Africa Archives | Digital Watch Observatory

UNESCO and African network advance AI in justice

AI is increasingly shaping Africa’s courts, from translation tools to legal search engines. As AI becomes more integrated, judicial actors face new questions around transparency, accountability, and human rights.

Thirty-one members of the African Network of Judicial Trainers (ANJT) gathered in Maputo for a regional workshop on AI, Justice, and Human Rights.

Participants included judicial directors, Supreme Court justices and senior magistrates who shared strategies for responsibly integrating AI into courts. UNESCO highlighted the importance of keeping justice human-centred amid technological change.

Discussions examined the benefits of AI-assisted translation and data analysis, alongside risks such as bias, discrimination, and opacity.

UNESCO introduced practical resources, including the Guidelines for the Use of AI in Courts and Tribunals and AI Essentials for Judges, to help judicial professionals implement ethical practices.

Workshop participants committed to adapting these materials into national training curricula, aiming to multiply knowledge across African judicial systems. ANJT and UNESCO emphasised that AI adoption should enhance efficiency without compromising fairness or the rule of law.

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Energy Infrastructure faces critical challenges in Africa’s digital future

Energy infrastructure is becoming a key foundation for Africa’s digital transformation. The rapid expansion of AI, cloud computing, and digital services is increasing electricity demand. Reliable and scalable power systems are therefore essential to support the growth of the continent’s digital economy.

Governments are integrating digital development into national policy strategies. Initiatives such as the New Deal Technologique Horizon 2034 in Senegal and Digital Ethiopia 2030 in Ethiopia prioritise digital infrastructure, data centres, and cloud services. However, these strategies require stronger alignment with energy planning.

Energy systems need modernisation to support data centres and AI infrastructure. Traditional power models are not designed for the high and rapidly growing energy demands of digital technologies. Expanding renewable energy, storage systems, and smart energy management can improve reliability and efficiency.

Data centres are increasingly viewed as strategic infrastructure. As central hubs of the digital economy, they require stable electricity supply, efficient cooling systems, and resilient energy management to support computing services and digital platforms.

Modular and energy-efficient infrastructure can accelerate digital deployment. Scalable power systems, modular data centres, and advanced energy storage can reduce deployment time and operational costs while supporting expanding digital services.

Collaboration across sectors is necessary to support sustainable digital growth. Governments, utilities, enterprises, and technology providers need to coordinate policies and investments to align digital transformation with energy transition efforts.

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Ethical governance at centre of Africa AI talks

Ghana is set to host the Pan African AI and Innovation Summit 2026 in Accra, reinforcing its ambition to shape Africa’s digital future. The gathering will centre on ethical artificial intelligence, youth empowerment and cross-sector partnerships.

Advocates argue that AI systems must be built on local data to reflect African realities. Many global models rely on datasets developed outside the continent, limiting contextual relevance. Prioritising indigenous data, they say, will improve outcomes across agriculture, healthcare, education and finance.

National institutions are central to that effort. The National Information Technology Agency and the Data Protection Commission have strengthened digital infrastructure and privacy oversight.

Leaders now call for a shift from foundational regulation to active enablement. Expanded cloud capacity, high-performance computing and clearer ethical AI guidelines are seen as critical next steps.

Supporters believe coordinated governance and infrastructure investment can generate skilled jobs and position Ghana as a continental hub for responsible AI innovation.

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AI in Africa accelerates a critical shift in economic development

AI is being positioned as a transformative driver of Africa’s economic future. A roadmap unveiled by the African Development Bank estimates that AI could generate up to $1 trillion in additional GDP by 2035, representing nearly one-third of the continent’s current output.

However, the opportunity is time-sensitive. Delays in implementation risk widening digital inequalities and increasing dependence on technologies developed elsewhere. Early progress, particularly by 2026, is considered essential to sustain momentum and attract long-term investment.

Rather than distributing AI evenly across the economy, the roadmap prioritises five sectors expected to capture most gains: agriculture, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, finance, and health. This targeted approach reflects resource constraints and the need to demonstrate measurable impact in high-employment and high-growth industries.

Despite its potential, Africa faces structural constraints. The continent accounts for only a small share of global AI compute capacity, while data infrastructure and cloud presence remain limited. Without expanded data centres, affordable computing resources, and improved connectivity, AI deployment may remain uneven.

The strategy rests on five core enablers: data, compute, skills, trust, and capital. Each pillar presents challenges, particularly in ensuring data accessibility, building technical expertise, and mobilising sustainable investment. Skills development is especially critical, as Africa represents a small portion of the global AI talent pool and significant literacy gaps persist.

The roadmap outlines three implementation phases between 2025 and 2035: ignition, consolidation, and scale. Success will depend on coordinated action, early infrastructure development, and cross-border collaboration.

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AI expands healthcare access in Africa

Health care in Africa is set to benefit from AI through a new initiative by the Gates Foundation and OpenAI. Horizon1000 aims to expand AI-powered support across 1,000 primary care clinics in Rwanda by 2028.

Severe shortages of health workers in Sub-Saharan Africa have limited access to quality care, with the region facing a shortfall of nearly six million professionals. AI tools will assist doctors and nurses by handling administrative tasks and providing clinical guidance.

Rwanda has launched an AI Health Intelligence Centre to utilise limited resources better and improve patient outcomes. The initiative will deploy AI in communities and homes, ensuring support reaches beyond clinic walls.

Experts believe AI represents a major medical breakthrough, comparable to vaccines and antibiotics. By helping health workers focus on patient care, the technology could reduce preventable deaths and transform health systems across low- and middle-income countries.

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Africa urged to focus on practical, local AI solutions rather than frontier models

Africa cannot realistically compete with the massive capital and computing resources driving frontier AI research in the United States and China, and it does not need to do so.

Instead, Nicholas Okumu contends, the continent’s AI strategy should pivot toward building efficient, practical systems tailored to local needs, from healthcare triage tools in referral hospitals to agriculture, education and public finance solutions grounded in African contexts.

Large, resource-intensive models require infrastructure and ecosystems that most African nations cannot marshal, but smaller, efficient models can perform high-value, domain-specific tasks on ordinary hardware.

Drawing on events from innovation forums and real-world examples, the columnist argues that Africa’s historical experience of innovation under constraint positions it well to lead in relevant, efficient AI applications rather than replicating the ambitions of frontier labs.

The article outlines a three-phase pathway: first, building foundational datasets governed by national or regional frameworks; second, deploying AI where it can deliver transformative value; and third, scaling successful tools to regions with similar development constraints.

If this strategy is followed, the piece argues, African-designed AI systems, particularly those that work well in low-resource environments, could become globally valuable.

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Google launches AI skilling blueprint to close Africa’s skills gap

Google has launched an AI Skilling Blueprint for Africa, activating a $7.5 million commitment to support expert local organisations in training talent. An additional $2.25 million will be used to modernise public data infrastructure.

The initiative aims to address the continent’s widening AI skills gap, where over half of businesses report the biggest barrier to growth is a shortage of qualified professionals.

The framework identifies three core groups for development. AI Learners build foundational AI skills, AI Implementers upskill professionals across key sectors, and AI Innovators develop experts and entrepreneurs to create AI solutions suited to African contexts.

Partner organisations include FATE Foundation, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, JA Africa and the CyberSafe Foundation.

Complementing talent development, the initiative supports the creation of a Regional Data Commons through funding from Google.org and the Data Commons initiative, in partnership with UNECA, UN DESA and PARIS21.

High-quality, trustworthy data will enable African institutions to make informed decisions, drive innovation in public health, food security, economic planning, and ultimately strengthen a sustainable AI ecosystem across the continent.

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New strategy targets Africa’s connectivity gap

Africa’s latest digital summit in Cotonou presented a growing concern. Coverage has expanded across West and Central Africa, yet adoption remains stubbornly low. Nearly two-thirds of Africans remain offline, despite most already living in areas with mobile networks.

Senior figures at the World Bank argued that the continent now faces an inclusion challenge rather than an infrastructure gap, as many households weigh daily necessities against the cost of connectivity.

Affordability has become the dominant barrier. Mobile Internet often consumes more than twice the global threshold for acceptable pricing, while fixed broadband can account for a striking share of monthly income. Devices remain expensive, and digital literacy is far from widespread.

Women, in particular, lag, and many rural communities lack the necessary skills to utilise essential digital services. Concerns also extend to businesses that struggle to train staff for digital tools and emerging AI solutions.

Policymakers now argue for a shift in strategy. The World Bank intends to prioritise digital public goods such as digital identification, electronic payments and interoperable platforms, believing that valuable services will encourage people to go online.

Governments hope that a stronger ecosystem will make online health, connected agriculture and digital learning more accessible and therefore more valuable.

Benin used the summit to highlight its advances in online administration and training programmes. Regional leaders also called for the creation of an African Single Digital Market that would lower access costs, encourage cross-border investment and harmonise regulations.

Officials insisted that a unified approach could accelerate development and equip African workers with the skills required for the digital jobs expected to expand by the end of the decade.

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Google and Cassava expand Gemini access in Africa

Google announced a partnership with Cassava Technologies to widen access to Gemini across Africa. The deal includes data-free Gemini usage for eligible users coordinated through Cassava’s network partners. The initiative aims to address affordability and adoption barriers for mobile users.

A six-month trial of the Google AI Plus plan is part of the package. Benefits include access to more capable Gemini models and added cloud storage. Coverage by regional tech outlets reported the exact core details.

Education features were highlighted, including NotebookLM for study aids and Gemini in Docs for writing support. Google said the offer aims to help students, teachers, and creators work without worrying about data usage. Reports highlight a focus on youth and skills development.

Cassava’s role aligns with broader investments in AI infrastructure and services across the continent; recent announcements reference model exchanges and planned AI facilities that support regional development. Observers see momentum behind accessible AI tools.

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Elumelu calls for investment to harness AI development in Africa

Chairman of UBA Group Tony Elumelu told global financial leaders on Wednesday that AI could transform Africa’s healthcare, education, and agriculture sectors if inclusive development, skills, and access to capital are prioritised, as the continent risks being left behind in global AI development.

Elumelu stressed that Africa’s digital growth must focus on people. He praised the continent’s youthful population and creativity as its greatest assets, recalling how the Mobile Money app has managed to reshape African finance despite the lack of infrastructure.

He warned, however, that limited capital and digital skills continues to constrain progress. He called for ‘smart public–private partnerships’ to fund digital infrastructure and capacity development programmes, solutions that avoid adding to public debt. He pointed Heirs Holdings’ investments in energy and entrepreneurship as examples of long-term local value creation.

Elumelu also urged African governments to ensure their participation in global AI and data governance frameworks, noting that ‘inclusion is not automatic; it must be intentional’. He said the goal should be to ‘democratise prosperity’ by building systems that empower young people through technology and sustainable investment.

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