Financial services leaders across Africa are entering 2026 with renewed confidence, placing artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, regulatory resilience and disciplined growth at the centre of their transformation agendas.
This is according to insights from KPMG’s 2025 Global CEO Outlook, with a focus on the Banking and Capital Markets, and Insurance sectors. Despite persistent geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility and regulatory complexity, CEOs across both sectors are demonstrating a strong appetite for expansion and technology-led reinvention.
The message is clear: transformation is no longer optional. It is strategic.
Insurance: Confidence Builds as Technology and Sustainability Reshape the Sector
Insurance CEOs globally are reporting a notable rise in confidence. Eighty-two percent say they are confident in their company’s growth prospects, up from 74% in 2024 — a significant year-on-year increase.
Growth across health, life and speciality lines, including cyber and business interruption cover, is supporting improved earnings and sector momentum. For African insurers, where penetration rates remain relatively low, this presents both an expansion opportunity and a competitive challenge.
AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to execution. Globally, 67% of insurance CEOs expect returns on AI investments within one to three years, compared to just 21% last year. Two-thirds plan to allocate between 10% and 20% of their budgets toward AI initiatives.
Applications span underwriting, onboarding, claims processing and cyber defence — areas where efficiency gains and enhanced risk assessment can materially improve profitability.
Yet the technology shift brings structural implications.
Seventy-seven percent of global insurance CEOs cite AI workforce readiness and upskilling as a top constraint on growth. Meanwhile, 83% say AI is reshaping training and development, and 79% believe it is changing the skills required for entry-level roles. The talent equation is becoming as important as the technology itself.
Sustainability and ESG compliance remain firmly on the agenda. More than half (55%) of global insurance CEOs identify ESG reporting and compliance as their primary ESG priority. Given that many African regulatory frameworks tend to align with European standards, insurers across the continent will need to anticipate tightening compliance expectations.
Cyber risk remains the dominant threat. Eighty-three percent of insurance CEOs identify cybercrime as the biggest barrier to organisational growth, with cybersecurity and digital resilience ranking as the leading areas for risk mitigation investment.
Mark Danckwerts, Head of Insurance at KPMG One Africa, notes:
“Insurance leaders across Africa are navigating a complex operating environment, but they are doing so from a position of growing confidence. AI presents enormous opportunity to improve efficiency, risk assessment and customer engagement. However, sustainable success will depend on responsible adoption, workforce readiness and strong cyber resilience. Insurers that balance innovation with trust will be best placed to outperform.”
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) also remain active. The insurance sector is recording one of the highest levels of high-impact M&A activity globally — a trend reflected in several African markets in recent years as firms seek scale, product diversification and technological capability.
Banking and Capital Markets: AI at the Core of Reinvention
If insurance is accelerating its AI adoption, banking is embedding it as a strategic imperative.
Allan Chekwech Steps into Daniel Kalinaki's Big Shoes at NMG UgandaAccording to Pierre Fourie, KPMG One Africa Head of Financial Services:
“Technology, in particular AI, presents a huge opportunity, but also a challenge in terms of where to prioritise, how to achieve a measurable return on investment (ROI), and how to ensure responsible and safe adoption to maintain trust.”
For banks across Africa, AI is both an enabler and a risk amplifier.
On one hand, it can significantly enhance customer engagement, improve fraud detection and deepen insight into client needs. On the other, it introduces new cyber vulnerabilities and the risk of depersonalised customer experiences.
The scale of investment signals seriousness:
- 70% of banking CEOs expect to allocate 10–20% of their budgets to AI in the next 12 months.
- 69% expect ROI within one to three years, up sharply from 13% last year.
- 78% warn that inadequate AI workforce readiness could negatively impact their organisations.
The top five trends negatively affecting banking prosperity underscore the operational pressures ahead:
- 86% — Cybercrime and cyber insecurity
- 78% — AI workforce readiness
- 77% — Integration of AI into business processes
- 75% — Competition for AI talent
- 75% — Technology infrastructure costs
Fourie adds:
“For African banks, AI is not a theoretical discussion — it is a strategic imperative. The ability to integrate AI into core processes, manage cyber risk and build the right talent base will determine competitive advantage. At the same time, banks must modernise legacy systems and manage infrastructure costs, all while protecting trust in an increasingly digital ecosystem.”
Importantly, 25% of banking CEOs identify “strategic differentiation” as the primary driver of AI adoption. This marks a shift from efficiency-led digitisation toward technology as a foundation for long-term competitive positioning.
Inorganic growth remains high on the agenda, as banks pursue acquisitions, partnerships and innovation-led expansion to defend market share against fintechs and cloud-native challengers.
A Pan-African Moment for Financial Services Transformation
Across both insurance and banking, a unifying theme emerges: confidence anchored in disciplined transformation.
AI investment is accelerating. Cybersecurity is non-negotiable. ESG compliance is rising in importance. M&A remains a lever for scale and capability. Workforce transformation is urgent.
For African financial institutions, the opportunity lies in aligning innovation with governance and growth with resilience.
The next phase of competitiveness will not be defined solely by who adopts AI fastest, but by who integrates it responsibly, protects trust, manages risk and builds the human capital required to sustain digital transformation.
In 2026, Africa’s financial services CEOs are not retreating in the face of global volatility. They are leaning into reinvention — with technology at the core and resilience as the foundation.
