According to www.bakermckenzie.com, customs authorities across Africa are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to modernise border operations, accelerate cargo clearance, and strengthen enforcement — with Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa leading implementation.
AI Deployment Across Key Jurisdictions
- Egypt: Integrating AI into its Advance Cargo Information system to improve classification and targeting; the air-cargo module of the nationwide Nafeza single-window platform is expected to become compulsory from 2026.
- Kenya: Deploying AI-driven surveillance at the Port of Mombasa for real-time cargo tracking and anomaly detection; upgrading digital infrastructure as part of a broader overhaul of the Integrated Customs Management System.
- Morocco: Implementing an AI-powered risk-management channel using predictive analytics and data-driven targeting, developed in partnership with the World Customs Organization and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs.
- Nigeria: Targeting a 50% reduction in physical cargo checks via AI-driven profiling; enabled by B’Odogwu, its new end-to-end digital clearance platform that integrates AI-supported valuation checks and machine-learning analytics.
- South Africa: Advancing a wide-ranging Customs Modernisation Programme; issued a Request for Information in 2025 for an AI-driven digital-twinning system; launched the Guarantee Management Service in 2024 to automate customs and excise bonds via eFiling.
Operational Shifts and Compliance Implications
As AI shifts from experimentation to operational deployment, traders face heightened compliance expectations. According to the report, businesses will need stronger data governance, internal controls, and digital readiness to engage effectively with increasingly automated customs environments. The source states that non-compliance risks will surface earlier and trigger quicker intervention, while compliant taxpayers benefit from faster processing, fewer inspections, and more predictable outcomes.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) aims to become a digitally enabled, insights-driven authority under its Modernisation 3.0 strategy — embedding AI across future workflows through initiatives like the SARS Marketplace and AI-based risk engines.
Source: www.bakermckenzie.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
