UAE AI for Africa: Fostering Development
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced a 1-billion-US-dollar initiative called "AI for Development" for African nations. This program aims to foster the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa. The question arises whether this initiative primarily serves digital development or pursues strategic influence.
Source: Own Representation
Introduction
At the G20 summit in Johannesburg, the UAE announced 1-Milliarde-Dollar-Initiative „AI for Development“ which is intended to promote AI infrastructure, digital administration, and productivity in African countries. Official bodies in Abu Dhabi emphasize that the program will finance the expansion of digital infrastructure, modern administrative services, and AI applications in areas such as education, health, and climate adaptation ( wam.ae). ). At the same time, the global focus of AI investment is increasingly shifting towards the Global South. Concerns are growing that new forms of dependency and "digital colonialism" could emerge ( World Economic Forum).
According to Reuters, UAE Minister of State Saeed Bin Mubarak Al Hajeri announced the "AI for Development" initiative at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, pledging an investment volume of 1 billion US dollars ( Reuters). ). The program aims to expand AI infrastructure and AI-powered services in Africa, particularly in sectors such as education, health, and climate adaptation ( Reuters). ). The UAE's state news agency describes "AI for Development" as a targeted contribution to strengthen digital infrastructure and connectivity on the continent, thereby supporting the national development goals of African states ( wam.ae). ). According to the Abu Dhabi Media Office, the initiative will be implemented by the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX) and will finance data centers, cloud platforms, and AI-powered solutions in administration-related areas ( mediaoffice.abudhabi). ). An analysis by Biometric Update explicitly places the program in the context of African "Digital Public Infrastructure" (DPI) – that is, basic digital infrastructure such as digital identity, payment rails, and registry systems upon which AI applications are to be built ( biometricupdate.com). ). TechAfricaNews summarizes it pointedly: The program is intended to accelerate growth by strengthening digital infrastructure, modernizing government services, and increasing productivity in key industries ( TechAfrica News).
Source: wam.ae
International collaborations like the UAE's 'AI for Development' initiative are crucial for unlocking the potential of AI in Africa.
Opportunities and Potentials
With its „Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020–2030“ the African Union pursues the goal of expanding digital infrastructure, e-government, and digital competencies as a basis for economic development and integration. In its kontinentalen KI-Strategie von 2024 the AU explicitly describes artificial intelligence as a lever for improved access to education, health, agricultural advice, and financial services – provided that the systems are designed to be inclusive, secure, and compliant with human rights. In parallel, current figures from the GSMA association show that mobile technologies already generate 7.7% of Africa's economic output and contribute around 220 billion US dollars to regional value creation in 2024 ( GSMA).
The GSMA-Studie „Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2024“ forecasts around 751 million unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 – a penetration rate of 53% – and emphasizes that affordable smartphones and network coverage are crucial for AI applications to reach broad segments of the population. Microsoft describes in its own contribution how a lack of network coverage, high data costs, and the high price of 4G devices have so far excluded many people from data-intensive AI services – while also showing how start-ups are trying to close precisely this gap with on-device AI and edge solutions ( Source).
Against this backdrop, the opportunities of artificial intelligence for African countries are very concrete: If AI-assisted diagnostics run offline on inexpensive smartphones in rural clinics, they can support healthcare professionals with triage decisions and reduce waiting times ( Source). ). If agricultural advisory services bundle weather data, soil analyses, and market prices using AI, smallholder farmers can increase their yields and manage risks better, as various pilot projects on AI-assisted "smart agriculture" show ( World Economic Forum). ). A recent McKinsey briefing estimates that with consistent implementation, generative AI could bring an additional 61 to 103 billion US dollars in annual value creation in Africa – primarily in sectors such as trade, telecommunications, finance, energy, and the public sector ( Sezarr Overseas News). ). This estimate is based on a combined view of classic ML applications and generative models that automate processes, make data-driven decisions, and enable new services ( Sezarr Overseas News).
Source: YouTube
The question of how start-ups in Africa benefit from AI investments is worth a sober look at the numbers. According to an analysis by Briter (formerly Briter Bridges), African tech start-ups are on track in 2024 to surpass last year's total funding or at least stabilize it – after a sharp decline in 2023 ( briter.co). ). The Partech-Report 2024 shows that tech start-ups in Africa raised around 3.2 billion US dollars in equity and debt capital in 2024, with 2.2 billion US dollars for equity and 1 billion for debt. A current analysis of AI start-ups in Africa also puts the 2024 funding volume for the entire tech scene at 3.2 billion US dollars and identifies AI-driven solutions as a key growth driver, particularly in the fintech sector ( Sezarr Overseas News). ). At the same time, the majority of capital remains concentrated in four hubs: Lagos, Nairobi, Cairo, and Cape Town/Johannesburg ( Sezarr Overseas News).
For local founders, the major AI programs of global players are relevant for three main reasons: Firstly, because they provide expensive infrastructure such as GPU data centers, which young companies would otherwise not have access to – Microsoft, for example, is investing an additional ZAR 5.4 billion (around 285–300 million US dollars) in AI-capable cloud infrastructure in South Africa by 2027 ( Source). ). Secondly, because they broaden the talent pool through large-scale training programs: Microsoft aims to train one million South Africans in AI and cybersecurity skills by 2026, as reported by both the government and international media ( Reuters). ). Thirdly, because development banks like the IFC are specifically investing in African and regionally adjacent start-ups through a 225-million-US-dollar VC program, thereby strengthening local ecosystems ( TechCrunch).
The UAE program fits into this landscape, but with a clear focus on export financing via ADEX: companies from the Emirates are to implement AI projects in African countries, which in turn can involve local start-ups as partners or suppliers ( mediaoffice.abudhabi). ). For a fintech start-up in Nairobi, this could concretely mean that it uses GPU capacity in a data center supported by UAE funding, instead of having to purchase expensive infrastructure or cloud capacities in US data centers itself ( DataCenterDynamics).
Source: YouTube
DW has been documenting for several years how African start-ups use AI for credit scoring, fraud detection, and agricultural advice – often without access to high-performance hardware locally. If "AI for Development" reduces latencies and costs here, the chance increases that not only foreign platforms but also local players will generate value creation ( Sezarr Overseas News).
Source: zambia.misa.org
A bottom-up approach is crucial for shaping AI development in Africa sustainably and according to needs.
Infrastructure and Administration
Biometric Update emphasizes in its analysis that the UAE program explicitly builds on ongoing DPI initiatives – from national ID systems and biometric registries to digital payment platforms ( biometricupdate.com). ). Many countries from Tunisia to South Africa and Somalia to Senegal are already working on digital identity systems and have national AI strategies in preparation or in force, which are based precisely on this infrastructure ( biometricupdate.com). ). The concept of "Digital Public Infrastructure" – that is, interoperable basic digital systems for identity, payments, and data exchange – is now being cited as a prerequisite by, for example, the World Economic Forum and the African Union for making digital services and AI applications scalable ( World Economic Forum).
At the same time, organizations like the GSMA warn in blogs and reports that despite growing 4G and 5G coverage, Africa has the largest usage and coverage gaps worldwide – rural areas and women are disproportionately affected by lack of internet use ( GSMA). ). The expansion of data centers is a central puzzle piece: studies and market reports estimate that the African data center market is expected to grow from an investment volume of around 2 billion US dollars in 2020 to about 5 billion US dollars in 2026 – with an annual growth of around 15% ( MAfrica Business Communities). ). Analyses by specialized market portals confirm this scale and see AI workloads as an important driver for new data center locations in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Côte d'Ivoire ( How we made it in Africa).
The fact that transnational players are entering in a big way is shown, for example, by Visa with a new data center in Johannesburg, which is part of a 1-billion-US-dollar investment plan in Africa ( Reuters). ). Microsoft, in turn, is investing almost 300 million US dollars in additional cloud and AI infrastructure in South Africa, while simultaneously expanding training programs for local professionals ( Source). ). Against this backdrop, it is logical that "AI for Development" is planned not only as a funding pot for individual pilot projects, but as a building block of a larger, pan-African DPI puzzle – including digital ID systems, biometric authentication, and AI-powered, data-driven administration ( biometricupdate.com).
A YouTube panel on „Artificial Intelligence – The Next Frontier in Digital Public Infrastructure“ makes it clear how strongly AI is now being discussed as part of national DPI strategies in Africa.
Geopolitical Aspects
At the latest, the geopolitical significance of AI projects in Africa becomes apparent here. An in-depth investigation by The Guardian shows how the UAE has become one of the largest investors in Africa in recent years – with commitments in agriculture, telecommunications, ports, and aviation – combining economic interests, security agendas, and soft power ( Der Guardian). ). Reuters reports that bilateral trade between the UAE and Africa reached 107 billion US dollars in 2024, and the Emirates' total investments in Africa from 2020 to 2024 stood at over 118 billion US dollars ( Reuters).
). At the same time, think tanks and media analyze how China is expanding its influence on Africa's digital future through massive investments in digital infrastructure – from fiber optic networks and data centers to surveillance technology – and exporting governance models that focus less on data protection and civil rights ( africachinareporting.com). ). Political science works explicitly describe these strategies as instruments of "soft power" that create norms and dependencies through infrastructure, media, education, and technology ( OUP Academic). ). Against this backdrop, "AI for Development" does not appear as an isolated aid program, but as a building block in the competition for technological standards, data flows, and political influence in the Global South ( biometricupdate.com).
Source: user-added
Visual identifier of the 'UAE AI for Development Initiative Africa'.
The fact that implementation and financing are handled through an export agency like ADEX clearly indicates that the position of companies from the Emirates in African markets is also to be strengthened ( mediaoffice.abudhabi). ). Criticism of "Middle Eastern AI Development Aid Programs" thus connects to older debates about oil, infrastructure, or arms deals, where economic and security policy interests hide behind development rhetoric ( Der Guardian). ). In contrast to classic infrastructure projects, however, AI investments are particularly sensitive: they affect data, identity systems, communication infrastructure, and partly security-relevant applications – areas where dependencies can restrict long-term political room for maneuver ( World Economic Forum). ). The parallel to the China debate is obvious: studies show how digital authoritarianism models can influence democratic processes in Africa through technology exports if surveillance and data systems are introduced without robust protection mechanisms ( africachinareporting.com).
Recommendations and Conclusion
The AU's African AI strategy explicitly demands that governance frameworks for AI be based on human rights, inclusion, and accountability, and that African states build their own competencies for regulation, infrastructure operation, and research ( au.int). ). Organizers of conferences on „inclusive AI“ repeatedly emphasize in panels and webinars that local communities must have a say in the design and data basis of AI systems to reduce distortions and power imbalances.
For deals like "AI for Development", this means in practice: contracts should include clear rules on data sovereignty, data protection, transparency of algorithms, and potential vendor lock-in – a point that researchers and activists also repeatedly demand in discussion rounds on KI-Governance in Afrika . Public tenders and project structures can favor local companies or at least involve them equally, instead of just acting as suppliers for foreign prime contractors ( Sezarr Overseas News). ). Financing models can be designed so that know-how transfer, training of local specialists, and joint research become integral parts of the agreements – similar to some AI programs in which global and African universities jointly develop curricula ( GSMA).
). Civil society, media, and parliaments can also demand transparency about the specific project portfolios: Which countries are receiving which infrastructure? Where are data centers being built? What minimum standards apply to security, data protection, and accessibility? ( biometricupdate.com). ). Experience with previous large-scale projects – from Chinese surveillance networks to European border tech initiatives – shows that public oversight is crucial to ensure that major technical investments do not lead to new forms of structural inequality ( africachinareporting.com).
"AI for Development" is more than just another fund in the global alphabet of development. The 1 billion US dollars from the UAE come at a time when AI investments are significantly shifting to the Global South ( Reuters), ), African start-ups are maintaining a stable funding level despite all crises ( Partech) ), and digital infrastructure has become a geopolitical stage. For African countries, the initiative can concretely mean faster access to data centers, digital identity systems, better administration, and new AI applications in health, education, and agriculture – provided that governance, transparency, and local ownership are in place ( biometricupdate.com, au.int).
). At the same time, it is clear: whoever provides the infrastructure, standards, and data spaces for AI also shapes power relations. Therefore, the debate about whether the initiative is more development aid or strategic soft power cannot be answered with a simple either/or – it is both simultaneously ( Der Guardian). ). It will be crucial whether African actors actively shape the conditions and make "AI for Development" a tool for their own digital sovereignty – or whether, in the end, another wave of technological dependencies arises, only this time in the guise of AI ( World Economic Forum).