What Nigeria can learn from Ghana and South Africa as it drafts its AI strategy
As Nigeria drafts its AI strategy, Ghana and South Africa offer critical lessons on what works and what doesn’t.
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In 2024, the African Union adopted its Continental AI Strategy, a policy framework that sets the tone for how African countries approach artificial intelligence.<br />
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The strategy rests on five core pillars: applying AI across key sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and education; building governance systems rooted in ethics and human rights; developing infrastructure, talent, data systems, and research capacity; attracting public and private investment; and encouraging cross-border collaboration.<br />
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As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in everyday life, African countries are racing to design and adopt national strategies to govern and manage AI. Over 15 African countries have launched or published official national AI strategies or policies.<br />
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Ghana is one of the African countries that moved early, publishing a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy covering 2023–2033. But nearly two years into its rollout, Ghana is still struggling with implementation and governance. <br />
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South Africa’s approach largely mirrors the AU’s priorities. But instead of translating them into a national law, the country has internalised them into existing systems.<br />
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As Nigeria looks to draft its own AI strategy, it needs to analyse the strategies adopted by its fellow African countries and learn from where they have fallen short, especially given that the country boasts the largest population in Africa.<br />
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What Ghana’s strategy entails<br />
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Ghana’s AI strategy was developed through stakeholder consultations with support from international partners such as GIZ’s FAIR Forward initiative, Smart Africa, and The Future Society.<br />
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The strategy outlines eight pillars, which are: expanding AI education and training, empowering youth for AI jobs, deepening digital infrastructure and inclusion, facilitating data access and governance, coordinating a national AI ecosystem, accelerating AI adoption in key sectors, investing in applied AI research, and promoting AI adoption in the public sector<br />
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