Strategic Planning for AI-Enabled Cloud Business Intelligence in Commercial Banks: Comparative Evidence from South Africa and Nigeria (International Review of Management and Marketing)

Summary

• The research examines how strategic planning connects artificial intelligence and cloud-scale data infrastructure in commercial banking across South Africa and Nigeria.p.1
• Nigeria's digital policy landscape includes the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, a 2024 risk-based cybersecurity framework, and the 2025 National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.p.2
• South Africa's financial sector oversight includes Joint Communication 2 of 2025 establishing supervisory rules for cloud computing and data offshoring.p.5
• Absa Group reported that its cloud adoption rate tripled during 2025 as part of its technology estate transformation.p.8
• Absa Group successfully transitioned more than 35% of its overall technology estate to the cloud by the end of 2025.p.8
• Access Holdings detailed digital banking, fintech integration, and cloud adoption initiatives across its 2024 group reporting.p.8

Key insights

1. Strategic planning operates as an orchestration capability linking AI use cases, data architecture, model governance, and resource allocation.p.1
2. AI-enabled cloud business intelligence extends traditional BI from descriptive reporting to predictive analytics, intelligent recommendations, and GenAI knowledge work.p.2
3. Digital alignment requires coherence among business objectives, cloud sourcing, risk governance, data architecture, and workforce capability.p.3
4. South African banks exhibit formalized AI and cloud governance driven by sectoral supervisory frameworks.p.7
5. Nigerian commercial banks demonstrate rapid market-led digital innovation supported by evolving national technology strategies.p.7
6. Absa Group achieved a milestone by moving more than 35% of its technology estate to the cloud by year-end 2025.p.8
7. United Bank for Africa integrates AI and robotic automation into its security operations while delivering customer support through its Leo chatbot.p.8
8. Responsible AI governance acts as a value-preserving enabler that ensures analytics scaling complies with privacy and risk standards.p.10