Safaricom is set to invest nearly $500 million in Artificial Intelligence infrastructure across East Africa, according to Cynthia Kropac, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Safaricom.
Kropac was speaking at the Connected Africa Summit 2025 in Diani, Kwale County, Kenya.
According to Kropac, “Safaricom is investing nearly $500 million over the next three years in AI infrastructure across East Africa. We’ve already trained over 5000 employees in AI fundamentals, because the intelligent economy is not just coming to Africa. We are building Africa’s intelligent economy.”
Kropac, who leads Safaricom Business said there is already AI in action at Safaricom including in M-PESA, Digifarm among others.
“M-PESA is connecting over 60 million users today. AI is a basic fundamental in the architecture of M-Pesa doing several things, like promoting a safe and secure environment for your money and for your transaction,” she said.
Kropac added that AI plays a big role in analyzing data to make sure one only accesses their money and can complete their transaction with full faith that they are transacting with the intended people. AI also helps keep fraudsters at bay, by looking at new fraud patterns, new actors, new threat vectors, and staying ahead of them.
“Digifarm is yet another example of AI in action,” she said about the platform helping farmers get access to inputs, markets and credit affordably. “The AI story and its journey will be written and experienced by Africa by investing into its Africa’s infrastructure,” she said.
Kropac emphasized that Africa has a unique opportunity to define its own AI destiny, as it represents about 17% of the world’s economy, with 75% of Africa’s population below the age of 25.
However, the reality broadband connectivity is reaching only 40% of Africa’s population of over 400 million Africans.
“At Safaricom, we build and continue to build connectivity and the basic underpinning for any technology to have power and impact today,” Kropac said backing it up with Safaricom’s over 46 million user numbers in Kenya and over 8 million users in Ethiopia where it launched about two years ago.
Safaricom has invested in over 6500 towers, over 15,000 kilometers of fiber to bring affordable internet connectivity to all as these are the rails of how people get access.
Apart from infrastructure, Safaricom is also working with the government of Kenya and with other mobile network operators to provide affordable smartphones. In 2023, Safaricom launched the East Africa device assembly of Kenya, where it’s assembling more than 1.5 million devices a year.
The 4G plus devices that are less than $50 accelerate access to digital services for both home use as well as business. The firm is also calling for more investment and collaboration to connect the over 400 million in Africa to the internet.
Safaricom recognizes the transformative power of mobile and fintech solutions and to unlock Africa’s potential, the firm is building digital seamless digital infrastructure, removing outdated barriers that slow progress and calling for harmonized ICT policy across borders and to foster a unified digital economy.
Apart from AI innovation, broadband expansion is critical to enable trade, FinTech, health, agriculture, education and youth employment to meet the continent’s growing population.
AI can help accelerate this transformation, it can help transform healthcare access, offering affordable diagnostics, remote consultations, predictive health models in agriculture, helping farmers with more precision farming, optimizing their yields and adapting to Climate change.
But AI is not just about technological advancement, it’s also an economic force. Africa has the potential to add $1.2 trillion to its GDP over the next five years, just by automation and enhancement of healthcare, optimizing of food production and delivering productivity.
Other factors that need to be addressed include high energy costs, unreliable power, regulatory hurdles. Over the next 10 years, she says that Africa will require more than 100 new data centers and thousands of AI professionals.
AI is fueled by data, and Africa must strengthen its data infrastructure. In addition to expanding broadband, Africa must also cultivate AI expertise, as despite having 17% of the global population, Africa is contributing to less than 1% of the world’s data center capacity.
“Africa needs over 1 million AI professionals, but today, we have less than 50,000. Every major African university might establish AI labs with industry partnerships and a real world focus with rapid skills, develop programs and diaspora engagement, we can ensure that AI reflects AI realities and values of the continent. What’s the job to be done? We must harmonize our data and digital laws across the continent to have a robust and scalable AI ecosystem,” Kropac said adding that AI will also redefine Africa’s future, driving solutions for African challenges, be it multilingual, educational programs, climate, Smart Agriculture, mobile health diagnostics.
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