The world is in the throes of an artificial intelligence revolution, a seismic shift that is redefining industries, governance, and economic landscapes. From Silicon Valley’s AI-powered breakthroughs to China’s state-backed machine learning projects, nations are competing to shape the future. At the center of this unfolding drama is the AI Action Summit in Paris—a global platform convened to discuss AI’s opportunities and guardrails.
Ghana’s participation in this high-profile event signals its ambition to carve out a significant role in this revolution. Leading the country’s delegation is Sam George, Ghana’s Minister for Communication, Digital Technology & Innovations. It is his first official assignment since his appointment last Friday. With a firm stance on Africa’s AI sovereignty, George made an impassioned case for why Ghana, and by extension Africa, must prioritize AI development.
“…Ghana is the gateway to Africa. And so, we believe that if Ghana or Africa is going to really take on this AI challenge, then Ghana needs to up its game,” George remarked during the summit. The “first thing my ministry is going to be doing is to work around building a data exchange hub where all government data is going to be put in one central repository, where we can then begin to do big data mining on the big data sets…. Because if you have these typical government agencies holding the small pieces of data, you never have the big data sets to be able to do the large language models that you’re talking about…”
His words underscored the urgency of Africa’s participation in shaping AI’s future rather than remaining passive consumers of AI-driven technology.
Global AI Investments vs. Africa’s Infrastructure Challenges
The AI sector has witnessed explosive investments over the last decade. The United States and China lead the charge, collectively pouring billions into AI research, cloud computing, and semiconductor production. France, determined to position itself as Europe’s AI powerhouse, is spearheading initiatives that will see European companies compete in AI-driven industries.
French President Emmanuel Macron concluded the first day of the AI Summit on Monday with a bold vision for his nation’s technological future. Speaking to assembled delegates in Paris, Macron unveiled an ambitious €109 billion ($113 billion) investment plan to accelerate France’s artificial intelligence capabilities.
The French leader also emphasized a unique strategic advantage: the country’s extensive nuclear power infrastructure. He highlighted how France’s long-established network of nuclear plants provides the reliable, carbon-free energy crucial for powering AI’s intensive computational demands.
“I have a good friend in the other part of the ocean saying ‘drill, baby, drill’,” Macron said in an obvious dig at US President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuels policy. “Here there is no need to drill, it’s plug, baby, plug!” he added.
Africa, however, finds itself at a crossroads. Despite growing interest in AI, the continent grapples with fundamental challenges—limited internet penetration, inadequate electricity supply, and minimal access to high-performance computing resources.
At the summit’s sidelines, World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala offered a candid assessment of Africa’s AI readiness in an exclusive interview with this reporter, who, as a Student of AI at the University of Oxford, is attending the summit with the support of the French Embassy in Ghana.
“I think that Africa must focus on basic infrastructure,” she emphasized. “We are not going to make it for AI adoption unless we move faster. And that means we have to work even faster with the multilateral organizations. I totally applaud the effort being made by African Development Bank and the World Bank to bring electricity to 300 million. We need to double that and get us on the grid because if we are going to be part of AI.”
The WTO chief then outlined crucial steps for the continent’s technological advancement. “Second, Africa must reduce its own internal costs,” she noted. “If we are to adopt AI, we are to make good use of it. We also need to look at our own internal bureaucracies and the costs confronting investment. You know, for AI to work, we need to invest. So we need to invite investment. And if a country like the United States or UK can be having investment conferences, then we also on the continent need to look at what do we need to do to make ourselves investor-friendly so that AI investment can also come to us. We have lots of opportunities to make it work for agriculture, health, education.”
World Bank data paints a stark picture of sub-Saharan Africa’s digital divide. Despite significant mobile network coverage – with 84 percent of the population living within 3G service areas and 63 percent having access to 4G coverage as of 2021 – actual internet adoption remains critically low. Only 22 percent of the region’s population actively uses mobile internet services, revealing a dramatic gap between availability and utilization.
The disparity is equally pronounced in broadband access. While 61 percent of sub-Saharan Africans live within range of broadband infrastructure, the majority remain unconnected. This digital exclusion is further compounded by an identity gap: approximately 470 million people across the region lack official identification documents as of 2021. This absence of formal ID creates an additional barrier, effectively blocking nearly half a billion people from accessing essential public services and participating in the formal digital economy.
George, acknowledging these hurdles, proposed a pragmatic approach: “We don’t need to look at building the infrastructure, …we don’t have to finance it for that. But what we do have is the data sets, and that’s what I was talking about, that when you look at the human capital in Africa, the West needs that human capital.”
The Paris Summit: Africa’s AI Roadmap
Ghana’s participation at the AI Action Summit came at a crucial moment. The summit brought together policymakers, AI researchers, and industry leaders to discuss global AI governance and technological equity.
George, in his address, laid out Ghana’s vision for AI integration. At the heart of his proposal was a centralized data exchange hub that would unify biometric, economic, and digital identity datasets across government agencies. “We have built many data silos,” he noted. “But if we don’t consolidate them into a single repository, we will never have the big data sets needed to train large language models.”
His reference to Singapore’s Sea Lion AI model underscored Ghana’s ambition. Just as Singapore is developing AI models tailored for Asia, George envisions Ghana leading the charge for Africa’s own indigenous AI models—training algorithms on African linguistic, economic, and biometric data.
One of the summit’s key outcomes was a discussion on AI guardrails. Global AI leaders, wary of the ethical and economic ramifications of unchecked AI deployment, debated regulatory measures that would ensure fairness, accountability, and responsible AI development. For Africa, this was particularly important. With weak data protection laws and concerns over AI bias, George pushed for policies that would protect African data sovereignty while enabling AI innovation.
“[The developed word] needs our data sets, because today when you’re looking at biometric data sets that are run on AI models, they are about 98% accurate when it has to do with location males. But when it has to do with black males, even black Americans, the correctness drops to about 48%. Where do they get the data sets? It’s from Africa. If we begin to build these biometric data sets, then Africa becomes a repository of data,” George argued.
AI’s Economic Potential for Ghana
Beyond governance, AI presents significant economic opportunities for Ghana and the broader African continent. AI-driven applications in agriculture, healthcare, and financial services could revolutionize sectors that are vital to Ghana’s economy.
AI in Agriculture
One of the most promising applications is AI-powered precision farming, George stated. According to him, Ghana is already deploying AI-driven drones for irrigation and seed distribution, particularly in remote farming regions. With enhanced AI tools, Ghanaian farmers could optimize yield predictions, automate pest control, and streamline supply chain logistics, reducing post-harvest losses.
AI in Healthcare
In healthcare, Ghana is using AI-powered diagnostics for malaria and tuberculosis detection, George told the gathering. AI algorithms, trained on local epidemiological data, improve early disease detection and enhance telemedicine services, especially in rural communities.
AI in Finance
Financial inclusion has been another success story. Ghana’s MoMo (mobile money) ecosystem, akin to Kenya’s M-Pesa, has revolutionized digital payments. But George emphasized the need to integrate AI-driven financial modeling to strengthen Africa’s financial systems. He criticized the reliance on foreign payment infrastructures like SWIFT, which forces African nations to route intra-African transactions through intermediary banks in the U.S.
There are, he stated, a number of “Nigerian banks operating in Ghana. However, when you want to remit money from Ghana to Nigeria, you need to use the SWIFT system that makes money for a corresponding bank in New York that has done nothing. Meanwhile, that Nigerian bank is signed up and connected to the PAPPS, which is the Pan African Payments Settlement System. Ecobank is signed up to PAPPS. But, because of the sensitization and corporatization, the bank staff offer you the SWIFT transfer ahead of the PAPPS.”
“And so, we need to begin to look at how we can actually begin to share financial technology data sets across the African continent.”
Building a Sustainable AI Future for Africa
While Ghana’s aspirations are commendable, a clear roadmap is necessary. The AI Action Summit underscored three critical steps that African nations must take:
1. Investment in AI Education and Workforce Development
– Ghana aims to train 1 million digital professionals in AI-related fields within the next four years. The decentralized training program will cover cybersecurity, data science, and AI ethics to build an AI-ready workforce.
2. Strengthening AI Infrastructure and Cloud Computing
– Establishing regional AI hubs with high-performance computing capacity will be vital. Ghana must explore public-private partnerships to fund AI infrastructure projects.
3. Developing AI Policy and Regulatory Frameworks
– African nations must draft AI-specific legislation to address data privacy, algorithmic bias, and ethical concerns.
– Ghana’s plan to create a centralized data exchange hub will require robust cybersecurity safeguards and privacy-centric policies to prevent misuse.
Africa Must Act Now
The ongoing AI Action Summit in Paris is a wake-up call for Africa. While global AI leaders forge ahead, African nations must act swiftly to secure their place in the AI-driven future.
George’s statements at the African Village at the summit were a bold assertion of Ghana’s readiness to lead Africa’s AI transformation. His vision for a centralized AI ecosystem, data sovereignty, and indigenous AI models represents a paradigm shift for the continent.
However, Ghana—and Africa as a whole—must overcome infrastructure bottlenecks, digital illiteracy, and policy gaps to truly harness AI’s potential.
George wants Africa to stop being passive spectators in the AI revolution. Across various stages, the census is clear that if Africa gets its AI acts together, the windfalls of the technology can lift millions out of poverty, transform the continent’s economies, and ensure that Africa is not left behind.
The challenge is monumental, but so is the opportunity. Africa’s AI future is unwritten—and Ghana is positioning itself as the author of its own destiny.
