The conversation today is no longer whether Africa will adopt AI, but if it can create the conditions to use it responsibly, confidently and at scale. That question is becoming more important as AI systems are increasingly embedded in how organisations work. At the heart of the shift is a question of trust: can an organisation gain from AI without surrendering control of the data, intellectual property and institutional intelligence that make it distinctive?
Microsoft’s Global AI Diffusion Report for the first quarter of 2026 found generative AI usage among working-age populations at 27.5 percent in the global north compared with 15.4 percent in the south. For Africa, closing that gap is an economic imperative and a chance to shape the next phase of AI development.
The African Development Bank estimates that, if developed and deployed inclusively, AI could contribute as much as S$1 trillion in additional GDP across the continent by 2035.
Trust is what enables innovation to move from experimentation to economic impact. Building trust will require progress in three areas: meaningful choice and openness; partnerships that develop capability; and responsible, secure and resilient deployment.
The AU’s Continental AI Strategy identifies the potential for AI to transform healthcare, agriculture, finance, education and other areas. Realising that vision requires governments, companies, researchers and developers to have meaningful choice in how they build, deploy and govern AI.
This means access to a model-diverse and interoperable ecosystem in which organisations can select the technology most appropriate to their needs. Governments and businesses should be able to choose among frontier, open and specialised models without being locked into one pathway.
Openness should mean an ecosystem in which innovation takes place across technologies and providers, supported by common standards, governance and the ability of customers to retain control of their data and intellectual property. This platform approach can lower barriers for developers, enable solutions to be adapted and give governments and enterprises resilience as models and technology change. It also creates space for innovators to participate in the AI value chain instead of simply consuming products developed elsewhere.
Africa’s AI ambitions will also depend on partnerships capable of addressing interconnected constraints that limit diffusion. Governments must create enabling policy environments; universities and research institutions must develop talent; start-ups and established businesses must create solutions; civil society should shape accountability and public confidence. Tech providers have an important role in contributing cloud infrastructure, expertise, security and responsible AI practices.
The strongest partnerships will be those that build enduring African capability, leaving governments and communities better equipped to develop, deploy and govern AI themselves.
The writer is the Head of Government Affairs for Africa at Microsoft
