Kenya’s mobile‑money ecosystem illustrates the scale of digital finance, with the Central Bank of Kenya reporting 94.2 million registered accounts as of June 2026, handling hundreds of billions of shillings each month.

Cassava Technologies CEO Hardy Pemhiwa told BBC Africa Enterprise that AI will remove language barriers that still exclude many Africans, potentially delivering a hundred‑fold impact compared with mobile money.

Pemhiwa warned that without local AI compute platforms, Africa risks repeating a pattern of exporting raw data and importing costly finished services, limiting the continent’s share of AI value.

Currently Africa hosts only about 1 % of global data‑centre capacity despite a $3.5 trillion GDP, meaning most digital traffic is routed through Europe.

Cassava Technologies is constructing a 110,000‑km fibre‑optic backbone from Cairo to Cape Town and plans AI data‑factory hubs in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco to process regional data.

A major obstacle to scaling data centres is reliable electricity; the International Energy Agency notes Africa holds 60 % of the world’s solar potential yet generates only 1 % of global solar power.

DLO Energy founder Linda Mabhena‑Olagunju highlighted a shortage of early‑stage risk capital for renewable projects, stressing that without financing for land acquisition, permitting and grid studies, power development stalls.

Mabhena‑Olagunju called for clear regulatory frameworks and integrated resource plans to give investors confidence, and urged that financing be sourced locally to keep dividends on the continent.