The survey reveals that business leaders operating in Sub-Saharan Africa see tech adoption as a priority but do not consider cybersecurity risks to be a major threat compared to other risks like macroeconomic volatility and inflation.

In the finance sector, 87% of executives operating in sub-Saharan Africa believe that technology is strongly disrupting their companies' business models, according to “Global CEO Survey 2023” published by audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The publication, based on a survey of 282 African CEOs in 105 countries around the world, states that this rate is well above the global average of 50%.

When asked which factors could have a positive or negative impact on their sector's profitability over the next ten years, African financial executives ranked technology ahead of regulatory changes (71%), lack of skilled labor (52%), the arrival of new players from adjacent sectors (48%), disruption of supply chains (44%) and the transition to alternative energy sources (28%).  

The survey also reveals that in every sector in Sub-Saharan Africa, executives are looking for ways to increase the adoption of new technologies to boost productivity. They are also convinced that the digitization of their production processes can lead to improved customer service and open up new opportunities for job creation, the acquisition of new skills, access to new areas of business, and increased added value.

Cyber risks are not considered a major threat

Of the respondents, 67% rank the deployment of innovative technological solutions such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence third on their list of priority investments over the next twelve months, behind the enhancement of employee skills (82%) and the automation of production processes and systems (75%), but ahead of adopting alternative energy sources (45%), adjusting supply chains (37%), decarbonizing the company's business model (23%), exploring the metaverse (8%) and relocating corporate activity in response to climate risks (4%).

While the need to adopt new technologies is high on the agenda of companies, cybersecurity risks are not considered a major threat compared to other risks such as macroeconomic volatility, inflation, and geopolitical conflict. Only 26% of African business leaders believe that their company will be exposed to cyber risks over the next 12 months. This figure rises to 33% over a five-year horizon. The majority of companies operating in the region also treat each cybersecurity incident in isolation, rather than adopting a holistic approach to prevention. This means that they lack long-term cybersecurity strategies.

The survey notes in this context that the manufacturing and mining sectors are extremely vulnerable to cyber risks, due to their low investment in cybersecurity despite the growing adoption of innovative technologies and industrial control systems (ICS).