Report: African Cities Rank among Global AI Adopters Despite Infrastructure Deficits

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently unveiled its inaugural "Intelligent Cities Index 2026," which ranks global cities based on their AI adoption and overall intelligence. The report highlights African cities Lagos, Johannesburg, Casablanca, and Cairo as being prominent AI adopters despite facing infrastructure challenges. These cities currently sit in the "Developing" tier due to obstacles in digital infrastructure and venture capital funding, but their citizens exhibit high AI adoption rates and optimism.

The report evaluated the cities across five key domains: outcomes, strategy, adoption, ways of working, and enablers. The researchers found that African urban centers have a strong AI enthusiast base, with over 50% of the population in Cairo, Casablanca, and Lagos being under the age of 35. Casablanca emerged as the top-ranking city in AI adoption and smart city app usage, surpassing several established international metropolises.

Interestingly, the report suggests that cities do not require world-class infrastructure or deep funding ecosystems to enhance resident outcomes. Instead, expanding intelligent AI-enabled city services can improve quality of life and overall intelligent city maturity, regardless of a city's starting point. This finding demonstrates that multiple pathways exist for cities to become smarter and more efficient, tailored to their unique maturity levels across domains.

The report also discovered a strong correlation between the frequency of residents using Generative AI (GenAI) tools and their positive outlook on AI's potential to enhance opportunity, productivity, and quality of life. As residents become more engaged with AI, city leaders gain an opportunity to further integrate AI into various services, creating a positive feedback loop that drives innovation and scaling.

Akram Awad, Managing Director and Partner at BCG, and co-author of the report, emphasized that AI is a fundamental component of intelligent cities, and AI adoption and optimism are not exclusive to traditional technology hubs. Cities worldwide are using AI to deliver value to residents in various ways, depending on their starting points. BCG's report aims to provide an objective and comprehensive view of how cities shape and enable their AI ambitions and translate them into tangible benefits for citizens.

To progress from the "Developing" tier to higher maturity levels, the report stresses that African city leaders must tackle critical "soft enabler" challenges, such as venture capital access, tech talent retention, and AI governance. However, BCG's analysis indicates that cities do not necessarily need world-class infrastructure to make progress.

By adopting a "focused specialist" approach, African urban centers can collaborate with local innovation ecosystems to deliver targeted, incremental AI services that address residents' most immediate needs, transforming grassroots enthusiasm into long-term economic growth.