In 2007, Nairobi vendors discovered a newfound freedom: buying inventory with only a phone. No bank account. No credit card. Just M-PESA, a mobile payment that now processes over KES 140 billion annually (roughly $980 million US) or 3,000 transactions per second. Since then, M-PESA has become the lifeblood of East Africa’s economy. But here’s the uncomfortable part: As millions across Africa went mobile, development experts were writing checks for landlines. Development brought wires while Africa went wireless.

Today, global development institutions face unprecedented challenges—from funding cuts to institutional withdrawals—and artificial intelligence offers a unique opportunity to bridge these gaps as the Global South's AI revolution gets underway.

I’ve been here before, having spent decades watching development institutions try and fail to catch up with tech. After missing mobile's initial wave, development organizations raced to create flashy apps designed in New York boardrooms. Most flopped. Meanwhile, local entrepreneurs created solutions that worked. “Hello Tractor” became “Uber for tractors”: Born in Nigeria, it now connects 5,000 tractors with 1.2 million farmers through its network of over 2,000 booking agents. Similarly, Farmerline has digitized 2.2 million farmers across 50-plus countries, providing them with tools to monitor and manage over 3.2 million acres of farmland.

As the same story unfolds, this time, we have to rewrite the script: AI offers a path to do more with less, if we invest in the infrastructure that will make it work for everyone.

The Global South's AI Revolution: AI Is Already Transforming Lives

We don't need to imagine what's possible, though. It's already saving lives across multiple sectors. Take the Area 25 health center in Lilongwe, Malawi: AI-powered fetal monitoring has slashed stillbirths and neonatal deaths in that clinic by 82 percent. Instead of relying on periodic checks, this AI system gives doctors real-time alerts on a baby’s vital signs, enabling quicker intervention in a country where birth asphyxia is a leading killer.

Implemented through partnerships with organizations like PeriGen, Texas Children’s Hospital, and local health authorities, this system demonstrates the potential of appropriate technology. But what makes this approach different is that it was developed with local clinicians and adapted to work with existing healthcare infrastructure.

Read the full article about the Global South's AI revolution by Raj Kumar at Stanford Social Innovation Review.