The African Export‑Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the PJ Patterson Institute, has launched a pilot initiative to establish AI hubs aimed at bolstering innovation, economic development and digital sovereignty across Africa and the Caribbean.

The programme kicked off at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, with plans to scale AI ecosystems through both regions. It will feature AI-enabled industries, training centres, semiconductor fabrication, and data infrastructure, leveraging Africa’s mineral assets and the Caribbean’s logistical networks.

Leadership includes Dr Gladstone Fluney Hutchinson of the Patterson Institute, political scientist Dr Nicholas Kerr, former Jamaican prime minister P.J. Patterson, and Dr Rosalea Hamilton of Jamaica’s Institute of Law and Economics.

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo praised the initiative as a strategic step toward “digital sovereignty and economic emancipation” for people of African descent.

During the Afreximbank annual meeting, Patterson described the effort as creating generative AI industries that are “knowledge-intensive, value-creating and globally competitive,” aligning with agendas on trade and innovation.

The pilot aligns with Afreximbank’s broader technology accelerator, launched in April, which offers up to US $250,000 in equity support for African entrepreneurs and applies AI to regional payment and finance systems.

Backed by both institutions, the AI hub initiative seeks to foster local talent, strengthen cross-regional partnerships, and create scalable models for inclusive technological growth across over 1.5 billion people in the two regions our.