Africa Is On The Move (Part III)

This is the third part of TIME Africa’s series asking leading figures across diverse sectors to paint a picture of a continent no longer waiting for external validation, but getting bigger in business all the time.

So, did Africa get bigger this year? Well, it didn’t on land, but it did on the global map. For more than four centuries, most of the world has pictured Africa through a lens built for someone else’s purposes. The Mercator projection, drawn in 1569 to help European sailors plot a straight course, stretches the far north and squeezes the equator, so that Greenland appears to rival a continent fourteen times its size. Generations of schoolchildren, newsrooms and boardrooms absorbed that picture without question: Africa as smaller, more peripheral, and consequently, easier to overlook.

This year, that changed. In February, the African Union adopted the Equal Earth projection, which shows the continents in their true proportions.

In September, the United Nations General Assembly followed, voting 164 to 1 to encourage governments and institutions worldwide to do the same. France announced it would abandon Mercator; Togo, which led the push at the UN, is redrawing the maps in its classrooms by the end of the year. On these new maps, Africa finally appears as it is: a giant of more than 30 million square kilometres, larger than the United States, China, India and much of Europe combined.

A map, as one diplomat put it, does not change the world. But it changes how the world is seen, and that is where this third part of our series begins. Because the Africa now emerging is not only being drawn at its true size, but increasingly being understood at its true scale.

From the data-driven precision of Web3 and artificial intelligence to the cultural blueprint of African music and the creative explosion of digital marketing, supported by a resilient diamond fund landscape, leaders continue to prove that Africa is actively architecting its own future.

Collectively, these industries signal a profound shift toward self-determination, proving that Africa’s growing influence is not merely a trend, but a structural reordering of the global stage where the continent is mapped at true scale.

Chengdiao Fan: “Africa’s AI Opportunity: Expanding Creation, Ownership and Economic Participation”

For much of the digital era, building with the most powerful technologies often depended on access to the infrastructure, specialized talent, and capital required to develop them. AI is changing that equation, while also raising new, essential questions about how its benefits are distributed and its risks are managed.

Across many African markets, the rise of increasingly capable open-source and open-weight models means universities, businesses and entrepreneurs can build on technological capabilities that would previously have required far greater resources to develop independently. They can start with existing AI capabilities and create products incorporating the local needs, languages, markets and communities they understand particularly well.

Individually, such domain knowledge can narrow the distance between expertise and enterprise. For example, according to a New York Times report, a Nairobi-based startup used downloadable AI models and roughly one million legal files to build a system that turns paper legal records into searchable databases. The founder of the startup was able to turn locally specific data into a usable tool without bearing the cost of developing the underlying AI technology from scratch.

AI is not just leveling the playing field in terms of ability to build and create on the individual or organizational levels, but also on a regional level. Across many African markets, there is significant room for new infrastructure, services and businesses to be built. In markets where access to specialized expertise and services has historically been more limited, the potential gains from AI may be especially significant. AI can accelerate the development of essential services, industries, and economies and help close specific gaps in access that have historically taken much longer to address.

However, recent incidents involving unexpected behavior from advanced AI systems, alongside calls from industry leaders to more carefully pace frontier development, have sharpened questions about safeguards, cybersecurity, and problems incurred by the advancement of AI. Solving the problems created with AI’s disruptions is as important and difficult as achieving the AI breakthroughs themselves. These challenges need to be addressed in parallel with AI development, rather than reactively. In addition to the safety of AI, there are predictable and systemic economic disruptions—affecting both the micro- and macroeconomic levels—that need to be addressed. Such disruptions become more salient as AI adoption continues to grow more broadly and rapidly. More specifically:

• Distribution and user acquisition: Easier creation heightens competition for distribution and adoption as more builders gain access to the same AI capabilities. There will be more tools, systems, and platforms than users, while distribution and user acquisition are essential for continued innovation and sustainable business models.
• Authenticity: As more and more AI agents act like humans to perform our daily tasks or work, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between real humans, AI agents authorized by real humans to act on their behalf, and malicious AI bots. The differentiation among them still matters in many situations, such as financial transactions, ownership, fraud prevention, human input, human connections, etc. Authenticity can become a scarce resource. That distinction is especially important for systems that collect genuine human input and distribute value to real humans.
• Labor: As AI takes on more work, demand for human labor may decline. For individuals, this can be felt most directly through job losses or fewer employment opportunities. Labor in exchange for income has been the primary mechanism for distributing economic value across most societies, while maintaining a degree of meritocracy that helps drive innovation. This mechanism can foreseeably break down as AI replaces human labor more and more broadly.
• Consumption: The lack of an effective value distribution mechanism across society could lead to not only widening inequality and reduced incentive for innovation, but also decreased purchasing power at scale, declining aggregate demand, and potentially negative macroeconomic cycles. The same technology that expands production can weaken economic distribution mechanisms that sustain consumption. This can potentially create a downward spiral in which declining demand leads to cuts in production, investment or employment, further weakening consumption and reinforcing the cycle.

How to address AI’s challenges

The key question is how a powerful force like AI can be used and integrated into our economies to create an upward, not downward, spiral. If earning through labor becomes a less sufficient mechanism for distributing value, new forms of ownership, participation and value capture will need to complement or replace it. Beyond changing what can be produced, broad AI integration may also require rethinking who contributes to the economic cycle, who owns productive resources in an AI-driven economy, and how the resulting economic value is distributed.

One potential role for blockchain is to provide infrastructure for scalable and auditable societal distribution and redistribution around AI-enabled production, helping connect payments, incentives and ownership to the people and resources contributing to that production. Rather than solving AI’s economic challenges by itself, blockchain can support mechanisms through which (1) individuals participate in and benefit from the value they help produce, (2) businesses create new business models, and (3) larger socioeconomic systems preserve the distribution, consumption and incentives necessary to sustain innovation and economic activity.

Pi Network’s solutions

Pi Network demonstrates several mechanisms that help address AI’s issues. Its network of 60+ million engaged members, 18+ million identity-verified participants, and 420,000+ Nodes is supported by the blockchain payments and wallet infrastructure necessary for coordinating participation.

These numbers translate to attention, distribution, verified identity, decentralized human work (including generated data) and distributed computing power, all of which can become important productive resources for an AI-driven economy.

For instance, through the design of Pi’s token launchpad mechanism, businesses with real products can tap into the network’s global distribution and attention resources for user acquisition. Tokens can connect the resulting utility and benefits back to users who engage with the products.

Human-in-the-loop workflows are one form of individual participation that can support many AI production processes, as real specialized data is an increasingly important productive resource. For example, more than one million identity-verified people in Pi’s KYC identity verification workforce have completed over 526 million validation tasks. Their work improves the KYC solution’s AI, and they are paid in Pi tokens. This proves that such human work that generates large-scale data to produce substantive real-world results (18+ million individuals’ identities were verified) can be compensated with tokens, not just fiat currency.

Distributed computing offers another model of individual participation. While computing power is obviously an important productive resource for AI, the importance of decentralized computing also lies in its decentralized advantages over centralized AI computing infrastructure. Potential benefits include electricity sourcing, latency for geographically distributed inference, centralized catastrophic forgetting risk mitigation, and more. Of course, making decentralized computing more useful for AI still requires more research and breakthroughs, and blockchain networks, which are already distributed systems, are a good place to start and expand, and they offer a decentralized platform for individuals to participate in the AI-driven economy.

For African markets, the opportunity goes beyond access to AI tools. Lower barriers to creating businesses, contributing work, and providing computing resources could help people turn local expertise and assets into economic opportunities serving both local and global markets. But livelihoods, infrastructure and access to markets vary significantly across the continent, so no single model will fit every economy. The broader test is whether greater AI-enabled productive capacity also expands viable ways for people to make a living, own and contribute productive resources, and capture value from what they help create.

Chengdiao Fan is one of the founders of Pi Network.

Daniel Wolfe: “Diamonds Have Always Been a Double-edged Sword For Africa”

Diamonds have shaped Africa’s politics and economies for more than a century—and today, that legacy is being tested. Colonial fortunes were built on Kimberley’s mines, while Botswana built a stable, middle-income nation on Debswana’s revenues. Now, a collapse in wholesale natural-diamond prices—driven by weaker post-pandemic demand, China’s slowdown, and an oversupply of lab-grown diamonds—is straining budgets, jobs, and public services across the continent’s diamond belt. The central question is not simply whether prices will recover, but whether producing countries can use this downturn to build economies—and an industry—that are less fragile when the next cycle arrives.

No country illustrates the stakes more clearly than Botswana. Through Debswana, its joint venture with De Beers, diamonds have historically generated roughly 30% of GDP, one-third of government revenue, and the majority of export earnings. These revenues financed the infrastructure, education, and political stability that made Botswana a continental model. That concentration, however, has become a liability: the economy contracted in both 2024 and 2025, while the World Bank’s 2.7% growth forecast for 2026 depends on a “moderate rebound” in diamond output. Early indicators — carat production up nearly 5% and trading activity rising sharply — offer cautious grounds for optimism, but a durable recovery will require Botswana to continue diversifying beyond diamonds.

Angola, one of Africa’s most promising diamond-producing countries, is pursuing the opposite strategy: increasing output to roughly 16.2 million carats in 2026, 7% above 2025 levels, on the premise that higher volumes can help offset weak prices. So far, the math has been unforgiving: export volumes rose sharply in 2025, while sales value increased only modestly. The strategy could nevertheless pay off if Angola also expands local cutting and polishing capacity.

Namibia and South Africa are experiencing the downturn differently. Namibian diamond royalties are expected to decline, although gold and uranium are providing some cushion for the wider mining sector. In South Africa, De Beers’ two-year production pause at Venetia—a mine producing 2.2 million carats and employing roughly 4,400 people—demonstrates how quickly a corporate decision can become a local economic shock, with consequences for contractors, communities, and regional spending.

Smaller producers, including Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Lesotho, are expanding output and artisanal mining to protect export earnings and rural livelihoods. Diamonds account for more than 70% of Sierra Leone’s exports. This dependence is double-edged: it can finance development, but it leaves countries with little protection when demand weakens.

De Beers is itself in transition. Anglo American is expected to select a preferred bidder for its 85% stake by year-end, while Botswana’s 15% holding and pre-emptive rights give it meaningful influence over the outcome. A new owner could reinvest in marketing and African partnerships, or instead adopt a leaner, more financially driven approach. Either way, a sale would reshape the market, given De Beers’ historic and continuing importance in the marketing of natural diamonds.

The takeaway is that this downturn is not simply another cycle that will reverse on its own. It suggests that the diamond industry’s old model—concentrated ownership, opaque pricing, and marketing built around scarcity narratives—no longer commands the trust it once did. Changing views about diamonds among younger generations are an additional challenge. Government and industry leaders should treat this period as a mandate to modernize, rather than waiting for conditions to improve.

Recent corporate earnings announcements offered some encouragement. At Richemont, LVMH, and Kering, jewellery outperformed several other luxury segments. Yet results elsewhere in the industry, including among miners, were mixed—underscoring the challenges that continue to confront diamond producers and the need for further action.

As with other real-world assets, the industry should seek broader participation in the diamond market. Tokenized investment vehicles could enable capital to flow directly into, and hold interests in, verified diamond value—creating additional, accretive demand that complements and supports physical sales.

Diamond wealth has always been a double-edged sword for Africa: transformative when managed well, destabilizing when it is not. The countries and companies that use this downturn to build more transparent, technology-enabled, diversified diamond economies will be best positioned when demand eventually turns.

Daniel L. Wolfe is CEO and Co-Founder of Facent, a blockchain-fintech company developing a rules-based digital asset backed by a diversified reserve of polished natural diamonds.

Dr Des Agyekumhene: “African Music Is No Longer an Export, but the Blueprint”

Africa’s music industry is experiencing something that goes far beyond a moment. It is a movement, one that is reshaping global sounds, disrupting streaming economics, and rewriting the rules of what it means to break an artist internationally.

For years, the narrative around African music on the world stage was framed as a pleasant surprise. Afrobeats crossed over. Amapiano went viral. But framing these seismic shifts as crossover success stories fundamentally misses the point. What is happening now is not African music adapting to global tastes. Global music is adapting to Africa.

Afrobeats, led by the likes of Burna Boy, Davido, and pioneers like Wizkid, who helped build the path internationally, has moved well beyond festival headline slots and into the permanent fabric of mainstream pop, R&B, and hip-hop production worldwide. Tems has perhaps best embodied this shift in recent years. Her collaborations with Drake, Future, and Beyoncé, combined with her Grammy win, have cemented her as a global artist in the truest sense, one who carries her Lagos identity without compromise. Asake has built a devoted international following by staying defiantly rooted in Yoruba language and street-level storytelling, proving that authenticity, not dilution, is the winning formula. Producers in Los Angeles, London, and Seoul are now actively studying the rhythmic sensibilities that Lagos perfected over decades.

Meanwhile, amapiano, born in the townships of South Africa, has become one of the most replicated sounds on the planet. DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small, and Uncle Waffles have carried the genre from Soweto to global stages, while Tyla’s genre-blending approach earned her a Grammy and a spot in pop’s mainstream conversation. The log drum basslines and soulful piano progressions of amapiano now appear in tracks from Beyoncé collaborations to European club circuits, and artists like Musa Keys and Young Stunna are ensuring the pipeline of talent remains deep.

Yet the story is broader than two genres. East Africa is building its own formidable identity. Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz has demonstrated that an African act can build a fanbase of hundreds of millions without relying on Western validation as a launchpad, while his WCB Wasafi label has developed a model for regional artist development others are now emulating. Kenya’s Nikita Kering represents a compelling new chapter. Her soaring vocal range and polished international sound have drawn genuine global attention and signal the rising ambition of a new generation of East African artists. Alongside her, Trio Mio captures the raw street energy of Nairobi’s youth culture, reflecting a scene that is both commercially sharp and deeply connected to its community.

In Francophone Africa, the DRC’s Innoss’B has emerged as one of the continent’s most exciting cross-border forces, building a massive following across Francophone markets with music that is rhythmically sophisticated and unapologetically African. Alongside him, Côte d’Ivoire’s Josey continues to blend afro-fusion with traditional influences, creating music that is deeply rooted and strikingly modern. Ghana’s Amaarae represents another dimension of this evolution entirely. Her genre-fluid sound, blending afropop, R&B and alternative influences, has found audiences far beyond the continent, with her recent “BLACK STAR” album signalling a new kind of Ghanaian soft power. Ayra Starr, meanwhile, continues to push the boundaries of what an African woman’s voice can represent on the global stage, while Omah Lay brings a raw emotional depth that has resonated strongly with younger audiences worldwide.

The infrastructure supporting this creative explosion is maturing rapidly. Streaming platforms, once slow to reflect African listening habits, are now investing seriously in the continent. Boomplay, which has surpassed 100 million registered users, is challenging the dominance of global platforms by building a service truly tailored to local consumption patterns, pricing, and discovery. Artists and their management teams are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they leverage these platforms, structuring releases, merchandise, and touring ecosystems that generate revenue entirely on African terms.

Live music is another critical piece of the puzzle. Concerts and festivals across Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Accra, and Kigali are selling out with increasing regularity, while international promoters are waking up to the commercial viability of large-scale African touring. TikTok has become a genuine A&R tool across the continent, with viral moments translating directly into chart performance. Artists like Oxlade, whose “Ku Lo Sa” became a global TikTok phenomenon, and Ghana’s Black Sherif have navigated this dynamic with remarkable instinct.

What defines this era above all else is ownership. A new generation of African artists, managers, and executives is building music businesses that retain rights, control distribution, and set their own terms. The future of African music will not be written by outside gatekeepers. It is already being written in Africa.

Dr Des Agyekumhene leads Certifi.World, an award-winning creative technology company helping artists, brands and sports organisations serve the culture through technology. He holds a PhD in Law from the University of Edinburgh, where his research explored copyright law and justice in the digital economy.

Khumo Raphuti: “Africa’s Digital Ambition Is Taking Shape”

At Konza Technopolis, Kenya is trying to turn a long-standing vision of a technology-driven economy into something more tangible: infrastructure, skills and businesses that can operate at scale.

On August 13, 2026, the Technopolis Development Authority signed a collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), bringing global cloud expertise into that effort. The agreement includes plans for an AWS Outpost, digital-skills development and a Startup and Innovation Centre of Excellence. It is a small but telling piece of a bigger pattern: African countries are beginning to treat digital infrastructure as economic infrastructure.

The agreement covers four areas: business development, skills and workforce development, infrastructure and technology alignment, and startup enablement. It includes support for cloud-first digital transformation in the public sector, AWS certification for Technopolis staff and Kenyan youth, and access to technical expertise in data management, machine learning and artificial intelligence. It also provides for technical leadership around the establishment of an AWS Outpost at Konza, which would extend AWS infrastructure and services into the technopolis, as well as a Startup and Innovation Centre intended to give emerging companies access to AWS programmes, credits and technical mentorship.

The distinction between what exists and what is planned matters. Konza is not waiting for AWS to build its digital foundation. The technopolis already has a National Data Centre and Konza Cloud, part of its wider effort to provide digital infrastructure and services. The Outpost and innovation centre are the next proposed additions, rather than facilities that are already operational.

Kenya’s push is also part of a wider African investment in the infrastructure behind the digital economy. In Johannesburg, AWS brought its cloud and technology ecosystem together for its August 19 summit, with programming around AI, cloud skills, startups and digital transformation. In Egypt, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority licensed Hassan Allam Digital Infrastructure in June to develop and operate data centres and provide cloud services, backed by an initial $400 million investment. The project is intended to serve government, financial institutions and local and international businesses as demand for cloud computing, AI and digital services grows.

The direction is clear: across the continent, digital infrastructure is increasingly being treated not simply as a technical requirement, but as economic infrastructure.

Yet infrastructure alone does not create a digital economy. The harder question is whether these investments translate into local capability. Kenya needs engineers, developers and entrepreneurs who can build on the infrastructure being put in place. It needs startups that can use cloud and AI tools to scale beyond domestic markets, and institutions capable of developing the skills to sustain that growth.

That is where Konza’s real test lies. The technopolis already has digital infrastructure and is pursuing partnerships intended to strengthen its technology ecosystem.

The AWS agreement adds another layer: global cloud capability, skills development and support for startups. But the measure of Konza’s success will not ultimately be the number of agreements signed there. It will be what those agreements enable: the businesses built, the talent developed, the technologies created and the opportunities that remain in Africa.

Africa’s digital future will not be built by infrastructure alone. But without it, nothing else (the businesses, the talent, the technologies) has anywhere to stand.

Konza is now testing whether it can put both pieces together, and the AWS agreement is the first real measure of whether it can.

Khumo Raphuti is a communications and media professional working across public engagement, youth development and social impact. She has contributed to international policy discussions through the G20 Youth 20 (Y20) Inclusive Economic Growth & Employment Working Group and serves as a World Bank Y2Y Youth Ambassador.

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