{"id":41599,"date":"2025-11-13T06:47:33","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T06:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=41599"},"modified":"2025-11-13T06:47:33","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T06:47:33","slug":"wnpngq21lgjmvrgd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/11\/13\/wnpngq21lgjmvrgd\/","title":{"rendered":"African countries urged to push quality economic growth by seizing opportunities of AI development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"text\">\n<p>African ministers and ICT leaders have endorsed a continent-wide push to build shared artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, following a ministerial forum co-hosted by South Africa\u2019s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) on the sidelines of AfricaCom in Cape Town. The forum called for co-ordinated investment in sovereign computing power, local language models and AI skills so that economic gains from AI are created in Africa and for Africa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"itw-image-article mb-4\"><!--[--><\/p>\n<div class=\"itw-content-image\" style=\"max-width:816px;position:relative;margin:0 auto;\"><!----><span\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive\" style=\"max-width:816px;\"><!----><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive__content\"><!--[--><picture><!--[--><source media=\"(max-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w380-rw\"><source media=\"(min-width:769px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w816-rw\"><!--]--><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ministerial Forum 2025.\" fetchpriority=\"high\" loading=\"eager\" style=\"max-width:100%;object-fit:fill;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!----><\/p>\n<p>Ministerial Forum 2025. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"v-divider v-theme--light\" style=\"\" aria-orientation=\"horizontal\" role=\"separator\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Building on the African Union\u2019s Continental AI Strategy, the AU\u2019s framework to guide member states on AI policy, skills and infrastructure and the African AI Declaration endorsed by 49 AU member states, the forum positioned AI as a public-good capability rooted in African data, languages and use cases. Organisers said the focus now is to turn policy into delivery with clear access and affordability targets, shared governance guardrails and progress reporting through the ATU.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe continent has the ambition and the policy direction; now we must strengthen the ecosystems that make this growth possible,\u201d said John Omo, ATU Secretary-General. \u201cWith sound governance and deliberate investment, Africa can lead the future of AI,\u201d said Omo.<\/p>\n<p>As host ministry, South Africa\u2019s DCDT framed the forum as a move from strategy to implementation, aligning national plans with continental instruments, setting measurable public-service outcomes for AI, and mobilising partnerships across government, academia and industry to expand capacity where it is most needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf AI is to work for Africa, it must work in Africa\u2019s languages, in our contexts, and for our use cases,\u201d said Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, South Africa.<\/p>\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"itw-image-article mb-4\"><!--[--><\/p>\n<div class=\"itw-content-image\" style=\"max-width:816px;position:relative;margin:0 auto;\"><!----><span\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive\" style=\"max-width:816px;\"><!----><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive__content\"><!--[--><picture><!--[--><source media=\"(max-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016451_140_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w380-rw\"><source media=\"(min-width:769px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016451_140_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w816-rw\"><!--]--><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016451_140_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, South Africa.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;object-fit:fill;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!----><\/p>\n<p>Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, South Africa. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"v-divider v-theme--light\" style=\"\" aria-orientation=\"horizontal\" role=\"separator\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI firmly believe that Africa\u2019s approach to AI must be rooted in dignity, fairness and accountability. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that our use and deployment of AI expands human freedom, strengthens our economies and deepens trust in our public institutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAI\u2019s contribution to economic development \u2013 known as the intelligent economy \u2013 is now the world&#8217;s fastest-growing sector; we believe that African countries should plan and develop their national AI infrastructure in advance to seize the opportunities presented by AI, to promote high-quality economic growth,&#8221; said Hover Gao, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa region in a keynote address. <\/p>\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"itw-image-article mb-4\"><!--[--><\/p>\n<div class=\"itw-content-image\" style=\"max-width:816px;position:relative;margin:0 auto;\"><!----><span\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive\" style=\"max-width:816px;\"><!----><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive__content\"><!--[--><picture><!--[--><source media=\"(max-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016452_953_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w380-rw\"><source media=\"(min-width:769px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016452_953_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w816-rw\"><!--]--><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016452_953_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Hover Gao, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;object-fit:fill;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!----><\/p>\n<p>Hover Gao, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"v-divider v-theme--light\" style=\"\" aria-orientation=\"horizontal\" role=\"separator\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>China\u2019s \u201cOne Centre, Four Platforms\u201d model, where a national AI computing centre integrates computing power, data and ecosystems to support public services, industry innovation and research and talent development, reducing duplicated investment through co-ordinated planning and shared infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Gao said a similar approach in Africa would enable countries to localise and govern data within its borders, safeguard critical assets and strengthen digital sovereignty. He added that establishing national or regional AI computing centres should go hand in hand with developing foundational models trained and adapted on African data and knowledge so AI can reflect local languages, contexts and use cases, lower costs for sector applications, and accelerate national competitiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Models must be trained to understand Africa\u2019s languages, climate realities, health burdens, informal economies and diverse cultural contexts. Delivering that capability will require public and private investment in local computing capacity, regional cloud centres and the energy systems to power them reliably and affordably. <\/p>\n<p>Emma Theofelus, Namibia\u2019s Minister of Information and Communications Technology, said AI should extend essential services to every citizen, including those in remote areas, with a focus on serving the public good. \u201cOur goal is to put AI to work where it matters most, in clinics, classrooms and local businesses. We are committed to harnessing AI\u2019s potential for innovation, efficiency and transformation, enabling our small society to leapfrog into a leadership role, particularly in green-hydrogen-powered AI systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"itw-image-article mb-4\"><!--[--><\/p>\n<div class=\"itw-content-image\" style=\"max-width:816px;position:relative;margin:0 auto;\"><!----><span\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive\" style=\"max-width:816px;\"><!----><\/p>\n<div class=\"v-responsive__content\"><!--[--><picture><!--[--><source media=\"(max-width:768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016452_784_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w380-rw\"><source media=\"(min-width:769px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016452_784_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg=w816-rw\"><!--]--><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763016452_784_African-countries-urged-to-push-quality-economic-growth-by-seizing.jpeg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Emma Theofelus, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Namibia.\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"max-width:100%;object-fit:fill;\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/picture><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!----><\/p>\n<p>Emma Theofelus, Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Namibia. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"v-divider v-theme--light\" style=\"\" aria-orientation=\"horizontal\" role=\"separator\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--]--><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cBecause AI compute is energy-intensive, we are aligning clean-energy investments with digital infrastructure, leveraging Namibia\u2019s green-hydrogen programme to power regional data centres, cut costs and expand access beyond capitals, while building sovereign compute and trusted data so sensitive information stays within our borders and African-trained models can protect dignity, improve public services and strengthen competitiveness,\u201d said Theofelus.<\/p>\n<p>Ministers and representatives reiterated their commitment to developing AI as a force for good across the continent, as AI could improve outcomes across multiple sectors, including agriculture, healthcare and education.<\/p>\n<p>At the forum, ministers and high-level representatives from Malawi, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia and Uganda came together to issue a joint communique committing to the development of shared AI infrastructure, skills training and resources, founded on principles of resilience and innovation, with sovereign protection and related ecosystems. The communique calls on African leaders to support this approach by pooling resources and investment into shared AI implementation and centres of excellence. <\/p>\n<p>Outcomes from the forum will inform follow-up work with member states, regulators, academia and industry, focusing on access and affordability targets, trusted data flows and practical access to compute for universities, start-ups and public-sector teams. The ATU will co-ordinate progress reporting with participating countries in the months ahead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#African #countries #urged #push #quality #economic #growth #seizing #opportunities #development<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>African ministers and ICT leaders have endorsed a continent-wide push to build shared artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, following a ministerial&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41599"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41601,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41599\/revisions\/41601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}