AI Sovereignty in Africa
As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms global economies and societies, the African continent finds itself at a crossroads in its engagement with the technology1. The conversation around AI governance in Africa is an interesting and multifaceted one, with sovereignty at the forefront. While AI offers tremendous opportunities for economic growth and the resolution of long-standing development challenges, the current power dynamics and potential misalignment of global AI standards with local realities must be addressed2. Central to this is the need to ensure AI safety, not just as a technical issue but as the cornerstone of Africa’s sovereignty in the age of intelligent machines.
AI sovereignty in Africa—defined as the capacity of nations to independently create, develop, and govern AI technologies—is both a technical and political challenge3. Today, Africa’s engagement with AI is often mediated by external actors. China, for example, is emerging as a dominant influence in digital infrastructure, AI models, and the energy needed to power them. This raises the risk of undue Chinese political influence which should be of concern to Africa and its international partners. Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba and Huawei are expanding their presence by offering cloud services and investing heavily in data centers across the continent. Huawei’s plans to invest $430 million in data centers in Africa and Alibaba’s cloud services in South Africa illustrate the scale of this influence. Such raises a number of questions about whose interest such systems serve and whether they are adequately attuned to the continent’s unique socio-economic and cultural contexts4. Critics also claim that AI systems developed outside the continent often embed biases and assumptions that do not reflect the lived realities of African societies. For instance, as Adebara (2024) puts it, speakers of African languages are almost entirely excluded and culturally erased from digital spaces because many AI applications are unable to support linguistic diversity5.
The question of sovereignty goes beyond technological dependency to the critical issue of talent. Africa being able to control and build AI systems relies on the possibility of creating a skilled workforce that would be able to handle the complexity of AI designing and governance. Yet, the continent faces a significant talent gap, with many skilled professionals migrating to the Global North in search of better opportunities6. This "brain drain" kills local innovation ecosystems and leaves African countries to rely on external expertise to build and maintain AI infrastructure. Dr. Mark Nasira, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at FNB Risk, emphasized this point at the 2024 Singularity U South Africa Summit. He emphasized the importance of Africa playing an active role in the global AI landscape, rather than passively adopting foreign models. Nasira suggested the establishment of decentralized "AI factories" to stimulate domestic innovation and enable Africa to participate in the AI value chain, transitioning from consumption to industrialization and self-sufficiency. This is not just about education and training: it’s about creating environments where AI professionals can flourish and contribute to local and regional priorities. Furthermore, the notion of AI safety in Africa cannot be separated from broader ethical and contextual considerations. Deploying AI systems that are oblivious to the continent’s cultural, linguistic and societal nuances is a big risk. For instance, Raji and Sholademi (2024) addresses the issue of biases and claimed that that predictive policing algorithms—developed in vastly different socio-legal contexts—can exacerbate racial and socio-economic profiling if deployed without significant adaptation7. Similarly, Salami (2024) claims that AI-driven credit scoring systems might entrench financial exclusion if they fail to account for the informal economic practices that characterize much of Africa’s economy. These examples show why we need to ensure AI systems in Africa are not only technically safe but also ethically aligned with the values and needs of African communities.
However, achieving AI sovereignty is no simple task, particularly given the fragmented regulatory landscape across the continent. While the AU’s Continental Strategy aims to harmonize efforts, the reality is that many African nations don’t have the institutional capacity to implement comprehensive AI regulations. This regulatory fragmentation leaves Africa vulnerable to external exploitation and could result in a patchwork approach to AI governance that undermines both safety and sovereignty. Yet, this challenge also presents an opportunity: to rethink governance models that are truly participatory and reflective of Africa’s diverse realities. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), through its Digital Trade Protocol, offers a framework to facilitate cross-border data flows. This has the potential to unlock significant GDP growth and create millions of jobs, reinforcing Africa’s socio-economic development and encouraging regional integration. Such models can serve as a counterweight to the predominantly Western-centric frameworks that currently dominate global AI governance.
In the end, the debate on AI sovereignty in Africa is not just about controlling technology but about defining Africa’s place in the digital future. It is about having a vision of AI that is not imposed from the outside but emerges from within—a vision that centers safety, equity, and inclusion as non-negotiable principles. If Africa is to reap the benefits of AI while protecting its sovereignty, it must confront these challenges head on and chart a path that reflects its own aspirations and resists external paradigms.
Authors: Jerry John Kponyo, Dickson Marfo Fosu, Prince Dawson Tetteh and Juliet Arthur - Responsible AI Lab, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
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1 International Monetary Fund (IMF). (2024). AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. Retrieved from https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/01/14/ai-will-transform-the-global-economy-lets-make-sure-it-benefits-humanity
2 McKinsey & Company. (2024). Using AI in economic development: Challenges and opportunities. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/using-ai-in-economic-development-challenges-and-opportunities#/
3 Mügge, D. (2024). Eu AI sovereignty: for whom, to what end, and to whose benefit?. Journal of European Public Policy, 1-26.
4 Salami (2024). Artificial intelligence, digital colonialism, and the implications for Africa’s future development. Data & Policy. 6. https://doi.org/10.1017/dap.2024.75
5 Adebara, I. (2024). Linguistic Inclusivity in AI: Empowering African Languages. African Researchers Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.africanresearchers.org/linguistic-inclusivity-in-ai-dr-ife-adebaras-groundbreaking-work-empowering-african-languages/
6 Volacu, A., & Terteleac, V. (2021). Mitigating the costs of departure. Brain drain, disadvantage and fair burden-sharing. Ethics & Global Politics, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/16544951.2021.1958508
7 Raji, I., & Sholademi, D. B. (2024). Predictive Policing: The Role of AI in Crime Prevention. International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research, 13(10), 66-78.