By What appears to be a life-line to leapfrog Africa’s Ai quest is just about around the corner, and that is from a declaration that offers a $60 billion Africa AI Fund to be established, leveraging public, private, and philanthropic capital. Nigeria, African Union, Smart Africa and other African countries are behind the declaration.
The goal is to build a secure, inclusive, and competitive African AI economy through foundational and catalytic investment, according to a declaration made at the recent Global AI Summit on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Fund shall invest in developing and expanding AI infrastructure, scaling African AI enterprises, building a robust pipeline of AI practitioners, and strengthening domestic AI research capabilities, while upholding principles of equity and inclusion.
According to the declaration, Government in Africa pledged to support adopting innovative and
responsible national AI policies and governance frameworks aligned with the African Union AI Continental Strategy.
The declaration seeks to leverage the potential of AI to drive innovation and competitiveness to advance Africa’s economies, industries, and societies.
Second, to position Africa as a global leader in ethical, trustworthy, and inclusive AI adoption.
The declaration also seeks to foster the sustainable and responsible design, development, deployment, use, and governance of AI technologies in Africa.
They also agreed to streamline policy and regulatory approaches in Africa, we support establishing a continent-wide knowledge sharing platform to inform best practices in AI governance, including policy toolkits and AI regulatory sandboxes while further enabling harmonization with national frameworks, we will promote intergovernmental and regional cooperation, including robust frameworks for crossborder data flows.
The memorandum was facilitated by Qhala, Smart Africa, Rwanda’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and supported by the Gates Foundation.
Qhala is an AI enabler dedicated to driving innovation and digital transformation across Africa.
In a statement, Qhala said the declaration outlines shared commitment among African nations to align national strategies with continental goals, safeguard data sovereignty, build digital infrastructure, and foster a sustainable AI innovation ecosystem.
The organisation went on to say Africa’s AI landscape is changing at a fast pace and it is projected to contribute $2.9 trillion to the African economy by 2030.
Shikoh Gitau, CEO of Qhala, said: “This declaration is timely, as Africa’s AI ecosystem is rapidly evolving but remains fragmented and underfunded. This will ensure that Africa takes its place in a leadership role in global AI development.”
Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, added: “AI is not just technology to us, it’s an African arrow that, when thrown with the right ethical frameworks and inclusive policies, can pierce the way to African digital prosperity and resilience for the benefit of every citizen.”
ITweb
