Zoho Insists on Bridging Africa’s Divide with Intelligent Infrastructure

Africa confronts significant hurdles in software development capacity and the availability of skilled technical talent, according to Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head of Zoho Nigeria. He emphasized that the cost of creating digital tools requires the same innovative approach seen with the M-Pesa mobile payments platform in Kenya.

Ogundare pointed to a growing gap between technological advancement and the workforce skills needed to support it. While Africa's internet economy was projected to contribute $180 billion to aggregate GDP by 2025, and cloud adoption is expanding rapidly, the human infrastructure to sustain this momentum is not keeping pace. This disparity poses a risk to the continent's participation in the global digital economy.

"Unless the continent finds smarter and more scalable ways to build digital systems, Africa risks becoming the world’s largest consumer of a digital future it did not help design," Ogundare stated. He highlighted that Africa's challenge with artificial intelligence is not a lack of ambition or demand, but rather the widening gap between the pace of technological change and the availability of essential skills.

Across the continent, organizations are under increasing pressure to rapidly develop AI capabilities. Shortages in specialized talent are increasingly impacting innovation, competitiveness, and the ability of African nations to fully engage in the global digital economy. Zoho's focus, Ogundare suggests, is on bridging this divide with intelligent infrastructure solutions.

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Unless the continent finds smarter and more scalable ways to build digital systems, Africa risks becoming the world’s largest consumer of a digital future it did not help design.