African organizations are accelerating AI-focused skills development at the same time training budgets are tightening, creating a growing gap between ambition and resourcing. According to SAP’s latest “Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed” report, companies are expanding AI career initiatives and increasing training frequency even as the share of HR and IT budgets allocated to skills development declines.
AI Skills Demand Outpacing Traditional IT
The SAP report finds that around two-thirds of organizations in Africa are introducing career development initiatives with AI specialization to upskill or reskill existing employees, positioning AI capability as a core response to the demands of an emerging AI-driven economy. This signals a shift beyond traditional IT skills toward more explicit investment in AI-related competencies.
Traditional IT skills remain in high demand, particularly in areas such as cloud and cybersecurity, but they are now being pursued alongside a major push to build AI expertise. SAP Africa HR Director Genevieve Koolen told the outlet there is “a near-universal need for AI-related skills among African companies,” showing how quickly AI has moved to the center of workforce planning across the region.
Readiness Gaps, Training Patterns
Organizations surveyed in the report said they expected AI skills demand to rise sharply in 2025, with nearly half anticipating a significant increase aligned with accelerating digital transformation across the continent. With Africa’s large and growing youth population, this expectation places additional pressure on policymakers, education systems, and employers to accelerate AI skills pipelines that align with enterprise demand.
Koolen highlighted that 38% of respondents identified reskilling employees as a top skills challenge in 2025, while nearly half cited upskilling as a comparable concern. About two-thirds of respondents said they prioritize helping employees understand why reskilling is necessary, indicating that change management and workforce mindset are becoming as important as formal training programs.
Economic Stakes, Impact of Shortages
Forecasts referenced by SAP suggest AI could add up to USD 1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030 if the continent captures 10% of the global AI market, elevating skills development from an HR issue to a macroeconomic priority. Organizations reported perceived benefits from AI adoption including improved decision-making (64%), enhanced marketing capabilities (51%), and increased innovation (47%).
At the same time, skills shortages are already affecting performance. Companies cited failed innovation initiatives, delayed projects, increased strain on existing teams, and missed opportunities to pursue new client work due to limited AI and supporting technology skills. In response, 94% of organizations said they now provide training at least monthly.
Despite this increase in training activity, SAP’s research showed a pullback in formal budget commitments. No organization surveyed allocated more than 10% of HR or IT budgets to skills development, compared with the previous year when roughly a quarter reported spending more than 15%. The data points to a widening disconnect between training intensity and sustained investment.
Koolen outlined several strategies for addressing the gap, including preparing for imminent shortages through a combination of long-term reskilling and short-term measures, prioritizing training budgets to avoid stalled digital transformation, and forming stronger public-private and vendor partnerships to accelerate the development of work-ready AI skills, particularly for youth entering the workforce.
What This Means for ERP Insiders
AI skills readiness is becoming a foundational requirement for ERP and enterprise platform adoption. The situation in Africa, where organizations are rapidly expanding AI-focused training while expecting a sharp rise in skills demand, illustrates a broader challenge facing ERP vendors and partners: Adoption success increasingly depends on the availability of AI-capable users, consultants, and administrators.
There is pressure for more efficient enablement models. Rising training frequency combined with declining budget allocations is likely to increase pressure for more efficient enablement models. ERP and AI platform providers may need to deliver modular training, in-product guidance, and role-based learning that scales without proportional cost increases.
The projected economic impact of AI adoption further frames skills development as a strategic issue for policy, education, and digital infrastructure. For ERP leaders, this elevates integrated learning models, reskilling-ready role design, and vendor-education partnerships from optional initiatives to critical components of market strategy in sectors such as healthcare, workforce management, and the public sector.
