The Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, signed on April 4, 2025, aims to put Africa on the global map in AI. The principles include sovereignty, inclusivity, and diversity in African AI design and deployment, reflecting Africa’s strategic priorities, shared values, and diverse cultural contexts. However, Africa still faces challenges in data collection and storage. The objectives include leveraging AI’s potential to drive innovation and competitiveness, positioning Africa as a global leader in ethical, trustworthy, and inclusive AI adoption, and fostering sustainable and responsible AI technologies in Africa. Key commitments include talent, data, computer infrastructure, market, investment, governance, and institutional cooperation.
African leaders are required to develop a pipeline of AI practitioners, adapt higher learning institution curricula, increase AI research capacity, and inform citizens about AI benefits and risks. The Declaration also endorses the creation of an African AI Scientific Panel to advocate for contextually relevant research on AI’s risks, opportunities, and socio-economic impact.
Data is promised to be established through a framework for African open data sets and models, and robust data governance mechanisms. Distributed sovereign computing infrastructure is also committed, ensuring access to affordable high-performance computing resources for ecosystem enablers.
The African Union’s AI Declaration aims to create regional AI incubation and scaling hubs across Africa to support locally-led innovations with commercial potential. It promotes an “Africa-first” approach to AI procurement and leverages the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to enable cross-border scaling of AI projects, products, and services. The Declaration promises a $60 billion investment to create a safe, inclusive, and competitive African AI economy through foundational and catalytic investment. The governance strategy focuses on supporting the adoption of innovative and responsible national AI policies aligned with the African Union AI Continental Strategy. The institutional cooperation framework endorses the establishment of an Africa AI Council under the leadership of the Smart Africa Steering Committee, which aims to ensure high-level engagement and strategic alignment with continental and global digital transformation efforts. However, Africa faces infrastructural problems, such as constant electricity supply and a wealth gap, and a data problem. The Declaration’s progress in the AI race is not without its merits, but it is crucial for African leaders to address these issues.