CNBC Africa · Sep 29, 2026 · 7 min
With Dr. Mmaki Jantjies, Group Executive for Innovation and Transformation at Telkom
South Africa spends roughly 0.6% of GDP on research and development, and that share is falling, Mmaki Jantjies told CNBC Africa's AI Summit 2026.
Peer emerging economies invest two to four times that. Jantjies, who runs innovation and transformation for Telkom, says access to AI technology alone won't close the gap.
"Now, if there's anything that you're going to remember from my speech, it's this number called 0.6%." — Mmaki Jantjies
Jantjies holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Warwick, joined Telkom in 2021 to lead the group's digital innovation and R&D agenda, and is a member of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 4 numbers that matter.
Key Takeaways
South Africa spends about 0.6% of GDP on R&D, against 2% to 4% among peer economies
The OECD average is 2.7%, and leading innovative economies invest up to 5%
Private-sector R&D spending lags public-sector spending, and the overall share is declining
Access to AI alone won't make South Africa more competitive, Jantjies said
The real test is what gets built with AI capability, not whether the technology is available
Telkom frames its own AI strategy around three roles at once: consumer, contributor and producer
Internally it runs AI platforms it calls Baobab and Voice of the Customer to guide its own operations
It has pledged funding for a new Telkom AI Institute and invests in language-translation technology built for African languages
Telkom's fiber and cloud units, Openserve and BCX, carry the strategy's infrastructure
Openserve runs what Jantjies called "some of the longest fiber infrastructure" in South Africa
Her closing formula: infrastructure without skills doesn't create capability, and technology without trust won't get adopted
1. South Africa's R&D Gap
Jantjies opened her address to CNBC Africa's AI Summit 2026 by naming the one figure she wanted the audience to keep.
South Africa's R&D spending is the number to remember, she said
"Now, if there's anything that you're going to remember from my speech, it's this number called 0.6%." — Mmaki Jantjies
The figure comes from the country's own innovation council, and it is moving in the wrong direction, she said.
South Africa's gross R&D spending sits at about 0.6% of GDP, and is declining, per the National Advisory Council on Innovation
"Yet, according to the South African National Advisory Council on innovation our gross domestic expenditure on R&D specifically sits at around roughly 0.6% of GDP and is declining." — Mmaki Jantjies
Jantjies set that against what other economies spend.
Peer and global economies invest two to four times as much, with the OECD averaging 2.7% and top innovators reaching 5%
"Peer emerging and global economies invest between 2% and 4% with the OECD average sitting at around 2.7% and leading innovative economies around the world investing up to 5%." — Mmaki Jantjies
She added that South Africa's private sector is contributing less to R&D than the public sector, widening the gap while other economies capitalize their innovation pipelines more aggressively.
