. Africa has the youngest population of any region in the world, with a median age of 19, compared with 33 years in Asia, 42 years in Europe, 33 years in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 39 years in Northern America. Young people tend to be more adaptive and creative, and they consume more digital and innovative technologies, creating a broader market. Underscoring another competitive advantage of Africa.

Globally, Artificial Intelligence and automation are expected to create 170 million jobs while displacing 92 million jobs by 2030, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs. Africa can only benefit from these new jobs if it prioritizes the provision of enhanced digital skills training to its population.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the ECA, we are convinced that to realize the boundless potential of frontier technologies requires African countries to take several actions.

First a high-level, dedicated national leadership on frontier technologies is crucial. An agile, high-level national team is needed to spearhead the design of relevant national policies and strategies, provide adequate resources, monitor progress and adjust to new and emerging issues. Such teams can mobilize the entire Government, identify industrial champions, attract investment and signal to the world that their country is prepared to harness technology for good.

Second, we must empower informal and micro-enterprises to harness frontier technology by establishing centres of excellence for the rapid development and application of artificial intelligence and providing funding and training for these actors.

Third, we must fix Africa's infrastructure deficit and pursue data sovereignty, two things that go hand in hand. Currently, Africa accounts for less than 1 per cent of the global data centres, which are critical for the deployment of Artificial Intelligence. The operation of data centres requires huge amounts of energy, which underscores the urgent need to close the continent's energy gaps.

Distinguished Delegates,

Emerging frontier technologies are vital for advancing the African Continental Free Trade Area, since they can reduce transaction costs, improve transparency and increase trade efficiency. E-commerce and payment interoperability are crucial to the effective implementation of the Protocol to the Agreement on Digital Trade, and with it a single digital market, which would reduce fragmentation, improve market efficiency and facilitate seamless cross-border trade.

The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System enables instant cross-border payments among local currencies, cutting transaction costs by almost half. The Africa Trade Exchange platform, developed by the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Export-Import Bank with support from the African Union and the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area, enables businesses of all sizes to access new markets and to streamline their supply chains in Africa.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The adoption of frontier technologies is not all roses, as this is associated with several risks that cannot be ignored.

In this regard, the storage of most of Africa's data in data centres outside the continent is a big problem, particularly for sensitive data such as medical, financial, and security data, given the sensitivity of such data. It isalso costly, and results in delays in data transmission.

Gaps in institutional and human capacity, along with outdated or missing data protection, cybersecurity, and digital identification policies, further impede progress towards data sovereignty on the continent.

Dependence on imported hardware, software, cloud infrastructure, and specialized components also exposes African economies to supply shocks, price volatility, and technology lock-in. Limited domestic manufacturing and insufficient capacity for Research and Development further restrict opportunities for local value addition.

The disruptive effects of new technologies in the African labour market cannot also be ignored. Job losses due to technology tend to occur quickly, while job creation often happens slowly. Furthermore, new roles associated with emerging technologies are often in different industries or locations and differ from those displaced. Labour- market disruptions, combined with existing rigidities, can worsen unemployment numbers and deepen or even magnify social and economic inequalities across the continent.

The need to addresses the challenges and risks that I have just mentioned informed the theme of this ministerial conference "Growth through innovation: harnessing data and frontier technologies for economic transformation in Africa". This is also the theme of the Economic Report on Africa 2026 that will be launched during next week's Ministerial segment and that highlights:

1. The impact of innovation on economic growth and development through enhanced productivity.

2. The opportunities, risks, and challenges in harnessing data and frontier technologies to drive economic transformation, and

3. The actions that African countries can implement to maximize the transformative potential of frontier technologies.

As we ponder the mission of this ministerial conference of identifying and proposing transformative strategic actions to harness data and frontier technologies for Africa's economic transformation, I invite all of us to be bold but also creative.

Thank you for your kind attention.