Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Africa AI News email digest!
A busy news week for AI across Africa, with major developments spanning healthcare, education, digital skills and financial services.
Lesotho became the first country to embrace the UN’s Blueprint for National AI and Data Strategies; MTN and the Gates Foundation launched a $25 million maternal health initiative in Nigeria; and Kenya partnered with Anthropic to build local AI expertise.
Meanwhile, ZeroBionic developed a sign-language robot for deaf students; and Meta partnered with This Is Digital on AI training in Kenya. Google and Zimbabwe also explored cooperation on 100,000 digital skills scholarships and AI training, while Standard Bank Namibia outlined plans to use AI to drive digital banking and financial inclusion.
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/Carrington
#Lesotho #AIstrategy - The Government of Lesotho has become the first country to apply the United Nations Blueprint for National AI and Data Strategies. It has completed the planning stage and begun Phase One of its National Compute Roadmap, covering compute infrastructure development from 2026 to 2029. (Africa AI News)
#SouthAfrica #AIstrategy - South Africa’s communications minister Solly Malatsi says a revised draft National AI Policy should reach Cabinet by March 2027. The previous draft was withdrawn after AI-generated inaccuracies were discovered, highlighting concerns about human oversight and undeclared use of AI tools in government policymaking. (Daily Maverick)
#Rwanda #AIstrategy - Rwanda’s Prime Minister Justin Nsengiyumva says affordable computing and energy are the country’s biggest constraints to expanding AI. Rwanda has nearly universal 4G coverage, more than 250 digitised government services and a new National AI Agency, while calling for greater regulatory coordination across Africa. (The New Times)
#Senegal #regulation - Parliamentarians from Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast met in Dakar to explore common approaches to AI regulation. The three-day workshop focused on adapting legal frameworks while protecting personal data, citizen rights and digital sovereignty, with recommendations and roadmaps expected to strengthen regional cooperation. (Wansom)
#Egypt #AIstrategy - Egypt is accelerating investment in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, data centres and 5G, with digital exports targeted to reach $8 billion by 2028. Its Karnak AI programme is developing Arabic generative AI capabilities, while government initiatives are expanding unified digital services and stronger online protections for children. (Egypt Independent)
#Algeria #AIstrategy - Algeria’s national artificial intelligence strategy is moving into implementation, with committees setting priorities for infrastructure, data, training and funding. A new AI research centre is also advancing through legal procedures, signalling a shift from strategic planning towards institution-building and execution across the country’s emerging AI ecosystem. (DZ Watch)
#Egypt #telecom - Vodafone Egypt has commercially deployed Ericsson’s AI-powered RAN Processor 6672, a 5G Advanced-ready platform capable of delivering up to four times higher processing capacity while cutting energy use by more than 50 percent. It also allows AI workloads to run directly at radio sites. (Ericsson)
#Nigeria #healthcare - MTN Group Foundation and the Gates Foundation are investing about $25 million in a four-year maternal health initiative. By 2030, the platform aims to support 500,000 women, equip 5,000 frontline health workers with digital tools and improve connectivity across 500 health facilities. (Gates Foundation)
#Kenya #MoUs - The Government of Kenya and Anthropic have signed a Joint Declaration covering AI skills, research, public-sector applications, safety and evaluation. The partnership, supporting Kenya’s AI Strategy 2025-2030, also targets locally relevant applications in education and health, with future pilots and training programmes planned. (Africa AI News)
#Morocco #datacentres - Nvidia has confirmed two AI infrastructure projects in Morocco, including the $1.2 billion Nexus AI Factory near Casablanca, targeting 500MW capacity. Cassava Technologies also plans Nvidia-powered computing capacity in Morocco as part of a wider African programme that could involve investment of up to $720 million. (Canal212)
#Egypt #startups - NVIDIA says more than 200 Egyptian startups now participate in its Inception programme, while its local developer community exceeds 46,000. The company is preparing a strategic partnership with ITIDA to support startups, technology talent and locally developed AI applications as Egypt seeks commercial growth from its engineering base. (Saudi Press Agency)
#Kenya #robotics - Kenyan startup ZeroBionic has developed a robotic arm that translates teachers’ speech into sign language in real time for deaf students. Co-founded by Norah Kimathi, the system works offline, uses locally 3D-printed hardware and is being trained on a dedicated database of African sign languages. (TLDR Africa)
#Kenya #training - This Is Digital has trained more than 800 professionals from 40-plus organisations across 11 countries after identifying demand for practical AI skills. Founded by Grace Murugi and Greg Wanjama, the Kenyan training and consultancy company has now partnered with Meta to launch AI Academy Kenya. (TechTrendsKE)
#Namibia #banking - Standard Bank Namibia is expanding its focus on AI to improve digital banking, widen financial inclusion and develop technology tailored to African markets. The bank also plans continued investment in local technology talent and greater diversity as it increases adoption of AI and other digital technologies. (TechNews)
#Egypt #education - More than 100 faculties and institutes in Egypt now offer computer science and artificial intelligence programmes, as universities broaden strategies for AI in teaching and research. More than four million students are expected across 131 universities and 185 institutes during the new academic year. (State Information Service)
#Zimbabwe #education - Google and Zimbabwe are exploring cooperation on digital skills, including 100,000 scholarships, AI training and capacity building. Talks between Google executive James Manyika and Zimbabwean officials also covered potential support for a planned technology park and efforts to strengthen the country’s ICT startup ecosystem. (The Herald)