The Inter-University Council for East Africa, in collaboration with the East African Science and Technology Commission and international partners, has formally launched the East African Community Artificial Intelligence Alliance, alongside its inaugural flagship initiative — a regional Network on Artificial Intelligence in Education and Research.
According to IUCEA, the alliance is designed to address persistent structural challenges in AI across the eight East African Community partner states by proposing a shared architecture that brings together governments, academia, industry and development partners under a common regional framework. The initiative is positioned as a response to fragmented national efforts that have limited the scale-up and impact of AI investments across the region, with member states navigating their AI landscapes independently.
The EAC AI Alliance is an IUCEA initiative in collaboration with EASTECO, supported by the German agency for International Cooperation. The launch was announced at the fourth EAC regional Science, Technology and Innovation Conference held in Kigali, Rwanda under the theme “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for a Resilient, Inclusive and Innovative East Africa.”
Organizers said the network’s ultimate goal is to position East Africa as a “competitive global contributor” rather than a consumer of emerging technologies. The work will be structured around three pillars: advancing transdisciplinary AI research to address shared regional challenges; integrating inclusive, practice-based AI curricula to equip learners with industry-relevant skills; and supporting harmonized, gender-responsive policies for responsible AI adoption.
The network is also intended to promote cross-border knowledge exchange and innovation, reducing duplication while maximizing impact. It will seek to leverage AI to address urgent regional challenges including food security, public health and environmental degradation, with the broader aim of aligning research with regional development priorities so that innovation translates into tangible socio-economic benefits.
The network is described as the successor to the Digital Skills for an Innovative East African Industry project — the EAC’s three-year digital skills initiative by IUCEA and GIZ — under which 4,000 young people from across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo were trained in digital skills. The dSkills@EA project also built cooperation ecosystems by engaging more than 300 private sector partners and 100 universities, laying the foundation for the broader Alliance.
“The network will serve as a collaborative platform for developing an AI-skilled workforce and innovative AI solutions through teaching and curriculum development, research and innovation, capacity-building, dissemination and knowledge exchange, and community engagement and outreach,” said Idris Rai, acting IUCEA executive secretary.
Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, deputy secretary general of the EAC, described the alliance as a “turning point” that marks a shift from fragmented national efforts to structured, “scalable regional actions.”
Norman Schappel, digital transformation cluster coordinator at GIZ Rwanda, said AI is not a panacea for development challenges but offers a meaningful pathway when properly applied. “AI is not a technology fix. It will not solve our problems. It is based on how we use the technology and build the skills with AI to solve challenges in the East African Community,” he said.
Speakers at the launch — part of a gathering of 450 delegates drawn from academia, research, government, the private sector and development partners — said universities will gain access to shared resources, training opportunities and collaborative platforms to strengthen teaching and research in AI.
Following the launch, the council invited universities in EAC member states to express interest in hosting nodes for the proposed network and to commit expertise to the regional initiative. The distributed nodes are intended to lay the foundation for East African centres of excellence in AI, strengthening AI skills development, research, innovation and policy engagement in alignment with regional priorities.
Interested universities have until May 15 to submit bids to the council. Applications can be submitted via https://ai4eac.iucea.org
