African factories adopt AI as productivity race intensifies

Industrial operators across Africa are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence to boost productivity and close longstanding efficiency gaps, as global competition and digital transformation reshape operations in sectors including mining, oil and gas, energy and manufacturing.

The shift is being driven by efforts to connect frontline workers with real‑time operational intelligence, reducing reliance on fragmented systems and manual processes that have traditionally slowed decision‑making on industrial sites.

Country Sales Director for Process Automation, Sub‑Saharan Africa at Schneider Electric, Elijah Daniel, said industries that successfully combine AI with their operational data stand to gain significant competitive advantages as companies seek to improve efficiency and reduce downtime.

According to Daniel, the biggest opportunity lies not in AI alone but in the ability of organisations to harness decades of operational information, including maintenance records, process data, alarm histories and equipment performance records.

“The goal was never more data. The goal is the right insight at the right moment, with a clear action attached,” he said in a note shared with The PUNCH.

These comments come amid growing adoption of AI technologies across industries globally, with companies increasingly deploying digital tools to support decision‑making, predictive maintenance and workforce productivity.

The African Development Bank has projected that AI deployment could contribute up to $1tn to Africa’s economy by 2035, with resource‑intensive sectors expected to account for a substantial share of that growth.

Daniel said industrial firms have historically operated with a disconnect between workers in control rooms who have access to real‑time operational data and field technicians responsible for maintaining equipment.

That information gap, he said, often results in inefficiencies, particularly in Africa, where skilled engineering expertise is unevenly distributed and industrial facilities are spread across vast geographic areas.

The executive argued that industrial intelligence differs from general‑purpose AI because it is trained on company‑specific operational data rather than publicly available information.

Industry leaders have already begun reporting financial gains from AI deployment. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company reported $500bn in AI‑driven value in 2023, while Norwegian energy company Equinor said it generated $130m in AI‑related savings in 2025. Consultancy Rystad Energy estimates digitalisation and AI could create nearly $500bn in cumulative value for oil and gas companies globally between 2026 and 2030.

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Daniel said one of the most significant developments is the ability of field workers to access the same operational information available to control room operators.

He cited technology developed by Schneider Electric and industrial software company AVEVA that allows field technicians to query systems trained on the history of specific assets and receive diagnostic recommendations before carrying out maintenance activities.

“A field worker with the same live information in his hands as the operator in the control room, real‑time process data, equipment history and maintenance records, all in one place, wherever he stands, is what we consider the holy grail of operations,” Daniel said.

The company said its connected‑worker strategy is aimed at enabling engineers, operators and technicians to access shared operational data in real time regardless of their location.

Research cited by Daniel suggests AI adoption is already creating a performance gap between companies that have embraced the technology and those that have not. PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer found that industries with higher AI exposure recorded revenue‑per‑employee growth of 27 per cent, compared with nine per cent in less exposed sectors.

Meanwhile, the Stanford AI Index reported that 78 per cent of organisations used AI in 2024, up from 55 per cent a year earlier.

Addressing concerns that AI could lead to job losses, Daniel pointed to an Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development survey that found 83 per cent of firms adopting AI reported no changes to staffing levels.

“AI does not replace the skilled worker. It removes the friction that prevents the skilled worker from performing at his best,” he said.

Daniel said future industrial operations would increasingly rely on mobile access to operational intelligence rather than traditional control‑room‑based decision‑making.

“The most successful organisations ahead will not be those with the best technology. They will be those with the most empowered workforce,” he said.