The global artificial intelligence race is often presented as a contest between software companies and increasingly powerful AI models.
But a closer look reveals something more important: AI depends on infrastructure that most users never see.
A recent Rest of World report on South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix illustrates this clearly. The two companies are competing to become increasingly important suppliers to major U.S. AI companies, including Nvidia and OpenAI. Their high-bandwidth memory chips are a critical component in the infrastructure required to train and run advanced AI systems. Together, the two companies account for a dominant share of the global memory-chip market.
The lesson goes beyond semiconductors.
It is about who controls the capabilities that other businesses cannot operate without.
And that is a useful way to think about the future of Islamic finance in Africa.
AI is not just about the model
One of the biggest misconceptions about AI is that the company with the best model automatically wins.
In reality, AI systems depend on a much larger ecosystem: semiconductors, data centres, energy, cloud infrastructure, software, specialist talent, supply chains and long-term commercial relationships.
The South Korean chip industry provides a good example.
SK Hynix gained an early advantage in high-bandwidth memory partly through its relationship with Nvidia, while Samsung has been increasing its presence through partnerships with major U.S. technology companies. The competition is therefore not simply about producing a chip. It is about technology, capacity, partnerships and strategic positioning at the same time.
This is a powerful business lesson:
Competitive advantage is often created by controlling a critical capability rather than simply selling a better product.
That principle applies far beyond AI.
What does this have to do with Islamic finance?
At first glance, semiconductors and Islamic finance appear to have very little in common.
But Islamic finance is also an ecosystem.
It depends on banks, investment managers, capital markets, regulators, Shariah scholars, technology providers, entrepreneurs investors and skilled professionals.
The industry does not grow simply because there is demand for Shariah-compliant financial products.
It grows when the ecosystem develops the capabilities required to design, govern, distribute and scale those products.
This creates an important question for Africa:
Which capabilities will determine whether Islamic finance becomes a larger part of the continent’s financial system?
The next opportunity may be infrastructure, not just products
Much of the discussion around Islamic finance focuses on products: Sukuk, Islamic funds, Takaful, Islamic banking and other structures.
These products are important. But products alone do not create a mature financial ecosystem.
Consider Islamic capital markets.
A market for Shariah-compliant investment requires more than investors looking for compliant opportunities. It also requires professionals who understand screening methodologies, portfolio construction, Sukuk, governance, risk management, regulatory requirements and investor needs.
The same applies to Islamic asset management.
A financial institution may want to launch an Islamic investment product, but success can depend on whether it has the internal expertise to structure the product, manage the portfolio, maintain Shariah governance and communicate its value to clients.
This is where human capital becomes infrastructure.
Talent is a strategic asset
The AI industry is demonstrating how specialised capabilities can become strategic bottlenecks.
The same principle can apply to Islamic finance.
As Islamic finance expands, institutions will need professionals who can work across disciplines rather than understand only one part of the system.
A modern Islamic finance professional may need to understand:
- Shariah principles and governance
- financial products and markets
- investment and asset management
- risk and compliance
- financial technology
- customer behaviour
- regulation
- product development
This creates an opportunity for universities, colleges, professional institutions and employers.
The future of Islamic finance will not be built only by people who understand Islamic finance academically.
It will increasingly require professionals who can translate Islamic finance principles into commercially viable financial products and institutional strategies.
Islamic fintech could create a similar strategic race
The AI chip story also provides a useful way to think about Islamic fintech.
Technology is changing how financial institutions acquire customers, assess risk, make decisions, distribute products and manage operations.
For Islamic finance, this creates an opportunity to build technology around specific market needs.
That could include digital Islamic investment platforms, Shariah-compliant wealth management tools, automated compliance processes, Islamic crowdfunding, digital Sukuk infrastructure or technology that helps institutions manage Shariah governance.
But there is a strategic question behind all of this:
Who owns the critical infrastructure?
If Islamic financial institutions simply consume technology developed elsewhere, they may become dependent on platforms whose architecture, data and commercial priorities they do not control.
That does not mean every institution needs to build its own technology.
It means institutions should understand where technological dependency creates opportunity, risk or strategic vulnerability.
Strategic partnerships matter
The South Korean chip companies are not competing in isolation. They are building relationships with major technology companies and investing in production capacity and partnerships that could strengthen their position in the AI ecosystem.
Islamic finance institutions can apply the same strategic thinking.
Banks, asset managers, regulators, universities, technology firms, investment companies and Shariah scholars do not necessarily have to build everything independently.
Partnerships can help create capabilities faster.
For example, a financial institution could partner with an education provider to build specialist talent, a technology company to digitise a process, an asset manager to develop investment expertise, or a Shariah advisory team to strengthen governance.
The objective should not be partnership for its own sake.
It should be building a capability that the institution will need to compete.
Africa’s Islamic finance opportunity
Africa has a large and diverse financial market, but the opportunity for Islamic finance is not simply about serving existing demand.
There is also an opportunity to create new markets.
Islamic finance can potentially play a larger role in:
Investment: Mobilising capital into Shariah-compliant funds and investment products.
Capital markets: Expanding access to Sukuk and other Shariah-compliant capital-market instruments.
SME finance: Developing financing structures that better serve entrepreneurs and businesses that remain underserved.
Financial inclusion: Reaching customers who are underserved or seeking financial services aligned with their values.
Wealth management: Creating more sophisticated Shariah-compliant investment solutions.
Fintech: Using technology to make Islamic financial services more accessible, transparent and scalable.
But none of these opportunities can be captured by marketing alone.
They require capability, governance, capital, technology and talent.
A lesson for financial institutions
The biggest strategic lesson from the AI chip race may therefore be this:
Do not ask only what product you can sell. Ask what capability your market will increasingly depend on.
For an Islamic bank, that might be product-development expertise.
For an asset manager, it could be Islamic portfolio-management capability.
For a capital-markets business, it could be Sukuk structuring expertise.
For a technology company, it could be infrastructure serving Islamic financial institutions.
For a university or professional institution, it could be producing the specialists capable of connecting Shariah knowledge with modern financial practice.
The companies that identify these capability gaps early may be better positioned to participate in the growth of an industry.
BTI College’s perspective: Building capability, not just awareness
At BTI College, we believe the development of Islamic finance requires more than creating awareness about Islamic financial principles.
It requires building the people and institutional capabilities that can move the industry forward.
That means developing professionals who can engage with Islamic banking, investment management, Islamic capital markets, fintech, governance and product development in a practical and commercially relevant way.
This is particularly important as African financial institutions consider how Islamic finance fits into their broader business strategies.
The opportunity is not simply to ask, “How do we offer an Islamic product?”
A more strategic question is:
“What capabilities do we need to build to compete in the next generation of financial services?”
That shift from products to capabilities could become one of the most important developments in Islamic finance.
The AI industry offers a useful reminder.
Behind every powerful AI application is an infrastructure ecosystem.
And behind every successful financial product is an ecosystem of people, technology, capital, governance and expertise.
For Islamic finance in Africa, building that ecosystem may be just as important as building the next product.
Final thought
The AI chip race is ultimately a story about strategic positioning.
Samsung and SK Hynix are competing not merely to sell memory chips, but to become indispensable to a rapidly expanding technology ecosystem.
Islamic finance can learn from the same principle.
The next major opportunity may belong not only to the institutions that offer Islamic financial products, but also to those that develop the talent, technology, infrastructure and specialised expertise that allow the entire industry to grow.
That is where the next phase of Islamic finance in Africa could be built.