From unemployment crisis to opportunity: How Africa can tap into AI, LLM potential to boost workforce

Joy Agwunobi 

The age-old struggle of youth unemployment is now facing a promising contender in Africa, given the rising penetration of Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI. As these technologies continue to advance, industry experts observe that Africa finds itself at a critical juncture where it can redefine the future of employment, unleashing a wave of innovation that challenges the norm of high youth unemployment rates.

In a groundbreaking collaboration, Microsoft and industry leaders have joined forces to craft a roadmap for Africa’s economic resurgence through AI. The insightful whitepaper titled “AI and the Future of Work in Africa” showcases how Africa’s young population, with its digital proficiency and adaptability, is a vital asset in driving economic growth through AI adoption.

According to the report, nearly one billion people in Africa are currently under the age of 35. By the turn of the century, the continent is projected to be home to almost half of the world’s youth population. This demographic boom, it noted, positions Africa to potentially contribute to half of the global workforce in the future.

However, the current reality presents challenges of up to 12 million young Africans entering the labour market annually, but over 20 percent of them are neither in employment, education, nor training, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report  noted that by embracing AI and LLMs, Africa’s youth can turn the tide on unemployment, fostering new industries and innovations that can lead to sustainable economic development. The whitepaper calls for a concerted effort of stakeholders, governments, educational institutions, businesses and international partners to support and equip young Africans with the necessary skills and resources to thrive in an AI-driven economy, emphasising that the continent’s most valuable asset is its young, dynamic population.

According to the whitepaper, generative AI (GenAI) is expected to transform knowledge worker jobs. This transformation will impact the type of work performed, the skills required, and the outputs produced. McKinsey research indicates that GenAI could enable labour productivity growth of up to 0.6 per cent annually through 2040, depending on the rate of technology adoption and the redeployment of worker time into other activities.

It emphasised that the potential of GenAI to revolutionise industries such as agriculture, healthcare, and services must be matched with efforts to equip the youth with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-disrupted labour market. To ensure young Africans are not left behind in this technological shift, it stressed the need to build skills across the spectrum. This ranges from effectively deploying and using GenAI tools at work to developing innovative applications and technologies on top of these models, as well as advancing postgraduate skills in research and innovation in fields such as machine learning, natural language processing, human-computer interaction, cybersecurity, and systems.

Furthermore, the whitepaper highlighted the importance of designing GenAI with cultural and linguistic sensitivity, noting that such design enables GenAI to become more personalised, learning from interactions and enhancing each worker’s unique skills while respecting privacy, fostering inclusivity and showcasing the diverse talents of African workers.

According to the whitepaper, GenAI technology also holds promise for assisting in decision-making, risk assessment, and data analysis, thereby empowering entrepreneurs in their ventures.

As AI begins to penetrate the informal sector, it has the potential to revolutionise entrepreneurship, equipping entrepreneurs with tools tailored to their individual needs. However, this transformation requires comprehensive governance, inclusive design, investment in education, and adherence to regulatory and ethical norms, ensuring that this technology fosters sustainable growth and empowers entrepreneurs across the continent.

Ravi Bhat, chief technology and solutions officer at Microsoft Africa, stated that generative AI has the potential to transform work environments and create opportunities for youth to innovate, create jobs, and drive economic growth and stability across Africa.

Bhat however noted that technology alone is not enough to address the challenges facing the continent’s young population, adding the need for responsible deployment of AI, with policies and practices in place to value and dignify AI-related labour. Additionally, he notes that macroeconomic, labour, and regulatory markets must adapt to support positive change.

According to Jacki O’Neill, director at Microsoft Research Africa, generative AI has the potential to greatly enhance human capabilities. She also noted that as more Africans gain access to generative AI tools through their internet-enabled devices and more affordable data, the barriers to access are being reduced, and opportunities for skill development are increasing.

“Investing in this range of skills gives Africans the best opportunity to create dignified, appropriate jobs, to adapt AI sensitively to indigenous knowledge, to create new value chains, and better AI systems which might reflect for example human-centred and community values. Such systems would add value globally and could counter typical tech-centric models of automation and deskilling,” O’Neill added.

In light of this, recognising the transformative potential of AI technologies to enhance productivity and create new job opportunities, the Nigerian government has taken steps to integrate AI into various sectors. In April 2024, the government launched the National AI Strategy, which includes the development of Nigeria’s first Multilingual Large Language Model.

This initiative aims to promote innovation and AI adoption across different sectors of the economy. According to Bosun Tijani,  the minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, a key focus of the national AI strategy is the development and deployment of Large Language Models to drive economic growth and innovation.