The industry is moving toward autonomous AI agents capable of independent decision-making, planning, and execution. For Africa, a continent characterised by a young demographic and a history of bypassing legacy technologies, this transition presents a distinct opportunity to leapfrog traditional economic structures once again.

To understand the implications for African businesses and consumers, it is necessary to contrast the current state of AI with what is currently being engineered in global tech hubs:

Generative AI (The Prompt Era) operates on a linear input-output model. A human user provides a specific prompt (e.g., “Write an email” or “Analyze this spreadsheet”), and the AI generates a static response based on its training data. The system remains passive until the next instruction.

Meanwhile, the Agentic AI (The Objective Era) operates on goal-oriented autonomy. Instead of executing isolated tasks, a user assigns a broad objective—such as optimising customer onboarding, resolving complex regulatory compliance bottlenecks, or detecting sophisticated fraud patterns. The AI agent then independently determines the necessary steps, accesses required software tools, prioritises sub-tasks, and self-corrects if its initial approach encounters an error, all with minimal human intervention.

Historically, major technological transitions have widened the divide between the Global North and South. The nations and conglomerates that build foundational infrastructure – such as massive data centres, specialised silicon chips, and large language models – accumulate disproportionate economic power.

Late adopters often default to being downstream consumers of technologies designed with Western or Asian contexts in mind.

Idesoh notes there is a distinct risk that AI could mimic this extractive pattern if African institutions remain passive. However, Africa’s digital history suggests the continent rarely follows a linear development path.

Africa’s modern technology ecosystem was forged by turning institutional gaps into structural advantages. The rapid expansion of mobile money and fintech over the past decade occurred precisely because large segments of the population were excluded from traditional brick-and-mortar banking. Because the legacy infrastructure did not exist, there was no resistance to adopting completely new, mobile-first financial habits.

This same environment, combined with accelerating smartphone penetration and the world’s youngest population, positions Africa uniquely for Agentic AI. Because many administrative, financial, and logistical systems across the continent are still being built or digitised, autonomous AI agents can be integrated directly into the foundational layer of these new systems, rather than trying to retroactively fit them into centuries-old legacy software architectures.

For Agentic AI to become a driver of domestic growth rather than an economic drain, the focus must shift toward solving localised, practical challenges. Idesoh highlights several critical areas where autonomous agents can be deployed immediately to deliver measurable value:

1. Financial Inclusion: Developing autonomous credit-scoring agents that look beyond traditional bank statements to assess informal economic activity, enabling small businesses to access capital.
2. Fraud Prevention: Deploying real-time agents that adapt dynamically to evolving localized cyber threats and mobile money scams, protecting vulnerable consumers.
3. Cross-Sector Coordination: Building secure, trusted frameworks where banks, telecommunications operators, and regulators use interconnected AI agents to streamline identity verification and cross-border trade.

Ultimately, the success of the agentic era in Africa will depend on digital sovereignty. The continent must transition from being a consumer of global software to a developer of local applications. By investing early in localised data sets, practical governance frameworks, and technical education, African enterprises can ensure that autonomous systems are engineered to expand human and economic possibility across the continent.

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The service is available for use on any wireless mobile device, tablet or PC within a two meter radius of the branch. This also allows non-Absa customers to walk into the mall, log in and prosper,” said Provincial Executive of Retail Banking in Gauteng, Kudzi Samushonga.

Other branches which feature this facility include Sandton Mall, Hyde Park, Alberton, Edenvale, Balfourpark and Southgate Mall, with several new branches set to offer the service in the coming months.

ABSA Pebble supported devices:

• HTC One;
• HTC One V;
• HTC One X;
• HTC One SV;
• Huawei Ascend P6;
• Huawei Ascend Y300;
• Huawei Ascend Y220;
• Huawei Ascend G525;
• Samsung Galaxy Pocket Neo (GT-S5310);
• Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 (GT-S7710);
• Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100);
• Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300);
• Samsung Galaxy S3 mini (GT-I8190);
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-I9500);
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (GT-i9500);
• Samsung Galaxy Note II (GT-N7100);
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N9000);
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N9005);
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (GT-N5110);
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE (GT-N8020);
• iPhone;
• iPad;
• Blackberry Z10;
• Blackberry Q10;
• Blackberry Z30

*Additional Reporting from MyBroadBand

In a statement released to Engadget earlier in March, machine designer NCR said that only a third of banks will upgrade their ATMs to a newer OS before official XP support ends on April 8th. Failure for these banks to update their systems will leave them little choice but to pay Microsoft for an extended contract if they still want support.

Not all faith is lost, at least some local banks plan to update. We sent out comment requests on the updates to the five major banks; Absa, FNB, Capitec, Nedbank and Standard Bank.

Capitec Bank is in the process of upgrading all ATM software.

A spokesperson for Capitec Bank confirmed that they’re in the process of upgrading all of their ATM software. “This process will be completed before the deadline set by Microsoft” said Capitec. Nedbank has also not fallen short of the upgrade, “Nedbank is currently migrating it’s ATM network from Windows XP to Windows 7, which will mitigate the risk of not having adequate support on Windows XP.”

But it’s not all smooth sailing, as banks are facing both technical backlogs and steep transition costs and Absa has backed this notion; “To ensure that there is no impact during this period we have an extended support agreement in place with Microsoft that will see us through to the end of the program.” said Absa. Estimates suggest the big SA banks might pay up to R100 Million each to make the leap. “All desktops and laptops within the Barclays Africa Group will be upgraded and this change process has already begun,” says Peter Rix – Acting CIO: Barclays Africa.

Whether or not your bank joins the modern era, you shouldn’t be surprised of you end up footing some of the bill.

*FNB and Standard Bank Could not be reach for commenting by the time this story was published