Adopting sovereignty-as-a-service could supercharge Africa’s digital economy by helping to retain data value locally, enhance national security and align artificial intelligence (AI) with African values and ethics.
This was the word from Andile Ngcaba, executive chairman and co-founder of Convergence Partners and president of Digital Council Africa, speaking last week at the Conext Conference, organised by the Digital Council Africa.
Ngcaba discussed the critical role of AI in Africa’s digital economy and urged companies, governments and citizens to “try and get their hands dirty and take a deep dive into the world of artificial intelligence.We need to make sure we are not spectators but we are part of it.”
Discussing sovereign AI, he noted that African countries and businesses should develop, deploy, govern and control their own AI systems, rather than rely on foreign or third-party platforms.
Sovereignty-as-a-service, offered by cloud providers, will help citizens enjoy protected AI services with enhanced privacy and reduced surveillance risks – fostering digital literacy and innovation, he added.
“What are we going to do about sovereign AI? Are we going to sit and wait, or is Africa going to come up with a regional collaboration on this? Digital sovereignty is paramount for Africa's future, ensuring nations maintain control over the data in a fresh structure and digital destiny. Without it, the continent risks digital colonisation.
“Foreign entities can access and monetise Africa's data without consent or benefits. Sovereign AI offers transformative benefits across various stakeholders in Africa, ensuring digital autonomy and adding local growth through comprehensive sovereignty-as-a-service platforms.
“Governments can safeguard national data from digital interests from other parts of the globe,” he noted.
Dr Mark Nasila, chief data and analytics officer of FNB Risk, speaking at the SingularityU South Africa Summit last year, told the audience the quest to attain AI sovereignty is giving African governments sleepless nights.
As governments move to govern AI technologies in efforts to mitigate potential risks, they face the dilemma of AI’s potential to exacerbate existing inequalities, according to Dr Nasila.
Ngcaba believes governments can adopt sovereignty-as-a-service by implementing national policies and building sovereign AI solutions that keep data within their borders and under their legal jurisdiction.Establishing clear digital sovereignty goals, and prioritising critical sectors, is key.
“Today, countries such as Estonia, UAE and Singapore, and a number of other countries, are looking at this concept of sovereign AI; it’s not in contradiction with global AI platforms – these are going to work side by side.
“Governments can regain control over national data and digital initiatives, strengthening economic independence and political stability. Businesses can operate within a secure digital environment that protects against foreign data exploitation and reduces infrastructure costs.”
Ngcaba invited young people to join and participate in the Model Context Protocol (MCP) Hackathon, an initiative of Digital Council Africa, which aims to help young people build secure, purposeful AI agents.
“This hackathon challenges youth to develop and launch a production-ready MCP server that exposes callable tools to AI agents. Young people will be able to solve meaningful problems with emerging AI tools.”
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