Font size:
Print
The UAE-Africa Digital Nexus: Opportunities for Global South
Context:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as a key player in the global AI race, leveraging its economic strength, strategic location, and technological expertise.
Objectives of UAE’s in Shaping Africa’s AI Landscape
- UAE aims to bridge Africa’s digital divide by investing in AI infrastructure, supporting AI startups, and enabling knowledge transfer.
- Africa, despite being resource-rich, faces significant digital infrastructure gaps, hindering AI development.
- The partnership aligns with the UAE’s ambition to lead AI transformation in the Global South while supporting Africa’s AI-driven economic growth.
Africa’s AI Landscape
- AI Policy Frameworks
- African Union (AU) Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy (CAIS) (2024) aligns with Agenda 2063.
- Key focus areas: agriculture, healthcare, and education.
- National AI strategies launched by Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal, Nigeria, and South Africa.
- Key Challenges
- AI Skills Development:
-
- Low awareness and limited expertise in AI among the workforce.
- Need for Africa-centric AI curricula incorporating indigenous knowledge.
- Data Availability:
- 19% of Sub-Saharan Africa lacks mobile broadband access.
- Under-representation of African languages in AI models, impacting local AI development.
- AI Infrastructure & HPC Capacity:
- Toubkal (Morocco) is the only supercomputer in Africa.
- Only 10% of data centre demand was met, with South Africa dominating the market.
Opportunities for the Global South in Africa for shaping the AI Landscape
The growing UAE-Africa AI collaboration presents key opportunities for the Global South, addressing digital gaps while fostering AI-driven economic transformation.
- AI Infrastructure Development
-
- UAE investments in data centers, cloud computing, and AI-powered connectivity will strengthen Africa’s digital backbone.
- Projects like the G42-Microsoft geothermal-powered data center in Kenya enhance computing power and energy-efficient AI solutions.
- AI for Economic Growth & Innovation
-
- AI-driven solutions in agriculture, healthcare, and education—aligned with AU’s CAIS (2024) and Agenda 2063—can drive sustainable growth.
- UAE’s AI expertise and funding for AI startups will boost Africa’s innovation ecosystem.
- AI Workforce & Skill Development
-
- UAE-backed AI training programs and university partnerships will help address Africa’s AI skills gap.
- Localised AI curricula integrating indigenous knowledge will create Africa-centric AI solutions.
- Strengthening Digital Sovereignty & Inclusivity
-
- Investment in African language AI models (e.g., Swahili NLP models) will improve linguistic inclusivity and AI accessibility.
- AI ethics and governance frameworks tailored to African contexts will promote responsible AI deployment.
- South-South AI Leadership & Cooperation: UAE-Africa AI collaboration reinforces Global South cooperation, reducing reliance on Western AI giants.
UAE Leading AI Transformation in Africa
- UAE’s AI Investments in Africa
- Strategic infrastructure projects: Investments in ports, logistics, and renewable energy (USD 4.5 billion in climate projects).
- AI-specific investments:
- G42-Microsoft Partnership: USD 1 billion geothermal-powered data centre in Kenya.
- Focus on developing Swahili-language AI models and skill transfer.
- UAE-Africa AI Corridor
- UAE-Kenya Digital Corridor (2024): AI-driven collaboration focusing on AI infrastructure and knowledge transfer.
- Expansion of AI upskilling initiatives: UAE-backed AI training camps and partnerships with African universities.
Global Competition for Africa’s AI Sector
- Major Players & Initiatives
- China’s Digital Silk Road Initiative:
- Investments in Africa increased from USD 75 million (2003) to USD 5 billion (2021).
- Additional USD 51 billion pledged for infrastructure projects in Africa.
- US Digital Transformation with Africa Initiative (2022):
- Pledged USD 800 million to accelerate Africa’s digitalisation.
- Challenges from Foreign Investment
-
- Concerns over digital colonisation and data sovereignty.
- Labour exploitation by foreign tech companies.
- Foreign tech giants undercutting domestic AI enterprises.
- India’s Role in Africa’s AI Sector
-
- India-Africa collaboration on digital public infrastructure (DPI).
- Focus on AI-driven healthcare, agriculture, and fintech solutions.
- India’s G20 initiative aims to strengthen Africa’s digital transformation.
Recommendations for Increasing Global South – Africa AI Collaboration
- Investing in AI Infrastructure
- Develop solar-powered and liquid-cooled data centres to address Africa’s environmental constraints.
- Expand AI cloud computing and HPC infrastructure across African regions.
- Supporting AI Startups
- Establish UAE-backed funding and incubation programmes for African AI startups.
- Promote local-language AI models such as Pawa and InkubaLM to enhance linguistic diversity.
- Enabling Knowledge Transfer
- Expand UAE-Africa AI training programmes to upskill African professionals.
- Strengthen AI research collaboration between UAE and African universities.
Conclusion: By addressing Africa’s AI infrastructure, skills, and governance challenges, the UAE-Africa partnership will not only accelerate Africa’s digital transformation but also strengthen the Global South’s position in the AI-driven future.
