SA is leading the continent in AI adoption, and its banking sector is the highest-adopting segment in financial services – a position that carries both pride and responsibility, says Azhar Said, chief data officer at Capitec.
Said will elaborate on these themes during his presentation at the ITWeb AI Summit 2026 on 22 April at The Forum in Bryanston. He will explore how AI is transforming decision-making and advancing the discipline of decision intelligence across organisations.
Speaking to ITWeb ahead of the summit, Said comments: “We have never believed in technology for its own sake – we believe in technology that makes better outcomes possible for our clients and our people. Decision intelligence is precisely that: using AI to ensure every decision, at every level of the organisation, is better informed, more consistent and more aligned with what the client actually needs.”
He adds that SA hosts more AI companies than any other nation in Africa; that regulatory frameworks like POPIA provide a solid foundation; and that private sector investment is accelerating. In financial services specifically, banking is the highest-adopting segment.
ITWeb AI Summit 2026
To learn more about real-world AI strategies and adoption, register for the ITWeb AI Summit 2026, taking place on 22 April in Johannesburg and bringing together leading enterprises, innovators and policymakers to discuss the future of AI in business.
However, while this is encouraging, Said points out that the organisations gaining the most from AI are not those that move fastest – they are those that stay most connected to the people they are building for.
He endorses Capitec’s core stance on this issue: keep AI simple, trustworthy and client-centric to deliver affordability, accessibility, personal service and simplicity.
"That shift in framing changes everything," says Said. It moves AI from being a technology ambition to a client commitment. And that is where the bank underlines three key considerations:
- Keep the human at the centre.
- Make AI simple enough to serve everyone.
- Ensure AI expands access, not just capability.
The challenge for any organisation, he says, is to hold that human outcome as the north star and resist the temptation to let efficiency metrics become the purpose.
He believes AI should be made simple enough to serve everyone. "AI that is opaque, inconsistent or difficult to interact with does not serve our clients. It excludes them. Every AI capability we deploy must be understandable to the client it affects, and explainable by the people responsible for it. If a model cannot account for its decision, it does not make sensitive decisions at Capitec,” says Said.
AI's multi-dimensional value proposition
In his presentation, Said will ground AI's value proposition. Using real-world examples, he will unpack the various dimensions of value that AI can create, including operational precision, personalisation at scale and encouraging a fundamental rethink of what client experience can look like.
AI is enabling major advances in banking, including real-time fraud detection, improved risk modelling and stronger compliance systems that reduce errors and help protect clients’ money.
AI is also allowing personalisation at scale. It allows Capitec to understand each client as an individual – their cashflow patterns, financial goals and vulnerabilities – while serving them accordingly. "For Capitec, serving millions of South Africans across every income level is what enables genuine financial inclusion by extending credit to those previously invisible to the formal system," he adds.
“The technology is also reshaping the client experience. Multimodal, always-on AI allows more natural, language-based financial conversations, supporting financial literacy and helping clients manage money when they need it.”
Key takeaways for delegates
Said wants delegates to leave with these actionable messages: simplicity is a competitive advantage in AI – the best AI applications are the ones clients never notice, because the experience is just seamlessly better; trust is built in the design phase, not the communications phase; and AI’s biggest opportunity in SA is inclusion.
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