The continent is stepping up initiatives to govern artificial intelligence, but it still trails the world’s most advanced economies. The Global Index on Responsible AI 2026 points to regulatory progress in several African countries while emphasizing that the main obstacles now lie in institutional capacity, digital skills, and infrastructure. The transition has evolved beyond a purely technological issue into a broader economic development challenge.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly emerging as a driver of competitiveness for African economies. Yet countries’ ability to regulate its development remains highly uneven. The Global Index on Responsible AI 2026, published by the Global Center on AI Governance, shows that Africa remains the lowest-scoring region in the global index, with an average score of 21.79 out of 100, compared with a global average of 35. The report notes, however, that these figures mask a wave of reforms underway in several countries across the continent.
According to the report, the central challenge is no longer the adoption of governance principles, which are now broadly shared internationally, but their translation into effective public policies. The authors argue that the disparities observed reflect differences in administrative, technical, and financial capacity rather than differences in political ambition.
This distinction is key to understanding Africa’s trajectory. Several governments now have digital strategies or draft regulations in place but still face difficulties in establishing the institutions, oversight mechanisms, and human resources needed to implement them.
Regulatory progress remains limited
The report nevertheless highlights several important developments. Five African countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco, and Nigeria—have recently adopted new measures related to AI safety, reflecting growing awareness of the challenges posed by algorithmic systems.
These developments come as AI applications are spreading rapidly across the financial, agricultural, healthcare, and public administration sectors. According to the report’s authors, governance is gradually becoming a factor in economic competitiveness, as investors seek regulatory environments that offer greater legal certainty and predictability.
However, the report also notes that only 4.68% of the African indicators assessed are currently covered by fully binding legal frameworks, while nearly 79.5% still lack any specific regulation.
In other words, the continent remains in a phase of institutional development where legislation is advancing more rapidly than its implementation.
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The findings are consistent with the World Bank’s analysis. In its Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs (2025) report, the institution argues that digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, will deliver economic benefits only if accompanied by substantial investments in digital infrastructure, skills development, and institutional quality.
According to the World Bank, digital transformation has become a key driver of job creation, productivity gains, and regional integration. However, it requires a credible regulatory environment that encourages innovation while limiting risks related to personal data, algorithmic bias, or cybersecurity.
The Global Index on Responsible AI reaches a similar conclusion. According to the study, the countries making the fastest progress are those capable of coordinating their digital policies, training strategies, and public governance systems simultaneously.
Ambitions held back
The report emphasizes a less visible issue: weak institutional capacity is now the main obstacle to the development of responsible AI in Africa.
Public administrations must have specialists capable of assessing algorithmic systems, monitoring compliance, protecting personal data, and ensuring the transparency of automated decision-making.
Yet many African countries face a shortage of specialized human resources. As a result, the implementation of regulations remains slow, even where they already exist.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) also highlights this challenge in its Ten-Year Strategy 2024–2033, which identifies digital skills development, innovation, and governance as essential pillars of the continent’s economic transformation.
According to the AfDB, strengthening human capital is essential to enable African economies to fully leverage emerging technologies.
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The report also implicitly underscores that AI governance is becoming a factor in international competition.
International companies are increasingly favoring markets where rules governing data use, the accountability of automated systems, and cybersecurity are clearly established.
For African economies, this shift is changing the traditional factors that determine investment attractiveness.
The quality of digital infrastructure remains important, but it is no longer sufficient. Investors also assess regulatory stability, legal protections, and the ability of institutions to enforce the rules.
From that perspective, the progress made by several African countries represents less an endpoint than a signal to international markets.
Toward African digital sovereignty
Beyond regulatory issues, the report opens a broader discussion about the continent’s digital sovereignty.
Artificial intelligence relies on data, computing capacity, and technological infrastructure that are largely controlled by international players.
For many African countries, the challenge is to ensure that the digital transition does not reproduce the forms of economic dependence already seen in other sectors.
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The World Bank notes that building local digital ecosystems, supporting technology startups, and investing in research are essential conditions for increasing the value created on the continent.
Similarly, the African Development Bank argues that the development of the digital economy must be accompanied by stronger African expertise so that innovation is designed, adapted, and governed locally.
