Africa seeks technological sovereignty through AI and green industrialization

African leaders, academics, and institutions are emphasizing the need for technological sovereignty and industrialization to fully leverage artificial intelligence and natural resources.

A World Bank report highlights that for sub-Saharan Africa to transform AI potential into development, strategic actions are required in six priority areas, including reducing the digital divide and strengthening digital public infrastructure. Experts suggest that the continent must move beyond being a mere consumer of foreign technology to becoming a creator of local solutions.

In Senegal, discussions focus on using green industrialization and agro-industrial platforms to create jobs and capture more value from local resources. There is a growing call to address data sovereignty and linguistic representation, ensuring that African languages like Wolof and Pulaar are integrated into AI models to prevent technological dependency on external powers.