How to make Africa ready for AI

By Prof. Arthur Mutambara

A White Paper launched in Cape Town last week is an excerpt from a book coming in February 2025 by renowned Zimbabwean robotics Professor Arthur Mutambara.

Executive summary:

Countries and organisations in Africa must not put the cart before the horse when developing and adopting AI.

They must address critical pillars such as basic infrastructure, digital infrastructure, governance and regulatory framework, financing and investment, basic education and literacy, talent and expertise, energy/ power, the semiconductor industry, compute resources infrastructure, organisational preparedness, the AI ecosystem, and the right mindset.

These related, interdependent, and mutually reinforcing foundational matters must be attended to in a holistic, systemic, and structured manner.

Each African country must have four documents – a National AI Vision, Strategy, Implementation Matrix, and Policy Framework.

However, these frameworks must be premised on resolving the above challenges and replicated at regional and continental levels.

Furthermore, AI regional, continental, and global partnerships must be developed and leveraged.

More significantly, associations and linkages with the Global North (and the rest of the Global South) are necessary for citizens of the African continent to become producers and owners of AI technology, tools and systems.

Furthermore, African countries must build capabilities to enable them to participate in the AI semiconductor industry – the financially lucrative business of producing chips that power AI.

There must be plans for reskilling victims of job displacement and developing new capabilities and competencies to take up AI-modified and completely new AI jobs.

Africa must prepare to ensure that the total number of modified and new jobs is more than the number of destroyed ones.

Hence, there is a need to redesign education and develop new skills, competencies, and capabilities, which are critical as we envisage AI as a driver of inclusive development and shared prosperity in Africa.

That is how we can make Africa ready for AI.