Regional outlook is improving, with a majority of African CEOs optimistic about their country’s growth prospects and confident in business expansion.

Boards lag global readiness for advanced technologies, roughly 59% are ready while 21% are not, highlighting the need for improved governance and infrastructure to support AI adoption.

Despite deployment barriers, leaders are prioritizing cybersecurity, digital resilience, and AI integration as near-term investments to enable AI deployment.

AI is becoming a central driver of growth and workforce transformation, with a majority of African CEOs expecting upskilling to be crucial and most planning to redeploy staff into AI-enabled roles while headcount is anticipated to rise.

Generative AI, talent development, ESG, and cybersecurity sit at the top of strategic priorities, with AI rising as the leading focus heading into 2026 and substantial investment in AI-related upskilling.

In practice, 71% of CEOs are investing in AI, 81% are focusing on upskilling for AI, and 88% expect headcount growth, indicating AI is viewed as a complement to human labor.

Quantum computing is flagged as a new cybersecurity risk, though concern levels remain modest regionally, signaling potential vulnerability as digital reliance deepens.

West Africa leads in compliance and reporting priorities for investors and regulators, with the region also noting that decarbonizing supply chains is a top barrier to net-zero.

Overall, West Africa shows the strongest emphasis on regulatory compliance and reporting, signaling a resilient pivot toward sustainable transformation across the continent.

AI progress is hampered by infrastructure gaps and data readiness challenges, with unreliable power, limited connectivity, and outdated systems; 96% cite data readiness as a hurdle.

M&A activity is on the rise, with 86% of African CEOs likely to pursue acquisitions in the next three years, alongside improving domestic growth prospects.

The Africa CEO Outlook Survey covers 130 CEOs across Southern, East, and West Africa, painting an optimistic picture with strong growth expectations despite global uncertainty.