During its 45th Ordinary Assembly in Accra, Ghana, the AU Cabinet made a historic move that will help both the public and private sectors in member states adopt AI.
The new strategy, which was just approved, is meant to speed up the growth of AI in Africa by encouraging its use in important areas like education, healthcare, agriculture, and finance. Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are both goals that the African Union (AU) sees as very important to reach. The continent wants to use AI to start new businesses, encourage innovation, and create high-paying jobs, all while protecting and promoting African culture and bringing the continent closer together.
Making sure AI startups have access to high-quality data, supporting study and innovation across the continent, and promoting these things are all emphasized in the strategy.
For five years, starting in 2025, this approach will be put into action in two stages. Setting up governance frameworks, making national AI strategies, and building up the AU and its member states’ abilities will be the main focus of the first part. The second part will focus on putting important projects and initiatives into action.
AI use in Africa is still very new; only a few countries have made their own AI strategies. The AU’s new regional strategy aims to bring everyone in the region together and speed up their work. Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda are already combining AI with new technologies like blockchain. Other countries are also making progress in creating AI policies and institutions to guide AI growth.
The African Union is moving forward with its big AI plan. It wants to make Africa a leader in AI around the world so that the region can use this game-changing technology to its fullest potential for the good of its people.
