Future growth engine: How can Africa leapfrog with AI?

Editor's note: Talk Africa is a weekly talk show that brings together guests from across Africa and beyond to discuss pressing African issues and global topics, amplifying the continent's voice and showcasing diverse perspectives and independent thinking. This episode examines Africa’s strategies on AI and explores the opportunities and challenges of AI adoption on the continent.

A recent IMF report says that artificial intelligence can boost productivity, create better jobs and improve public services in sub-Saharan Africa, with a potential to leapfrog the continent. To stay ahead, African governments are stepping up investment in AI, rolling out national strategies, funding research and partnering with the private sector to build AI capacity.

So where should Africa position itself in the global AI race? What should be the continent’s priorities to deliver AI’s promise? CGTN brought together tech experts and university students in a townhall discussion to chart Africa’s algorithmic sovereignty.

Racing to adopt AI

Africa may be behind in investment when major economies are pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into AI development, but the continent retains significant agency and opportunity. 

According to Olubayo Adekanmbi, CEO of Data Science Nigeria, there're three AI races happening: first is the race for frontier model, second is AI infrastructure that includes compute, cloud, energy, data center etc., third is about AI application. 

"Africa should not try to win the AI race by spending like others, we should win by solving African problems better than anyone else," he said, noting the extraordinary opportunity in AI adoption. Some reports estimate that AI could contribute as much as $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030.

Across the continent, AI is increasingly being deployed in sectors such as agriculture, health and education. But the adoption rate still remains low compared with other regions.

To address this, Adekanmbi advocated for a bottom-up approach centered on mitigating scarcity through hyperlocal, vernacular language models. He also cautioned against technological hype, prioritizing instead the localization of tools to meet community needs.

Echoing Adekanmbi, technology policy strategist Zanyiwe Asare argued that Africa's AI deployment must drive macroeconomic productivity and avoid superficial adoption. 

"We shouldn't be using AI for the sake of AI," she said, adding that AI must be applied to create solutions and values.

Where priorities lie?

Africa's AI landscape remains highly uneven, with investment concentrated in a handful of countries and the foundational infrastructure needed to support AI still lagging.

UNDP says Africa has less than 2% of global data-center capacity, and only 5% of African AI innovators have access to the computing power they need. 

Another challenge is internet access as the International Telecommunication Union estimates that only 36% of Africa's population is using the internet. 

With so many challenges at hand, where should priorities lie?

For legal scholar Consolata Maitha, governments must prioritize physical infrastructure and fundamental human needs—such as electricity, food security, and poverty eradication—before high-level technological integration can occur.

Meanwhile, Asare argued that AI implementation should not wait, but rather be directly mapped onto existing national development plans to optimize public resource management. However, she also warned that without prerequisite institutional capacity and data structures, states risk deploying sophisticated tools that yield negligible economic productivity.

In Adekanmbi's view, African countries' strategies must aggressively prioritize data digitization, noting that 93% of African languages remain offline and rural populations lack smartphones.

"Localization, contextualization, and making AI to be culturally grounded starts by connecting our own local data set," Adekanmbi added.

Africa's young asset

Africa is home to the world's youngest population, with more than 70% of its people under the age of 30. This demographic dividend could become one of the continent's greatest advantages in the AI era.

Robotics entrepreneur Jasin Owili emphasized that Africa’s primary opportunity lies in deploying a tech-savvy youth demographic to build practical, vernacular solutions. 

While there is reason for optimism, the reality remains sobering. According to African Union statistics, Africa accounts for just around 3% of the world's AI talent pool.

"As much as we want to create solutions in AI, there's a huge gap in the skill sets available," Owili said.

Adekanmbi pointed out that Africa's AI potential remains bottlenecked by an overly theoretical educational system. To move from basic certificates to validated applied skills, he advocated for early-childhood curriculum overhauls, asserting that AI literacy must begin at age three rather than in universities.

International partnerships could also help narrow the talent gap. China has announced plans to establish AI cooperation centers with partners including the African Union and provide 5,000 AI training opportunities for developing countries. Owili said his company is already working with Chinese partners to train local AI talent.

To make partnerships effective, Adekanmbi emphasized the importance of customization so that the skills acquired remain relevant to African context.

On the table or on the menu?

Africa possesses the ultimate raw materials of the digital age, unrivaled demographic vitality and unique contextual data. To translate the advantages into significant economic growth, the African Union Executive Council endorsed the Continental AI Strategy in 2024, which positions the continent as a key player in the global AI landscape.

This vision is echoed by Adekanmbi, who warned that Africa must proactively negotiate its demographic and cultural leverage to secure a seat at the global tech table rather than becoming passive consumer of imported AI solutions.

Asare took the argument a step further, saying true technological sovereignty depends on retaining internal value, creating seamless cross-border digital markets and mandate-buying African-owned technology instead of outsourcing government contracts to Western corporations.

Owili, meanwhile, argued fragmented national initiatives alone will not be enough. He called for a continent-wide technology framework—similar in spirit to Africa's free trade agenda—that would enable engineers, innovators and AI solutions to scale across borders with fewer regulatory barriers.

"We don't want to be on the menu, we must be on the table negotiating, demonstrating our advantage, and showing the world that Africa has got something to offer," Adekanmbi said.

Africa's AI future will not be determined by a lack of vision, but by how rapidly the continent can turn ambition into action. By strengthening regulatory coordination, deepening regional integration and retaining more of the value created by its digital economy, Africa has the opportunity to shape—not merely participate in—the next wave of the global AI revolution.