Africa Pushes For Ethical AI Governance To Build Digital Sovereignty And Inclusive Development

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes global economies, African leaders, researchers, and innovators are calling for ethical AI governance frameworks that prioritize local realities, safeguard civil rights, and build technological sovereignty.

In 2021, UNESCO published its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, establishing the first global standard for AI governance across data protection, privacy, inclusive innovation, and risk mitigation. Building on this, the African Union (AU) adopted its Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy in 2024, focusing on regulatory frameworks, local innovation, and civil rights protections. That same year, 52 African states signed the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence in Kigali, with Tanzania and Western Sahara abstaining.

Despite these steps, Africa faces a stark digital divide. Only a handful of nations — Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Mauritius, and Nigeria — have developed national AI strategies or regulatory institutions. Many countries remain constrained by infrastructure gaps, including limited internet access, unreliable power, and under-resourced research ecosystems, slowing AI adoption and innovation.

AI Governance Grounded in African Realities

“AI ethics in Africa has to be grounded in our lived realities,” says Dhesen Ramsamy, Group Chief Technology and Data Officer at Old Mutual Limited. “It’s not just about fairness and privacy in the abstract, but about ensuring technologies serve people equitably, preserve human dignity, and reflect African values.”

Experts warn that without contextual governance, Western-designed AI systems — trained on datasets and assumptions drawn from other regions — risk imposing a form of algorithmic colonization. These models often overwrite local priorities, undervalue cultural norms, and amplify structural inequities.

As Louis-Neil Korsten, CEO of Spock, explains, philosophies like Ubuntu, which emphasize community, interdependence, and collective benefit, should inform African data policies. “We need to achieve AI independence through competitive free markets,” Korsten says. “By focusing on open-source models, localized infrastructure, and African-driven applications, we can reduce our reliance on dominant global players and shape our own AI future.”

The Push for Data Sovereignty and Ethical Datasets

Central to Africa’s AI governance agenda is data sovereignty — keeping African data localized and ensuring equitable value extraction from it. Korsten and Ramsamy argue for federated learning and data-visiting models that allow AI training while retaining data ownership within Africa.

Key priorities include:

• Building diverse, representative datasets to ensure fairness
• Auditing datasets for bias and embedding mitigation mechanisms
• Designing decentralized data practices that build market trust
• Incentivizing African datasets to reduce dependence on external players

Today, only 2.8% of global computer vision training datasets include African faces, leading to higher error rates in critical areas such as healthcare diagnostics, financial assessments, and security systems. Initiatives like the Deep Learning Indaba’s African Datasets Initiative, the MUTFER2024 dataset, and the African AI Ethics Alliance are working to fill these gaps by prioritizing context-specific ethical standards.

Balancing AI Innovation, Regulation, and Inclusion

While global tech giants dominate AI infrastructure, experts warn against regulatory capture — the risk of African policies being shaped to favor external interests. Korsten advocates for public-private partnerships to accelerate innovation while ensuring underserved communities are not excluded from technological benefits.

For Ramsamy, the issue is urgent: “Many communities are leapfrogging into digital ecosystems without guardrails. That creates an opportunity to build AI frameworks that are ethical, inclusive, and uniquely African — but also an obligation to protect against exploitative data practices, algorithmic bias, and surveillance.”

The Economic Stakes for Africa

AI is projected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, but the Global South — including much of Africa — is expected to receive just 10% of that impact. Without locally grounded governance, experts fear AI could widen inequality, reinforcing existing gaps in access to opportunity and economic participation.

To counter this, African policymakers and innovators are aligning around three strategic imperatives:

1. Ownership — Develop African-driven AI models and infrastructure
2. Representation — Invest in inclusive, ethically sourced datasets
3. Collaboration — Strengthen regional partnerships, research hubs, and AI capacity-building

Shaping Africa’s AI Future

AI presents both opportunity and risk for Africa. On one hand, it can unlock innovation in agriculture, healthcare, fintech, education, and energy. On the other, poorly governed systems risk entrenching digital dependency and socioeconomic exclusion.

As Ramsamy summarizes, “This is about more than algorithms. It’s about ensuring that AI reflects African values, empowers local communities, and supports equitable growth. We have the chance to build frameworks that protect rights, preserve dignity, and create a uniquely African path for digital transformation.”