Hi Ayodele here,

We are back with a fresh roundup of some of the interesting developments shaping Africa’s AI future.

From Morocco hosting a landmark GITEX Africa 2025, to South Africa securing a major AI investment from Microsoft, to Nigeria officially launching its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, looks like Africa is stepping boldly into the next era of innovation.

Each story this week reflects a bigger trend: African nations are actively shaping and building an AI future through collaboration, strategic partnerships, and setting clear vision for the future.

Around Africa

GITEX Africa 2025 marks milestone for African innovation

We kick off this week with the recently concluded GITEX Africa 2025, the continent's largest technology and startup gathering, held in the vibrant Moroccan city of Marrakech. The event attracted over 45,000 participants from more than 180 countries, and connected visionaries, innovators, investors, and talent across Africa and beyond.

Since its inception in 2023, GITEX Africa has been instrumental in fostering collaboration and showcasing Africa's burgeoning tech landscape. This year's edition featured an impressive lineup of keynote speakers, including:

• H.E. Ghita Mezzour, Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, Morocco

• Vinod Khosla, Co-Founder & Investment Partner, Khosla Ventures, USA

• Lillian Barnard, President, Microsoft Africa

• Tayo Oviosu, Founder & CEO, Paga, Nigeria

• Babs Ogundeyi, Founder & CEO, Kuda, Nigeria

• Dr. Mactar Seck, Chief of Technology & Innovation, UNECA, Ethiopia
  

Prominent companies and organizations present included Microsoft, Amazon Project Kuiper, Huawei Technologies, Bayer, Mayo Clinic, Oracle, Deloitte, Orange Africa, and Jumia. Government agencies from across the continent, such as Nigeria's Ministry of Health & Social Welfare, Ghana's Ministry of Communication and Digitization, and Uganda's Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, were also in attendance.

Why it matters?

GITEX brings together tech innovators, governments, policymakers, and key stakeholders, providing a strong platform to showcase how AI can address Africa’s challenges. It also creates valuable opportunities for building strategic partnerships and securing funding, both critical for advancing Africa’s AI future.

Since GITEX focuses on digital innovation, it provides fertile ground for advancing AI both within specific sectors and through technological convergence. Sector-focused discussions can spark innovation tailored to particular sectors, while the broad focus on multiple technologies encourages technological convergence. Technological convergence occurs when different technologies are combined to create new, more powerful solutions. Technological convergence happens when different technologies are combined to create new, integrated solutions. For example, merging AI with drone technology can transform agriculture by enabling precision farming, crop monitoring, and smarter resource management. This convergence is crucial for solving complex problems that no single technology can address on its own.

Events like GITEX play a key role in accelerating innovations like these and shaping the future of AI across the continent.

Microsoft announces $296 million AI investment in South Africa

Microsoft announced a major move for Africa’s digital landscape, pledging a massive $296.81 million (5.4 billion rand) to grow South Africa’s artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and talent pool. But beyond the eye-catching figures, this investment tells a bigger story, one about access, empowerment, and preparing Africa for the future of work.

At the heart of the initiative is a focus on people. Microsoft plans to offer technical certification exams to 50,000 individuals, helping to build a skilled workforce that’s ready to meet the growing demand for AI and cloud-based technologies. It’s not just about coding or complex algorithms, it’s about giving everyday South Africans the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.

Why It Matters?

Africa is home to the world’s youngest population, but many still live in poverty and don’t have access to the skills or tools needed to join the fast-growing tech world thus why Microsoft’s investment in South Africa is a huge deal, its more than just tech infrastructure, it’s a bet on Africa’s future. By including South Africa in its $80 billion global AI plan, Microsoft is backing the continent’s potential to be a key player in the digital world and helping create real opportunities for economic growth and inclusion. 

Nigeria launches national AI strategy

Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) was officially launched in Lagos by Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. Alongside it, the Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Collective Industry (NAICI) was introduced to lead its implementation.

The NAIS was developed during an intensive workshop in April 2024 and the draft was first released to the public in August 2024. The NAICI was initially unveiled on October 7, 2024, and is led by Data Science Nigeria, Lagos Business School, and the Policy Innovation Center.

The Launch

The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) outlines a bold plan to drive AI development, boost productivity, and support economic growth. It sets over 12 strategic goals and 34 initiatives built on five pillars: Infrastructure, Ecosystem Development, Sectoral Adoption, Ethics and Responsibility, and Governance.

The Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Collective Industry (NAICI) was created to ensure collaboration, coordinate funding, and engage the diaspora, keeping ethics and safety at the core of AI projects.

Key NAICI plans include:

• Driving sector-specific AI innovation through closer researcher-industry collaboration.

• Upskilling local talent by connecting with Nigerians in the diaspora, who are already leading in AI globally.

• Launching an AI leadership series to build AI literacy among executives and industry leaders.

Why It Matters?

Nigeria is aiming to become a leading AI hub in Africa by using AI to tackle challenges in education, agriculture, and economic growth. It also plans to build a strong AI-based Business Process Outsourcing industry, following the model of countries like India.

The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) lays the groundwork, while the National Artificial Intelligence Council of Implementation (NAICI) provides the engine for execution. NAICI is largely private sector-driven, with support from companies like Microsoft, Google, AWS, and organizations like Luminate and the Ford Foundation. This structure helps ensure development continues beyond the current administration.

Programs like the "3 Million Technical Talent" initiative also align closely, building the local AI workforce through upskilling.

With a large youth population, strategic location, and expanding economy, Nigeria’s success with NAIS could spark an AI movement across Africa, driving economic diversification and greater social inclusion

Around the world

OpenAI Unlocks Powerful Image Creation via API

OpenAI has opened access to its advanced image-generation models (like DALL.E 3) via API, allowing developers to integrate stunning AI-generated visuals directly into their applications. Developers can now weave in detailed AI visuals into apps and tools with just a few lines of code.

Microsoft’s AI Agents: Your Future Coworkers?

Microsoft unveiled AI agents that don’t just answer questions; they execute multi-step tasks (think: analysing spreadsheets, drafting reports, or even troubleshooting IT issues). Paired with new workspace AI research, they are betting big on AI as the ultimate productivity sidekick.

Upcoming African AI Events

Structured Data for Agents: Bringing MCP to the Enterprise
Date: Tuesday, April 29 · 4 - 5pm WAT
Location: Virtual
Link: Data to Agents

Mastering AI: Unlock the power of prompting and Smart AI Use
Date: Thursday, May 1 · 12:30 - 1:30am WAT
Location: Virtual
Link: Mastering AI

IOT West Africa | Data Center and Cloud Expo Africa
Date: May 13 · 10am - May 15 · 4pm WAT
Location: Balmoral Convention Center, Victoria Island
Link: IOT West Africa

AI Job Opportunities

• Digita Silk  AI Developer

• DesignRush  AI Developer

• Inference Group AI Engineer

Use Case of the Week: Instantly Summarize PDFs, articles or notes using Google NotebookLM

In our use case of the week, we will be introducing you to Google’s ground breaking AI application called NotebookLM, it’s an application that helps convert any form of text(pdfs, websites, word documents) to audio, and the good part is that it is totally free to use. It’s perfect for students by helping them summarize textbooks as audio versions, also professionals benefit by analyzing their reports. 

Try it out here.