The African Union’s Executive Council has recently approved the “Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy,” a groundbreaking initiative aimed at accelerating AI adoption across the continent. This strategy is poised to catalyze innovation and drive economic growth by integrating AI into both public and private sectors among member states. As Africa embarks on this ambitious journey, the potential for AI to transform industries and enhance development is immense, particularly in regions where technology-driven solutions can address pressing challenges.
In light of Africa’s burgeoning interest in AI, Ventures Africa recently interviewed Peko Wan, the co-CEO of Pundi X, a company at the forefront of making cryptocurrency accessible across the globe, including in Africa. With over 15 years of experience in the IT industry and a track record of success at companies like Opera Software and Ogilvy & Mather, Peko Wan has been at the forefront of technological innovation. Under her leadership, Pundi X has made significant strides in making cryptocurrency accessible to all, including in Africa, through the deployment of an AI-powered blockchain-based POS solution. This system not only ensures seamless multi-chain transactions but also enhances security, building trust and efficiency in the digital economy. Pundi X’s recognition as one of the top innovative fintech startups underscores its potential to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s AI and blockchain landscape.
In this interview, Peko Wan shares her perspectives on the transformative potential of AI in Africa, emphasizing how Pundi X’s AI-powered systems are enabling seamless multi-chain transactions and enhancing security, which is crucial for building trust in the digital economy.
Ventures Africa (VA): The African Union’s “Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy” aims to fast-track AI adoption across member states. Given your experience, how important is it for regional strategies like this to align with the regulatory environments in individual African countries?
Peko Wan(PW): Africa is a continent with a diverse set of regulations across different countries. The Continental AI Strategy lays out a framework for ethical and legal AI development. For Pundi X, making sure the solutions comply with these frameworks means avoiding legal headaches and ensuring the services are smoothly integrated across various countries.
Aligning with the Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy is crucial for Pundi X as it ensures compliance with diverse African regulations, adapts technology to local needs, builds trust among users and regulators, and facilitates cross-border transactions. By embracing this strategy, Pundi X can provide crypto payment solutions to those who are not only legally compliant but also relevant, ethical, and trusted across the continent. This alignment supports broader regional cooperation, helps manage potential risks like privacy issues, and ultimately drives the adoption and effectiveness of the technology in Africa’s diverse markets.
VA: How do you see AI catalyzing economic growth across the continent?
PW: I think the development of AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), can require significant capital investment, which might slow down AI adoption in Africa. However, AI can still catalyze economic growth across the continent, even if the pace of development is gradual by leveraging existing technologies, focusing on specific applications, fostering innovation, and promoting education and cooperation, Africa can harness the power of AI to drive its economic transformation.
VA: Let’s narrow this down to what you are building with Pundi X, how is Pundi X leveraging AI to enhance financial inclusion, particularly for the unbanked population?
PW: Adding AI assistance to help unbanked and non-tech-savvy users is a powerful way to further enhance Pundi X’s mission of financial inclusion. For individuals, it will be easier for people to get started with digital wallets and conduct transactions. AI can guide them through setting up their accounts, help troubleshoot issues in real-time, and offer simple tutorials to build their confidence. For businesses, using blockchain technology to outsource AI tasks like data collection and annotation (which we are currently developing) offers a practical and scalable way to achieve financial inclusion across Africa. It empowers individuals with new income opportunities, promotes skill development, and drives economic growth, all while leveraging the security and transparency of blockchain to build trust and encourage participation.
VA: How does Pundi X measure the impact of its AI-driven solutions in Africa? Are there specific metrics or success stories that you can share?
PW: It can be challenging to measure the impact of AI-driven solutions right after launch. With the recent introduction of the AI-powered Pundi X Pay InStore QR code, the focus is currently on collecting transaction data from users. As this data grows in size and diversity over time, Pundi X will be in a better position to analyze and understand the true impact of the solution. The long-term analysis will provide insights into user adoption, transaction patterns, and overall effectiveness, allowing Pundi X to assess the success of the AI-driven features and make data-driven decisions for future improvements.
VA: Pundi X has integrated AI with blockchain technology to create seamless multi-chain transactions. How do you see this synergy evolving in the African context?
PW: By enabling seamless multi-chain transactions, Pundi X can empower local businesses to operate on a global scale. AI can help businesses optimize their operations, while blockchain provides a secure platform for international transactions. This can open up new markets for African businesses, driving economic growth and creating jobs.
VA: Africa is not a monolith. It’s a continent with diverse cultures, languages, and market needs. How can we approach the localization of AI and blockchain solutions to ensure they are effective across different African regions?
PW: To effectively localize Pundi X’s AI and blockchain solutions across Africa’s diverse regions, it’s important to approach each area with a deep understanding of its unique culture and language, offering user-friendly interfaces and solutions tailored to local market needs. Partnering with local businesses and communities, addressing infrastructure challenges, and ensuring compliance with local regulations are key steps. Providing customized education and training helps users get comfortable with the technology, while a flexible, decentralized approach and ongoing feedback ensure that the solutions stay relevant and effective. This way, Pundi X can truly resonate with and empower people across Africa’s varied landscapes.
VA: Many African countries are focused on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In what ways do you believe AI can contribute to these goals?
PW: AI can play a transformative role in helping African countries achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It can improve healthcare by enabling early disease detection and better treatment, enhance education through personalized learning, and promote gender equality by providing women with access to critical resources. AI can also drive economic growth by creating new job opportunities, optimize agriculture to boost food security, and combat climate change by managing resources more efficiently. Additionally, AI can strengthen infrastructure and reduce inequality by expanding financial inclusion, making it a powerful tool for sustainable development across the continent.
