In the emerging markets, the real AI opportunity is product leadership
As artificial intelligence has evolved from a scientific milestone into an economic and geopolitical force, it is reshaping emerging markets in everything from energy development to national competitiveness
AI TRANSFORMATION
Cornell SC Johnson Report: In emerging markets the real AI opportunity is product leadership
As artificial intelligence has evolved from a scientific milestone into an economic and geopolitical force, it is reshaping emerging markets in everything from energy development to national competitiveness.
Recent analysis highlights how AI investment is influencing economies such as Brazil, Kenya, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia and offers a vivid picture of how developing regions are positioning themselves for the future.
There is a growing opportunity for product leaders to evolve how they think and operate to translate AI investment into lasting economic value. Emerging markets across Africa, Asia, and Latin America are adopting AI technologies at scale and attracting investment.
Converting these investments into sustainable economic value requires not only engineering expertise, but also strong commercial judgment, cultural and regional insight, and a deep understanding of the geopolitical forces that influence business. These capabilities together constitute a more global form of product management that is becoming essential for the AI era.
This topic is especially important now because AI business models are still evolving. Many AI products generate cost savings, but few sustain commercial value on their own. Emerging markets play a critical role in the future of AI not because they are untapped, but because they are shaping how technology becomes sustainable over time.
As AI struggles with durable business models, identifying monetizable use cases is less about extraction and more about ensuring that innovation can persist, scale responsibly and deliver long-term value. An important question is how AI products will be designed, governed and led so that they create value that is economically viable, locally relevant and broadly shared.
AI acceleration in emerging markets
The pace of AI adoption in emerging markets reveals both the scale of the opportunity and the complexity of the landscape. Kenya has become one of Africa’s fastest-growing technology hubs and has launched a national AI strategy designed to attract global partnerships and scale digital infrastructure.
International companies like Microsoft and Huawei are expanding their presence in Nairobi and supporting the development of cloud services, connectivity and data platforms that enable AI deployment. Kenya’s mobile-first economy, entrepreneurial energy, and position as a regional technology leader make it a promising environment for AI-enabled products.
Kazakhstan illustrates a variation of this trend. The country has secured more than $3 billion in investment from global firms such as Nvidia and Oracle and is leveraging its geographic position between the East and the West to negotiate new forms of economic collaboration. Kazakhstan’s strong STEM foundation, developed during the Soviet era, is helping it compete for AI-centered industries.
The country also participated in a summit with leaders from the five Central Asian countries and the United States in November in Washington, D.C., and entered an agreement on the procurement of $2 billion in AI chips from Nvidia and OpenAI. These developments show how AI can reshape trade and partnership patterns and how emerging markets are using technological ambition to elevate their geopolitical relevance.
Kenya and Kazakhstan illustrate that AI is not merely a new tool for economic growth. It is a catalyst for new forms of global engagement and an entry point into high-value sectors.
Download the full report from Cornell, SC Johnson School of Business
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