African experts and industry leaders used the WSIS Forum 2026 to argue that the continent must move beyond digital inclusion towards digital sovereignty, calling for greater investment in industrial capacity, locally developed AI, and value creation from Africa’s own resources and data rather than continued dependence on foreign technologies.
The session, ‘From Digital Inclusion to Digital Sovereignty: Building Capacity, Infrastructure, and Governance for Sustainable Digital Transformation,’ explored how Africa can become not only a user of AI and Industry 4.0 technologies, but also a producer of digital value. Moderated by Adelina Zeqiri of the University of Côte d’Azur, the discussion featured Professor Sama Mbang, Jean Bosco Byiringoro, and Professor Adel Ben Youssef, all founding members of the Alliance for Industry 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing in Africa (ASMA).
Industrialisation remains the foundation of development
Opening the discussion, Professor Sama Mbang argued that Africa risks falling further behind unless it accelerates industrialisation alongside digital transformation.
Drawing on his experience implementing Industry 4.0 solutions in manufacturing, Mbang stressed that industrial development remains the common denominator among prosperous economies.
‘There is no developed country that is not industrialised,’ he argued, adding that industrialisation creates the skills, technology, and productive capacity needed for long-term prosperity.
Mbang introduced ASMA as a platform designed to connect governments, industry, academia, and technical experts around practical projects in smart manufacturing, health, mining, automotive production, agriculture, and digital technologies.
He also highlighted the continent’s long-standing imbalance in global value chains. Although Africa possesses around 68% of the world’s critical minerals, it captures less than 1% of the value added from their processing. Similar disparities exist in pharmaceuticals, where Africa exports raw materials while importing most finished medicines.
According to Mbang, AI should support industrialisation, not replace it.
‘Sometimes talking about AI shifts attention away from the real challenge,’ he observed. ‘Africa first needs the capability to manufacture and transform locally.’
Building African AI for African realities
The discussion repeatedly returned to the distinction between adopting AI and developing AI that reflects African contexts.
Jean Bosco Byiringoro, professor of mechatronics and founder of ASMA, argued that importing models developed elsewhere will not solve Africa’s development challenges because they are built for different industrial environments.
‘What we need is not to import the model,’ he said. ‘We need to build our own model in the African context.’
Byiringoro argued that human capital is the continent’s greatest priority. Rather than focusing solely on software, African countries need engineers, technicians, manufacturers, and researchers capable of building AI systems rooted in local industries and value chains.
He illustrated this through agricultural projects that use digital representations of industrial equipment to help farmers understand production processes and develop new business opportunities. His organisation has already helped more than 2,000 people move into industrial employment through such initiatives.
Africa’s resources create new opportunities
Professor Adel Ben Youssef challenged participants to avoid viewing Africa as a single market, reminding the audience that the continent comprises 54 countries with diverse economic realities.
He nevertheless identified several shared competitive advantages.
Africa’s rapidly growing population, abundant renewable energy resources, and what he described as a ‘last mover advantage’ could allow countries to leapfrog older industrial models and build more sustainable digital infrastructure.
Rather than remaining dependent on foreign data centres, Ben Youssef argued that Africa could become a global location for digital infrastructure powered by renewable energy.
‘The real obstacle is not energy,’ he said. ‘It is political stability.’
He also warned that Africa’s creative industries face a growing threat as cultural content, artistic works, and local knowledge are increasingly used to train AI models without consent or compensation.
‘Most African creative content is being scraped to train AI models,’ he noted, arguing that this represents both an economic and cultural sovereignty challenge.
Human capital before regulation
Audience questions turned to data governance, with participants asking whether Africa should pursue GDPR-style regulation to protect its growing digital economy.
The panellists urged caution.
Ben Youssef argued that simply copying Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation would ignore Africa’s very different economic realities, particularly the importance of informal economies.
Instead, he called for flexible, sector-specific governance frameworks adapted to local contexts and accompanied by fair mechanisms for sharing the economic value generated from African data.
Mbang went further, arguing that the continent’s immediate priority should be creating value rather than replicating regulatory frameworks developed elsewhere.
‘Our fight today is not GDPR,’ he said. ‘Our fight is creating value locally instead of exporting raw materials and importing finished products.’
Byiringoro agreed, insisting that strong regulation can only emerge once countries have developed the human capital and industrial capabilities worth protecting.
Digital sovereignty through collaboration
The discussion concluded with an invitation to governments, universities, businesses, and international organisations to participate in ASMA’s growing network, including its inaugural conference in Dakar later this year.
While the session focused on Africa, speakers stressed that digital sovereignty should not be viewed as economic isolation or geopolitical competition.
Instead, they argued that enabling Africa to capture more value from its own resources, industries, and knowledge would strengthen global prosperity rather than diminish it.
Across the discussion, a consistent message emerged: AI alone will not transform Africa unless it is accompanied by investment in manufacturing, skills, infrastructure, and local innovation. For the panellists, digital sovereignty begins not with owning algorithms, but with building the industrial and human foundations that allow countries to shape their own digital future.
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