Can Africa seize the chance?

Synthetic Intelligence (AI) dominated the agenda at this yr’s of GITEX International on the Dubai World Commerce Centre. Organisers say this yr’s gathering drew report participation, together with greater than 6,800 exhibitors, 2,000 startups, and 1,200 traders from 180 international locations.

Among the many most anticipated classes was a joint look by OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman (pictured), who joined just about, and Peng Xiao, Group CEO of Abu Dhabi-based G42, who took to the primary stage in entrance of capability crowds. The organisations that the 2 tech leaders head are each on the forefront of the worldwide AI revolution. They’re additionally companions within the UAE’s most formidable AI infrastructure initiative but: Stargate UAE. It is a deliberate 5 GW AI supercomputing campus in Abu Dhabi that can be among the many world’s largest when full.

G42 introduced throughout GITEX that the primary 200 megawatts of capability for Stargate UAE are anticipated to return on-line in 2026. The challenge’s first section is being developed in partnership with OpenAI, Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, and Japan’s SoftBank. It’s a part of the UAE’s bid to diversify its oil-based financial system and entice investments in tech and AI, leveraging its shut US ties to entry superior American applied sciences.

Reflecting on the UAE’s emergence as a world AI chief, Altman and Xiao mentioned how international locations around the globe can transfer from being early adopters of AI to what they described as “AI-native societies”.

Make AI a high three authorities agenda

“In my thoughts there are 4 main elements for a nation to achieve being AI native. It’s essential to have a robust political management. The push should come from the highest down; it must be a high three, possibly even high one precedence, for the federal government agenda,” Xiao stated.

“It’s essential to educate your inhabitants, your entire society, to embrace AI. Infrastructure is essential… Sam and his workforce determined again in Could this yr to make UAE the primary worldwide website for Stargate improvement. The fourth issue for fulfillment is international partnership,” Xiao continued.

Altman stated the UAE’s ascendancy on the worldwide tech scene affords different international locations a roadmap for profitable AI adoption. “We expect each nation goes to wish to have an AI technique, and it’s bought to be a high precedence for the nationwide management. The management of the UAE on this has been unbelievable to see. I hope that it could serve for example for the remainder of the world about what it seems like for a ahead pondering nation to essentially embrace AI and say ‘that is going to be an necessary a part of our future’,” he stated.

Altman’s name for international locations to craft nationwide AI methods has been effectively heeded in Africa. Ethiopia, Nigeria, Libya, Zambia and Mauritania revealed frameworks on their nationwide AI methods in 2024, whereas Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Namibia, Lesotho and Tanzania adopted in 2025 with their very own plans or drafts. In complete, at the least fifteen international locations now have nationwide AI methods, along with two continental frameworks.

Regardless of the robust initiative and palpable ambition, investments in AI in Africa proceed to path different areas by a substantial margin. The continent hosts lower than 1% of the world’s knowledge centres, and solely round 3% of world AI expertise is predicated in Africa. With out an uptick in investments, specialists worry that AI dangers changing into one other imported know-how to which Africa should adapt – quite than a discipline by which the continent actively contributes, innovates and leads.

Selling fluency in AI

Philip Thigo, Kenya’s particular envoy on know-how, argues that to draw AI investments to their international locations, “leaders have to be fluent round AI”. There’s nonetheless a information hole that should be bridged, he contends.

“The primary mistake is that individuals (in African governments) suppose AI is an ICT problem. It’s not. It’s a whole-of-government problem. Lots of African international locations negotiating on this problem went from an ICT perspective, which solely targeted on the purposes … you then neglect there’s an infrastructure piece, an vitality bit, a expertise and skilling bit. There are additionally the geopolitical points and the resourcing and finance bits,” he tells African Enterprise on the sidelines of GITEX.

“The second problem is knowing the place you’re within the AI worth chain as a result of not everybody can have knowledge centres. Folks need knowledge centres then realise ‘you don’t have the vitality, you don’t have the water for cooling …. It’s essential to perceive the place you’re and the place your benefit is,” Thigo notes.

He says that Kenya is coaching civil servants to raised perceive AI and its purposes, arguing that this needs to be commonplace follow for any authorities eager on attracting investments in AI. “By way of public sector coaching and skilling, there’s a centre of excellence on the Kenya College of Authorities. They’ve already skilled 7000 civil servants over the previous yr. We did this in partnership with the UNDP (UN Improvement Programme) and need to scale it.”

Safeguarding African sovereignty

Thigo says that international companions like Microsoft, Oracle and G42, amongst others, are serving to Kenya construct out its AI infrastructure. Nonetheless, whereas international partnerships stay important to overcoming useful resource constraints, he insists that Africa should concurrently spend money on its personal AI infrastructure to keep away from long-term dependency.

“The largest danger for me is that if we don’t construct it ourselves… how can we get international locations within the continent to be builders and never simply customers of AI. It’s harmful when another person determines the way you devour information, the way you produce information, and the way your information is perceived,” he says.

Thigo contends that public-private-partnerships (PPPs) might assist Africa overcome monetary constraints in its quest to construct its personal AI infrastructure. “We need to get the African personal sector to step up. It’ll be crucial that Africa doesn’t construct AI on loans, as a result of if somebody takes your knowledge centres as collateral your sovereignty is gone. Knowledge centres now we have to do on our personal.”

Averting the chance of an ‘AI divide’

AI adoption in lots of superior economies is rising at a blistering tempo, creating the chance of an “AI divide” that leaves poorer economies on the continent in a perennial sport of catch up.

“AI has gone from one thing individuals performed with to one thing individuals construct with,” Altman stated, revealing that ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot, had surpassed 800m energetic weekly customers in October.

“We’re nonetheless pretty early in that journey and we’ll see individuals doing actually outstanding issues within the coming one or two years. The very best factor we will do to make sure we do not need an AI divide is to make AI obtainable and low cost, to show individuals how one can use it, to have each nation embrace it,” he famous.

Grand ambition is equally vital for fulfillment, Xiao argued. Nations that need to lead on AI should dare to dream massive.

“As we speak concerning the future success of AI, the best failure right this moment would be the failure of ambition. We have now to suppose greater, with a brand new paradigm. This isn’t simply one other evolutionary step, it requires a mindset shift.”