Chief Executive Officer, CRC Credit Bureau, Dr. Tunde Popoola, has called on African governments, financial institutions, academia, policy makers and others, to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI), adding that the technology is capable of contributing between $60 billion to $103 billion to Africa’s economy annually, if well deployed.
He, however, warned that there are risks of unregulated deployment, including privacy concerns, cybersecurity threats and ethical challenges, which must be guided against, despite the opportunities that come with the technology.
Popoola, in a keynote Address delivered at the maiden international academic conference, organised by the Department of Finance, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Ilorin, on Monday, called for responsible regulation, effective governance frameworks, and robust safeguards to enable AI serve humanity positively and sustainably.
The CRC Credit Bureau boss also challenged universities, research institutions, policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders to collaborate on context-specific AI applications that can accelerate sustainable development across the continent.
Dr. Popoola, who spoke on the theme: ‘Artificial Intelligence, Finance and the Path to Sustainability in Emerging and Developing Countries,’ urged Africa to move beyond being a passive consumer of AI technologies and become an active creator of solutions tailored to its unique challenges.
He noted that many developing countries remain far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), due to a myriad of challenges confronting them. This development, he argued, has, therefore, made innovative and scalable solutions increasingly imperative.
Popoola identified poverty, climate change, energy deficits, infrastructure gaps, financial exclusion, and weak institutions, as some of those challenges that have continued to hold down emerging countries from achieving the SDGs.
He argued that finance has become central to sustainable development; since it mobilises savings, allocates capital, manages risks, and promotes innovation, adding that limited access to credit and inadequate financial infrastructure would continue to hamper progress.
The CRC Credit Bureau boss described AI as a new development equation, that enables smarter decision-making through advanced data analytics, improves credit assessment, and enhances fraud detection.