New technology continues to blur the line between the digital realm and the physical world, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) sits at the forefront of these technological advancements. Africa as a continent lags behind the rest of the world in the pursuit of utilizing these intelligent technologies to advance and bolster economic growth and create policies and strategies for effective, ethical, and responsible use. 

However, countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, and Kenya, described as “Nascent,” Morocco, South Africa, and Tunisia as “Waking Up,” ranked in the top 62 on the Tortoise Global Index(i) based on attributes such as Implementation, Innovation, and Investment, are putting their best foot first and leading the transformation in the continent.

Within the last half a decade, these countries have also taken the lead in developing policies and strategies around AI. South Africa 2019 launched its Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR-SA) to drive the adoption and responsible deployment of emerging technologies with Artificial Intelligence as one of the four focus areas(ii). The C4IR-SA runs projects such as empowering AI leadership, teaching responsible AI, using AI in the audit and monitoring of the implementation and practice of healthcare, and gathering insights for government systems at national, provincial, and local levels. 

Egypt, in 2019, formed the National Council for Artificial Intelligence (NCAI) and came up with the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy to deploy responsible AI for the benefit of society as one of its missions(iii). Tunisia conceived its National AI strategy: Unlocking Tunisia’s Capabilities and Potential in 2018(iv). It created a task force that included a partnership between the UNESCO Chair on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and the National Agency for Scientific Research Promotion-ANPR to oversee the project.

Nigeria, in its bid to also leverage AI through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), started working on the National Artificial Intelligence Policy and Strategy in 2019 and is set to roll it out, having completed the first draft in the first quarter of 2023(v). Through the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Kenyan Government created a Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence task force in February 2018 to provide the Government with recommendations about harnessing these emerging technologies. 

In 2021, the Moroccan Government started building a strategy for developing an AI ecosystem through the Agency for Digital Development (ADD) (vi). This ecosystem is associated with the “AL KHAWARIZMI” project, which was created in 2019 with partnership from various organizations, including the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), the Ministry of Industry, Trade and the Green and Digital Economy (MICEVN) and the Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research (MENFPESRC)(vii).

The Government of Rwanda announced the establishment of a Center of Excellence in the Areas of Digitalization and AI in 2021 (viii) and has recently also announced that Rwanda needs U.S.$ 76 Million to implement a new Artificial Intelligence Policy to increase the country’s overall economic situation (ix). 

Furthermore, in 2019, Uganda set up a national task force to advise the Government on domesticating technological advances from the fourth industrial revolution to fast-track the country’s economic development (x). However, later that year, the Ugandan Government partnered with the Asian tech giant Huawei to install an AI-powered facial recognition surveillance system nationwide to identify and log the identities of people walking around in public spaces (xi). The Shenzhen, China-based company themed the implementation of this technology “Safe-Cities,” which includes command centers, CCTV cameras, intelligent surveillance, facial and license plate recognition technology, crowd monitoring, situational awareness detection, noise monitoring or detection, abandoned object detection, and social media monitoring and has been linked to other African countries such as Zambia and Ethiopia (xii).

Mauritius is another country that significantly moved around AI and its policies. Through the country’s Economic Development Board and Ministry of Finance and Development, they developed an AI strategy centered around the Government’s dedication towards making AI a cornerstone of the subsequent development model by recognizing the potential of the technology to improve growth, productivity and the quality of life, and makes recommendations to achieve objectives set (xiii). 

Ghana has made significant strides in harnessing the potential of AI through collaborations with renowned companies like Google. Additionally, the country actively participated in the Ethical Policy Frameworks for Artificial Intelligence in the Global South, a pilot project initiated by UN Global Pulse and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2019. This project aimed to facilitate the establishment of local policy frameworks for AI. Ghana’s commitment to this endeavor is ongoing, as it collaborates with UN Global Pulse to comprehensively assess its AI landscape and formulate a blueprint for a national AI strategy.

Other African countries are still in the early stages of harnessing the power of AI and regulating its usage. However, influential organizations such as the Africa Union (AU) have recognized the importance of AI for the continent’s development. In 2020, the AU launched the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020- 2030), emphasizing the role of AI and other emerging technologies in driving socio-economic progress across Africa (xiv).

Several regional initiatives have also emerged to foster African AI collaboration and development. For example, the African Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) initiative, launched in 2020, aims to promote AI research, innovation, and capacity building across the continent. UNESCO recently published the results of a survey intended to establish the priorities and capacity-building needs of African countries concerning AI, with one of the key findings being that policy initiatives for AI governance need strengthening (xv).

Experts have collaborated to work on The African Union Artificial Intelligence Continental Strategy For Africa through a meeting held in Dakar, Senegal 2022, organized by the African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) (xvi). We have also seen intercontinental efforts on AI policy, such as the Africa-Asia Policy Maker Network on Responsible AI, launched in 2022 (xvii). The three-day event in Cape Town featured policymakers from Ghana, India, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda working on developing ethical and responsible use of AI. 

However, with these advancements in leveraging AI and regulating its usage, it is reported that African countries still need to have complete dedicated AI legislation in place. The closest yet is Mauritius, which implemented licensing procedures for entities that provide investment and portfolio management services enabled by artificial intelligence in 2021(xviii).