Experts at the Global AI Summit on Africa have urged governments across the continent to ease regulatory barriers and create space for private sector investment, citing limited public resources as a key challenge to advancing Africa’s artificial intelligence agenda.
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Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, said that the priority for governments should be policy-making that does not limit the private sector from taking lead.
“As governments, we do not have enough resources to drive this agenda, we must loosen up and allow the private sector to thrive in all our economies. The policy decisions must be accelerated,” he said.
Speaking on the panel ‘Leading in the Age of AI’ at the ongoing Global AI Summit on Africa, Mudavadi addressed a diverse audience of global leaders, government ministers, heads of state, tech giants, investors, academics, and researchers.
Bringing together more than 1,000 participants, the summit was held under the theme “AI and Africa’s Demographic Dividend: Reimagining Economic Opportunities for Africa’s Workforce.”
By 2030, AI stands to add $19.9 trillion to the global economy–injecting $2.9 trillion into Africa’s economy. This could lift 11 million Africans out of poverty and create 500,000 jobs annually.
However, African leaders are expected to navigate complex economic, social, and geostrategic dynamics to lead and maximize the potential of AI. Despite the progress, Africa is still scratching the surface amid the global rush to lead in the AI era in terms of solutions and innovations.
Mudavadi emphasised that governments should avoid interfering with one another through tariff barriers, especially when accelerating connectivity is at stake.
Investing in talent, skills
Although governments like Kenya’s have increased budget allocation to technology, Mudavadi questioned whether such investments are truly hitting the mark.
“The budget may be expansive, but are we targeting it where it should be?” he asked, stressing the importance of directing resources toward equipping young people with the right digital and AI skills from an early age.
Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Group, emphasized that Africa’s entry into the AI space hinges on bold investments in education.
“We will not have a place at this table if our kids can’t do math, code, or study the sciences,” he said. “We have to go back and fundamentally fix our education systems. We must skill our young people. We are a continent of hustlers, but a hustler without skills in the age of AI will sleep hungry.”
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Last week, Zimbabwean billionaire and Global AI Summit co-chair Strive Masiyiwa unveiled plans to launch an AI factory in South Africa by June 2025, powered by advanced chips from U.S. tech giant Nvidia.
The facility, a high-performance data center, will serve as a continental AI powerhouse, leveraging Nvidia’s cutting-edge graphics processing Uunits (GPUs).
Initially based in South Africa, the initiative will expand to Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria.
“When we open up these five compute centres, they are for the entire continent. For young researchers who want to access supercomputers, work on an App in Togo or Accra, they will access our compute capacity, paying little they can.”
He emphasised that access won’t be limited to elite institutions: “The future belongs to young people building apps, solutions, and small businesses across this continent using AI. They are the digital natives, we just have to give them the tools to do what they do best.”
Masiyiwa also called on African governments to create investment-ready ecosystems that attract and retain private sector players.
“You have to listen to what we need to feel comfortable raising capital to do this,” he said. “Otherwise, business will shift to other places where the environment is more conducive.”
This was further stressed by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary General, International Telecommunications Union (ITU), who called for political will and understanding the digital impact for countries and regions.
She highlighted that governments have to find a balance between regulatory approaches and letting innovation flourish.
Bogdan-Martin pointed out that lowering the cost of digital technologies and investing in digital infrastructure, as well as closing the digital gap to avoid AI-induced inequalities, should be a priority for the continent.
