Pan African AI & Innovation Summit no mprenu so no fii ase nnɛ anɔpa wɔ Accra, na ɛbɛba awiei nnɛ wɔ Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City. Bɛyɛ adapɛn abiɛsa akyi no, bere a UN General Assembly no gyinaa akyi sɛ wɔnkɔ nkakrankakra mfi Mercator map projection no ho nkɔ mfonini ahorow a ɛda amansin akɛseɛ kɛseɛ adi yiye — asɛm a yɛkaa ho asɛm wɔ yɛn note a etwaam no mu — summit no da a edi kan de asɛmmisa a ɛte saa kɔɔ baabi a ɛyɛ den na ɛyɛ honam fam paa: hena na ɔyɛ systems a ɛka Afrika ho asɛm, na hena na ɔhwɛ nea ɛkɔ mu ne nea efi mu ba?

Jurisdiction ansa na nsɛmfua kɛseɛ

Arnold Kavaarpuo, Ghana Data Protection Commission no Executive Director, na ofii governance block no ase. Ne nkyerɛkyerɛmu no yɛɛ komm, nanso na ɛho hia. Ɔkyerɛɛ nsonsonoe a ɛda global company a etumi yɛ adwuma wɔ market bi mu a enni presence ankasa wɔ hɔ, ne company a wɔde ne ho to tax ne mmara ase wɔ jurisdiction bi mu no ntam. Kavaarpuo adwene ne sɛ saa presence no na ɛma regulation tumi yɛ adwuma pa ara.

Ɛma ɔman tumi hwɛ market access, si data ko a ɛbɛkɔ model mu ho gyinae, na ɔhwɛ nea model no gyinaesi no yɛ nnipa. Saa ara nso na public procurement betumi de auditability, portability ne provider sesa ankasa ho nhwehwɛmu ato system biara a aban bɛtɔ no so.

Kavaarpuo san kaa sɛ ɔyɛ chair wɔ cross-border data transfers working group a ɛwɔ Network of African Data Protection Authorities (NADPA) mu. Kuw no reyɛ Afrika model bi a ɛbɛma information atumi atwam afi jurisdiction baako mu akɔ foforo mu a protections a na ɛwɔ data no so no renyera. Ɔkaa adequacy decisions, standard contractual clauses, binding corporate rules, certifications ne specific authorisations a ɛfa high-risk information ho sɛ nneɛma a wɔde bɛyɛ eyi.

Enti, sovereignty no fii declarations nsɛmfua mu kɔɔ contracts nsɛmfua mu.

Nsɛmfua anan: beae, control, ownership ne value

Awia panel titiriw no, a Patrice Robertson na ɔhwɛɛ so no, de Darlington Akogo a ofi minoHealth AI Labs, Naa Adoley Azu a ofi Institute for AI Policy and Governance, ne George Gabla, Chief Technology Officer wɔ Dynamic Data Solutions, baa bom. Session no din kyerɛe sɛ wɔpɛ sɛ wɔfi discussion kɔ sovereign data framework draft so. Akyiri yi Robertson boaboaa nkɔmmɔ no ano wɔ nsɛmfua anan mu: location, control, ownership ne value.

Akogo na ɔkaa asɛm no wɔ ɔkwan a ɛyɛ tẽẽ paa so. Obisaa sɛ, sɛ Afrika boaboa data ano na ɛde ma US company bi a ɛde kɔ ne models mu a, ɛnyɛ “digital colonisation” foforo anaa. Ne sɛ, sovereignty nnyina data storage ne structuring nkutoo so. Ɛsan kyerɛ sɛ wubetumi anya tumi wɔ knowledge ne technologies a wɔsi data no so no so, efisɛ data yɛ layer baako pɛ wɔ AI stack no mu.

Azu de asɛm no kɔɔ akyirikyiri sen physical localisation. Data centre a ɛwɔ ɔman no mu nkyerɛ sovereignty sɛ institutions ntumi audit nea ɛrekɔ so wɔ hɔ, ntumi nhu secondary uses, anaa ntumi nsi operations bi ano. Sovereignty san da contracts mu: hena na ɔma kwan sɛ wɔmfa data no, wɔde yɛ dɛn, na hena na ɔda so wɔ tumi sɛ ɔbɛka sɛ wɔnto mu anaa wɔngyae.

Infrastructure no nso nnyɛ neutral. Data centres gye asase, wɔde nsu di dwuma, na wɔsɛe energy. Community bi betumi asoa cost no nyinaa, bere a value a ɛba no kɔ baabi foforo. Enti data ownership kɛkɛ ntumi nkyerɛ abusuabɔ no nyinaa.

Gabla de analogy a ɛfa extractivism ho no kɔɔ akyirikyiri, na ɔde slavery mpo kaa historical examples ho. Ne asɛm no ne sɛ Afrika nni sɛ ɛsan yɛ pattern a ɛde resources kɔ akyi a ɛnkura value layers a edi akyi no so, na mfeɛ pii akyi na ɛsan hwehwɛ compensation. Ɔhyɛɛ nyansa sɛ Afrika mfi seesei nhwehwɛ ne gyinabea wɔ AI value chain no mu, na wɔnnhwɛ sɛnea “AI dividend” bi betumi de productivity gains no fã bi asan aba societies a AI no nsunsuansoɔ no yɛ kɛse wɔ hɔ.

Ɔsan gyee frugal AI toom, a wɔsi no wɔ energy, connectivity ne compute limitations a ɛwɔ Afrika ankasa so. Wɔ saa adwene yi mu no, technological autonomy nkyerɛ sɛ Afrika bɛyɛ Silicon Valley infrastructure no nyinaa wɔ ne kɛseɛ mu. Ɛkyerɛ sɛ ɔman anaa continent no besi capacity a ɛdɔɔso a ɛbɛma no akura negotiation power mu ho gyinae.

Asɛmmisa a na ɛda hɔ — nnipa a wɔn data na ɛma systems yi yɛ yi, wɔn nsa ka dɛn — bae akyiri yi. Akogo kaa drone-based pest-detection project bi a ɛfa cashew farms ho wɔ Ghana, a wɔyɛe ne GIZ, Ministry of Agriculture ne farming communities ho. Sɛ anka wɔbɛtua obiara ka ama data biara a wɔanya no, wɔde value sanee baa hɔ denam tool a wɔyɛe no a wɔde maa farmers kwa ne training a wɔde maa farmers ne agricultural extension staff no so.

Wɔ health mu, ɔde simplified example bi kyerɛɛ asɛm no. Sɛ wɔfa Ghana population sɛ 30 million na wɔtua obiara dollars 10 ama ne data a, cost no bɛyɛ dollars 300 million. Ne conclusion ne sɛ value a wɔsan de ma no nni hɔ sɛ ɛyɛ sika nkutoo, nanso ɛsɛ sɛ wɔde hyɛ design no mu fi mfiase na ɛyɛ sustainable.

Infrastructure a ɛma sovereignty gyina anaa ɛma ɛsɛe

Ruben Opata, Chief Technology Officer wɔ MTN Ghana, de nkɔmmɔ no sian baa physical infrastructure no so.

Wɔ Afrika, 5G networks no du bɛyɛ population no 12%, bere a Europe wɔ 74% na Asia-Pacific wɔ 70%, sɛnea ITU figures a ɛfa 2025 ho kyerɛ no. Nsonsonoe no yɛ kɛse paa wɔ data centres mu: Afrika wɔ bɛyɛ 0.6% pɛ wɔ global capacity no mu, nanso ɛwɔ bɛyɛ wiase population no nkyem anum mu baako.

Opata kaa problem no wɔ ɔkwan a ɛyɛ pɛpɛɛpɛ so. Sɛ Afrika nni n’ankasa infrastructure a, ɛbetumi ayɛ nea ɛde raw data kɔ abɔnten na ɛsan tɔ no ba sɛ intelligence.

Saa vulnerability no nnyɛ theory. Wɔ 14 March 2024 no, incident baako wɔ Côte d’Ivoire mpoano no maa ACE, SAT-3, WACS ne MainOne submarine cables no yɛɛ down. Ɛkaa aman 13 wɔ Afrika mu, na ɛkyerɛɛ sɛ regional connectivity no fã kɛse betumi atwerɛ routes kakraa bi pɛ so.

Enti energy, connectivity, data centres ne compute ba ansa na large models no. Opata wiee ne kasa no sɛ connectivity yɛ critical national infrastructure dedaw, ansa mpo na yɛde AI bɛka ho.

Pan-Africanism wɔ akyi kakra

Da no nkɔmmɔ a etwa to no bisaa sɛ Pan-Africanism da so wɔ tumi a ɛbɛma watumi ahyehyɛ technological economy foforo no wɔ politics mu anaa.

Joseph Kweku Assan san kɔɔ Pan-African project abakɔsɛm no mu, na ɔkyerɛɛ dimensions abiɛsa: political emancipation, diplomatic cooperation ne shared development. Ne adwene ne sɛ shared development no na ɛannye nkɔsoɔ kɛse sɛ abien a aka no. Enti generation a ɛwɔ hɔ seesei nnyaa saa economic ne technological common project no ho experience pii, na AI betumi ayɛ nea ɛte sɛ biribi a ɛwɔ Pan-African imagination no akyi.

Reginald Ankrah kyerɛɛ sɛ saa fragmentation no yɛ adwuma dɛn wɔ reality mu. Ɔkaa health system bi a institutions wɔ Ghana ne Côte d’Ivoire reyɛ ho asɛm. Sɛ system no twa border no a, ɛhyia regulatory frameworks a ɛne wɔn ho nnye, ɛmfa ho sɛ organizations a wɔwom no reyɛ adwuma bom. Models betumi asesa ntɛm paa; data, rules a ɛma wɔtumi de di dwuma, ne institutions a wɔhwɛ so no ntumi nsi saa.

Ne diagnosis ne sɛ Afrika da so reyɛ policies, systems ne databases wɔ national silos mu. Eyi de paradox bi ba. Continent no hwehwɛ sovereignty kɛse fi global companies ne infrastructure ho, nanso ɛda so kura barriers kɛse wɔ data, technology ne institutional capacity a aman no bɛkyɛ wɔn ho wɔn ho mu.

Assan san kaa problem foforo. Sɛ resources sua a, organizations ne countries betumi akɔ competition mu mmom sen sɛ wɔbɛkyekye shared capacity. Enti African Union, Smart Africa ne African Development Bank betumi ayɛ diplomatic spaces nko ara, na mmom infrastructures a wɔde bɛyɛ technological cooperation.

Enti Pan-Africanism gyinaa da no mu sɛ second layer — ɛnnye n’ani sɛ data centres anaa contracts, nanso ɛfa problem no ara ho: continental sovereignty hwehwɛ mechanisms a ɛma collective action yɛ yiye, na ɛnyɛ national strategies a wɔde to wɔn ho so kɛkɛ.

Awiei

Felix Donkor, PAAIS convenor, boaboaa nkɔmmɔ a ɛkɔɔ so nnɔnhwere pii no ano wɔ sequence tiawa bi mu. Policy a capital nni ho no gyina. Capital a trust nni ho no mma. Na abien no nso nyɛ pii sɛ implementation nni hɔ.

Nnɛ, da a ɛto so abien na etwa to no kɔ so wɔ theme “Talent and Impact” ase. Programme no kura closing session ne roadmap a ɛkɔ 2027, enti nea yɛbɛhwɛ ne sɛ da a edi kan no nkɔmmɔ mu dɛn na betumi adan verifiable commitments.

Wɔ AIthropology fam no, thread no toa so fi baabi a yɛgyae no nnɛ a etwaam, map dispute no. Sɛ wɔsesa representation a, ɛsesa ɔkwan a wɔfa so hu territory bi. Accra de dimension foforo kaa ho: wɔ AI mu no, nea ɛho hia nso ne hena na ɔwɔ instruments a ɛtumi yɛ saa representation no, de data ma no, dannan no kɔ decisions mu, na ogyina no bere a ɛho hia.

Sɛ wɔawie akodi a ɛfa hena na ɔtumi yɛ Afrika map no ho a, akodi a edi hɔ ne hena na ɔtumi bu Afrika ho akontaabu.

Sources

  • Yɛn ankasa Whisper transcription a ɛfa PAAIS 2026 da a edi kan, 22 September 2026.
  • Pan African AI & Innovation Summit, official website ne programme — https://panafricanaisummit.com/
  • AIthropology Lab, “Africa at scale” — https://aithropologylab.org/en/notes/africa-at-scale/
  • United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, “Victory for Africa as UN Votes on Resolution to ‘Correct the Map’”, 8 September 2026.
  • African Union, Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy, July 2024.
  • International Telecommunication Union, Facts and Figures 2025.
  • Africa Data Centres Association, Data Centres in Africa 2026: The Economic Report.
  • Internet Society, 2024 West Africa Submarine Cable Outage Report.
  • Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations / Ghana News Agency, National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2025–2035 launch.