Report: African CEOs Reposition on Decision Making, Upskilling as AI Investments Surge

Emma Okonji

Corporate Artificial Intelligence investment is growing significantly and will not pull back, with African companies planning to double their spending on the technology in 2026, accounting for about 1.7 per cent of revenues and more than twice the increase for 2025, a recent report released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has said.

According to the report, CEOs in Africa are rolling up their sleeves and taking the lead as their companies’ main AI decision makers, with trailblasing chief executives now spending more than eight hours per week on their own AI upskilling and investing twice as much as their counterparts in upskilling and capability-building across their organisations.

According to some of the report findings, CEOs are now driving AI strategy, with 72 per cent saying they are main decision makers on AI. African organisations lead in workforce readiness, with 55 per cent of the workforce already upskilled in AI – the highest rate globally. Africa and the Middle East see value-led transformation with 63 per cent of CEOs in the region saying they are confident AI will pay off, driven by strategic value rather than competitive pressure.

Analysing the report, BCG’s CEO and co-author of the report, Christopher Schweizer, said: “Despite economic uncertainty, the anticipated surge in spending reflects how much of a priority AI has become in the business world. AI is no longer confined to IT or innovation teams. It’s reshaping strategy and operations from the top down with CEOs taking a leading role. Nearly three-quarters of CEOs say they are now the main decision makers on AI, and half believe their jobs depend on it.”

Global Leader of BCG X and co-author of the report, Sylvain Duranton, said: “The true competitive advantage lies with those CEOs who will reshape functions end-to-end and invent new products and services that drive growth,”

The third annual report of the state of global AI landscape from BCG, themed: ‘BCG AI Radar’, is based on a survey of 2,360 executives across 16 African markets, including Morocco and South Africa, and nine industries, including 640 CEOs.

The intensity of AI investment in Africa is significant with 59 per cent of African companies planning to spend more than $50 million on AI in 2026. This capital is being directed toward high-impact areas such as agentic AI and massive workforce transformation. Currently, African organisations lead in workforce readiness, with 55 pe cent of the workforce already upskilled in AI (the highest rate globally), supported by an allocation of 46 per cent of the total AI budget toward ongoing retraining and capability building, the report said.

It added that in Africa, the narrative has shifted from exploration to large-scale execution. Organisations across the continent are leveraging AI to leapfrog traditional infrastructure challenges, with the Middle East and Africa region now accounting for some of the most aggressive AI budget allocations globally. African leaders are moving with a ‘value-first’ mindset, viewing AI as a primary engine for regional economic growth.

“In doubling their investment this year, companies globally are drawing from budgets beyond the tech pool and CEOs have committed more than 30 per cent of their organisations’ AI investments on agentic AI. Ninety-four per cent of chief executives say they will continue investing in AI at current or higher levels even if the investments do not pay off in the next year,” the report further said.

The report confirms that across Africa, AI has shifted from a distant ambition to an urgent business priority, highlighting that African CEOs are not simply adopting technology rather they are becoming its architects. By committing significant capital to agentic AI and large-scale workforce retraining, leaders are ensuring that global innovations are adapted to solve uniquely local challenges, from driving financial inclusion to boosting industrial efficiency.

The value-led approach is positioning Africa as a global frontrunner in AI, transforming conviction into a long-term competitive advantage that will redefine the continent’s role in the digital economy.

NCC to Review Licences of EutelSat, IntelSat, NigComSat, Five Others in 2026 

Emma Okonji

Following the recent space landing permit granted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to Amazon-owned Project Kuiper and BeetleSat-1 from Isreal to operate and provide space-based satellite communication services in Nigeria, with effect from February 28, 2026 for a period of seven years, the commission will be reviewing eight exiting space satellite licences that will expire this year.

Among the eight satellite licences due for review this year, seven are owned by international satellite operators, while only one of the licences is owned by a Nigerian company called NICOMSAT, which operates NiComSat-1R.

According to the information, which THISDAY obtained from the official website of NCC, the licences granted to seven international satellite internet operators in Nigeria, including the licence granted to NigComSat-1R, will expire this year, subject to renewal.

The international satellite operators include: EutelSat, IntelSat, Thuraya, Omnispace-2, O3b Block 2, Telstar, and Blue Walker 3, while NigComSat-1R is a Nigerian satellite communications company.

EutelSat 16A from France was issued Ku-Band licence to provide satellite internet service in Nigeria for a period of six years from October 2020 to December 2026. IntelSat from United States of America (USA) was issued Ku-Band licence to operate in Nigeria for a period of seven years from June 2019 to September 2026. IntelSat was also issued C-Band to operate in Nigeria for a period of seven years from September 2019 to December 2026.  Thuraya from United Arab Emirates (UAE) was issued L-Band licence for a period of four years from February 2022 to December 2022. O3b Block2 from the United Kingdom (UK) was issued Ka-Band licence to operate in Nigeria for a period of six years from October 2020 to December 2026. Omnispace-2 from Papua New Guinea was issued S-Band licence to operate in Nigeria for a period of four years from May 2022 to June 2026. At the time of issuance of the landing permit, Omnispace LLC has not launched any satellite into its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation 1, but the NCC approved landing permit for a complete Omnispace LEO Constellation 1 of 144 satellites on basis that Omnispace will be reporting their constellation deployments twice every year on January 7 and July 7 and the duration of the satellite will be based on future satellite deployments into the constellation.

NigComSat-1R from Nigeria was issued Ku, Ka and L Bands to operate satellite communication services in Nigeria for a period of three years from 2023 to December 2026. 

Telstar from United States of America (USA) was issued Ku-Band licence to operate in Nigeria from May 2022 to February 2024. Although its operational licence expired since 2024, the NCC has placed the licence alongside others that will be reviewed this year. Blue Walker-3 from USA was issued Q/V and 3GPP Bands licence to operate in Nigeria for a period of three years from June 2021 to June 2024. The Blue Walker-3 licence expired in 2024, but NCC also placed it under review alongside others that are due for review this year.

THISDAY learnt that all eight licences would expire this year and they have been penciled down for review by the NCC.  

However, Starlink Satellite, which is managed by SpaceX, and owned by billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, has been dominating the space technology in Nigeria, providing fast satellite internet services to several organisations, government agencies and individuals in Nigeria. NCC granted Starlink the licence to operate Ka and Ku-Bands in Nigeria since 2021 for a period of seven years. The licence expires in 2028 and it’s subject to renewal after review.

NCC authorised Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Satellite Constellation for its full constellation of 4408 satellites and issued it a landing permit for a period of seven years. Starlink will continue to beam its satellite signals over Nigerian space territory till December 2028, but will definitely face strong market competition from Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and BeetleSat-1, when they begin operations in Nigeria next month.