Africa’s artificial intelligence future will be defined largely by the continent’s approach to data governance, with the value created from African data, talent, and deployment depending on whether deliberate frameworks are established to capture that value within African economies. Akua Gyekye, government affairs director at Microsoft, has stressed that the continent’s digital future will be determined not only by how quickly AI spreads but by how deliberately it governs and shares the data that powers it. As digital public infrastructure expands, connectivity improves, and governments and businesses explore how emerging technologies can support economic growth and public service delivery, the defining question is whether Africa participates in the AI economy on its own terms.
Data lies at the centre of this challenge. AI systems rely on data to learn, adapt, and generate value, and African countries are increasingly recognising data as a form of strategic infrastructure, similar to energy grids, broadband networks, and cross-border financial systems. However, across the continent, the governance structures that determine how data is shared, protected, and used remain fragmented. Without trusted and interoperable data systems, AI cannot scale responsibly across sectors or across borders. Gyekye noted that while 76 per cent of African countries now have data protection and privacy legislation in place according to UN Trade and Development data, progress alone will not be enough if governance remains fragmented.
Persistent data silos and overly restrictive data localisation and cross-border transfer restrictions are holding back progress. These barriers can limit innovation, constrain economic growth, and reduce opportunities for cross-border collaboration at a time when scale is increasingly important. Gyekye suggested that unlocking trusted cross-border data flows, while respecting national sovereignty and privacy protections, will be critical to enabling a digital economy that works across borders, not just within them. The risk of failing to address these barriers is not only slower adoption but reduced influence over how AI systems are designed, trained, and deployed.
Current data governance efforts across the continent tend to focus heavily on data protection and privacy, which are essential. However, Gyekye argued that there needs to be equal focus on enablers such as data portability, interoperability, and responsible localisation—factors just as crucial to unlocking a robust, future-oriented digital economy. Modern data sovereignty enables trusted cross-border participation while safeguarding rights. Without integrated data flows, African innovators, researchers, and public institutions risk being excluded from emerging digital value chains increasingly powered by AI systems and data-driven services.
Smarter data governance can accelerate AI adoption, but capitalising on the AI opportunity requires more harmonised policies and coordinated frameworks among member states. Regional integration will be essential to creating the scale required for AI innovation, digital services, and cross-border trade. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and in particular its Digital Trade Protocol, has emerged as a key driver for strengthening regional efforts to enhance data governance and unlock the potential of digital trade. Realising the promise of the AfCFTA estimated by the African Union to boost intra-Africa trade by over 50 per cent—depends on seamless, secure data flows across borders.
In a digital economy, trade increasingly depends not only on goods and services but on the ability of AI systems and cloud infrastructure to operate across interoperable data ecosystems. Data flows are becoming as important to trade as the movement of goods and services themselves. Gyekye suggested that the priority for Africa is not to follow an external model but to develop African rules and institutions that support trusted data flows, reflect the continent’s market realities, and advance its own integration and development goals.
Critical work is already underway. The African Development Bank’s Africa Information Highway, a network of open data platforms connecting 54 African countries and 16 regional organisations, aims to strengthen data transparency, accountability, and governance across the continent. The African Union’s Data Policy Framework, the AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol, and the AU’s Guidelines for Integrating Data Provisions in Protocols on Digital Trade provide an increasingly important continental foundation for more harmonised data governance, interoperability, and cross-border digital trade.
