Ethiopia publishes ambitious Digital Strategy; Raxio opens Mozambique data centre in $300m Africa splurge

Africa AI News weekly digest...

Good morning, and welcome to this week’s issue of Africa AI News – Weekly News Digest.

This week’s main story: Ethiopia, which was an early leader in policy announcements went quiet for a long time — but has now come back with a detailed strategy document how it wants to restructure its economy around technology enablement.

There are several stories this week of US-led funding and support initiatives, which are a little surprising considering the sudden collapse of international aid projects funded by America. So holding thumbs they bear fruit. The main take-away from the last couple of weeks is a slow but pleasing uptick in datacentre and infrastructural investments, putting the tools within reach of developers on this continent.

If you have anything you’d like to share with the African AI community, just reply to this mail and it’ll get to us.

And now, on with this week’s issue!

/Roger

Policy

Ethiopia unveils ‘Digital Ethiopia 2025’ strategy

#Ethiopia #DigitalTransformation – Ethiopia has launched "Digital Ethiopia 2025," a national strategy to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the plan focuses on AI, IoT, and Big Data, aiming to drive innovation, create jobs, and bridge socio-economic gaps. The initiative aligns with Ethiopia’s broader economic reforms, and expresses a strong urgency around execution over the next 18 months. Download PDF (EBC)

African Union’s AI Advisory Group starts work

#Africa #AU #policy — The newly formed Advisory Group on AI of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council started work this month under the chairmanship of Nigeria’s Bankole Adeoye. First major announcement is the appointment of Dr. Kennedy Javuru, a top expert in strategic communications from Uganda, now London based as he completes his masters in law in the impact of AI on mass communications at London Metropolitan University. (AllAfrica)

Côte d'Ivoire launches AI and data governance strategy

#CotedIvoire #AI – Côte d'Ivoire has unveiled its National AI and Data Governance Strategy, focusing on skills investment, digital inclusion, and AI regulation. The five-year plan includes a national AI committee, a startup incubator, and a "Safe AI" label to ensure ethical AI development. (We Are Tech Africa)

AU chair warns of AI’s impact on peace, security, and governance

#Africa #AI — African Union Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf yesterday highlighted AI's potential to prevent conflicts, combat terrorism, and improve governance while warning of risks like cyber-attacks and misuse by non-state actors. He called for stronger AI regulations, counterterrorism measures, and regional cooperation to ensure AI supports peace and stability. (African Union)

Funding

Zambia receives $120 million from USA to boost digital growth

#Zambia #funding — The USA has committed $120 million to Zambia to enhance digital transformation. Science and Technology Minister, Felix Mutati, revealed the grant during the ongoing Global Digital Summit in Washington DC, which focuses on AI and global digital development. (ITWeb)

Morocco, U.S. advance AI and digital cooperation

#Morocco #AI – Moroccan Minister of Digital Transition Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni met with senior U.S. officials at the State Department to strengthen AI and digital collaboration. Talks focused on advancing joint initiatives launched last year, reinforcing Morocco-U.S. digital cooperation. (Morocco World News)

Datacenters and CoEs

Raxio Group invests $290M in Africa, opens data center in Mozambique

#Mozambique #datacentres — Raxio Group has inaugurated its first data center in Mozambique, part of a $290 million investment across Africa. With the backing of Meridiam and Roha Group, Raxio plans to open five new data centers this year, aiming to cater to the continent’s growing demand for digital infrastructure. (Data Center Knowledge)

Algeria lays foundation stone for high-performance compute centre

#Algeria #datacentres — Algeria’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications has started work on a new AI-focused DC in Oran province featuring “the latest generation GPU”. No details have been shared, but it is likely it is a Huawei-led initiative as part of a great Chinese investment in tech infrastructure in Africa. (Data Center Dynamics)

Applications

Kilimotech Chatbot helps farmers in Tanzania

#Tanzania #agriculture — Another week, another AI agri-chatbot. Kilimotech Chatbot has launched in Tanzania to assist farmers with real-time agricultural advice. It offers solutions on farming practices, market access, and disease detection through a WhatsApp interface, including disease detection through photo uploads. (The Guardian Tz)

Banking group sounds the AI-powered banking fraud alarm

#SouthAfrica #banking # fraud — South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), a club of the Big Four SA banks to present a friendly face to the world, has taken the extraordinary step of a public interest campaign to warn of AI-powered fraud syndicates, making extensive use of the tech for deepfakes of bank staff, rapid-fire dev of fake apps and chatbots. The tone is jokey but they’re clearly worried about a boom in fast-moving tricksiness that looks legit even to a reasonably sensible person. (SABRIC)

AtlasIA enhances Moroccan Arabic AI translation

#Morocco #darija – AtlasIA has launched Terjman V2, an upgraded open-source large language model improving translation between English and Moroccan Arabic. The model enhances AI applications in customer service and digital communication, addressing data limitations in spoken Arabic dialects. (Middle East AI News)

Education

Adapting schools to an AI-forward future

#SouthAfrica #education — A post by AI-blogger Niall Mcnulty (from Cambridge University Press) proposes taking the AI Assessment Scale (AIAS) developed by a group of education academics, which looks to accept the reality of AI use by school learners, and find for a way to incorporate it sensibly in the South African context. (niallmcnulty.com)

Training

Apply for a slot: AI in journalism training for Tanzanian Media

#Tanzania #journalism #training — Tech & Media Convergency (TMC) invites journalists to apply for a slot in its program designed to equip media professionals with AI-driven skills for fact-checking, investigative reporting, election coverage, and audience engagement in the digital era. Physical training 8-9 and 15-16 April, virtual training 3-4 April. Submit your application via https://bit.ly/Apply-AI4MD by March 28 (TMC)

[ This newsletter was human edited and AI intensified ]