Hi Ayodele here,

This week, Africa’s AI landscape continued to evolve with major steps toward self-reliance and innovation. Zimbabwe approved its first National AI Strategy to guide ethical adoption and empower local talent. Rwanda secured $17.5 million in funding to launch the continent’s first AI Scaling Hub, positioning itself as a regional leader in responsible AI. Meanwhile, Cassava Technologies advanced its mission to expand AI-ready data centers, boosting digital infrastructure across Africa.

This edition explores how these initiatives are building the foundations for a stronger, more connected, and innovation-driven AI ecosystem across the continent.

Let us get into it. In this edition:

• Rwanda Becomes Africa’s First AI Scaling Hub with $17.5M Funding

• Zimbabwe Approves National AI Strategy 2026–2030

• Cassava Technologies Secures Investment to Expand AI-Ready Data Centres

Around Africa

Zimbabwe Approves National AI Strategy 2026–2030

Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has approved a five-year National Artificial Intelligence Strategy designed to guide the country’s digital transformation. The plan aims to integrate AI into major sectors like health, agriculture, and manufacturing to boost productivity and service delivery.

It includes measures for ethical AI adoption, workforce reskilling, and data protection. The government also plans to set up an innovation fund and a regulatory sandbox to support startups and research. Public awareness campaigns will promote AI literacy among citizens. Through this initiative, Zimbabwe joins a growing number of African nations creating structured AI development frameworks.

Why This Matters
This move places Zimbabwe at the forefront of Africa’s digital shift by ensuring that AI growth aligns with national priorities, empowers local innovators, and safeguards citizens’ rights.

Rwanda Becomes Africa’s First AI Scaling Hub with $17.5M Funding

Rwanda has been chosen to host Africa’s first AI Scaling Hub following a $17.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The initiative will strengthen the country’s AI ecosystem and drive solutions in health, agriculture, and education.

It will support startups developing localized AI tools, including smart farming systems and digital health platforms. The Ministry of ICT and Innovation will oversee the hub’s operations, ensuring collaboration with both public and private sectors. Rwanda’s investment in talent and infrastructure aims to make the country a regional center for responsible AI innovation. The project builds on the country’s vision of becoming a continental leader in technology and data-driven governance.

Why It Matters:

The hub will accelerate Africa’s capacity to create homegrown AI solutions. The initiative also aims to attract global partnerships, and set a model for inclusive and sustainable AI growth.

Cassava Technologies Secures Investment to Expand AI-Ready Data Centres

Cassava Technologies has received major funding from STANLIB Infrastructure and NVIDIA to expand its Africa Data Centres network. The investment will increase capacity in key cities such as Johannesburg and Cape Town.

It will also enable the deployment of thousands of GPUs to power AI and cloud computing projects across the continent. The company aims to strengthen Africa’s digital backbone by providing reliable, low-latency infrastructure for enterprises and researchers. This development aligns with Cassava’s long-term goal of enhancing digital inclusion through local data hosting. The partnership with NVIDIA highlights a shared commitment to advancing high-performance computing in Africa.

Why This Matters

Expanding AI-ready data centers will reduce dependence on foreign cloud services, support regional innovation, and give African businesses the tools needed to compete globally in the AI economy.

Around the world

Nvidia Hits $5 Trillion on AI Surge

Nvidia officially became the first company ever to reach a $5 trillion market valuation after shares climbed more than 5 percent to cross the milestone. Its ascent was fueled by surging demand for AI chips and recent deals such as investing $1 billion in Nokia shares and expanding 5G-6G ambitions. Nvidia currently leads the pack ahead of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta in market value. The company achieved this feat less than four months after breaking the $4 trillion mark. Analysts say its dominance in AI infrastructure is central to the current tech era.

TikTok Rolls Out Smart Split and AI Outline Tools

At its U.S. Creator Summit, TikTok unveiled Smart Split, an AI tool that automatically transforms long videos into shorter clips by captioning, reframing, and editing segments. It also launched AI Outline, which generates video scripts, titles, hashtags, and hooks based on prompts or trending topics. These features aim to streamline creators’ workflows and help them produce content faster. TikTok also increased revenue sharing for qualifying subscription creators from 70% to up to 90%. The new tools are available globally via TikTok Studio Web.

Grokipedia Goes Live as Musk’s Wikipedia Rival

Elon Musk’s new project, Grokipedia, launched as an online encyclopedia designed to compete with Wikipedia, fueled by AI to generate and curate content. The platform aims to combine free knowledge access with AI-driven summarization and citation support. It is intended to evolve into a comprehensive repository that rivals the depth and breadth of traditional reference sites. Grokipedia’s launch reflects growing ambition among tech leaders to reshape the public knowledge ecosystem.

Around the Web - Top Picks

• The Glaring Security Risks with AI Browser Agents

  TechCrunch outlines serious vulnerabilities in AI browser agents, especially “prompt injection” attacks that can trick the agent into executing hidden instructions. These attacks expose user data when malicious actors insert commands into web pages. Because AI browsers act on content autonomously, they may inadvertently carry out commands the user never intended.

  Read the full article: The Glaring Security Risks with AI Browser Agents

• Who Are AI Browsers For?

  TechCrunch explores who benefits most from AI-powered browsers, suggesting early adopters and niche users are the current target. Many users gain only marginal efficiency improvements under current models. For basic tasks like summarizing pages or filling forms, AI browsers deliver utility, but they struggle in ambiguous or multi-step workflows. The piece emphasizes these tools are experimental and still searching for impactful use cases

  Read the full article: Who Are AI Browsers For?

Seen This?

The latest Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses are cooler than you think. They feature a built-in display, voice-controlled AI and gesture controls via wristband. It’'s the first time Meta’'s AI can “see what you see.”

Upcoming African AI Events

AI Expo Africa 2025
Date: October 29–31, 2025
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Theme: The 8th edition of Africa’s largest B2B AI trade show, bringing together over 3,000 delegates, 100+ exhibitors, and 70+ conference sessions. The event features Women in AI and South African AI Association pavilions, startup zones, and networking opportunities connecting buyers and suppliers in the AI market.

AI for Good – Impact Africa
Date: October 31, 2025
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Theme: A one-day UN-backed summit under the AI for Good initiative, focused on AI-driven solutions for sustainable development across Africa. Discussions will center on AI applications in health, agriculture, climate, and education, highlighting the role of technology in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Africa Tech Festival & AI Summit Cape Town 2025
Date: November 11–13, 2025
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa
Theme: Formerly known as AfricaCom, this 28th annual festival unites over 12,000 attendees across telecoms, innovation, and digital transformation. The AI Summit Cape Town track will explore governance, infrastructure, and ethical AI, alongside special features like the AI4Good Impact Africa Pavilion.

Africa Forum on AI and Gender
Date: November 4, 2025
Location: Hosted by UNESCO and partners (virtual and in-person hubs across Africa)
Theme: Ensuring diversity and ethics in AI development, this forum brings together policymakers, researchers, and organizations to promote gender balance in AI leadership and responsible innovation across Africa.

IndabaX AI Workshops and Hackathons
Date: November 2025
Location: Various African countries (Uganda, Ghana, Zimbabwe)
Theme: Community-led events affiliated with the Deep Learning Indaba, aimed at spreading practical AI skills at the grassroots. These workshops and hackathons foster local innovation and strengthen Africa’s AI talent pipeline.

NeurIPS 2025 – Black in AI Workshop
Date: December 2025
Location: Global (with African researchers’ participation)
Theme: Highlighting Africa’s growing presence on the global AI research stage, the Black in AI workshop at NeurIPS 2025 provides a platform for African scholars to present research, network with peers, and advance inclusive AI innovation.

AI Job Opportunities

• QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey - Data Scientist, South Africa

• Odixcity Consulting -  AI Engineer, Nigeria

• DDLab - Machine Learning Engineer, Nigeria

• Capitec - Machine Learning Engineer, South Africa

• Impronics Technologies - AI Software Engineer, South Africa

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