At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping economies, the Minister of ICT and Innovation, Paula Ingabire, has warned that East Africa risks falling behind, not for lack of potential, but due to growing dependence on systems built elsewhere.

Speaking at the fourth edition of the Science, Technology and Innovation Conference, held at the Kigali Convention Centre on Monday, March 30, Ingabire argued that the region must take control of how artificial intelligence is developed, deployed, and governed.

"Artificial intelligence is already being applied across sectors, from agriculture to healthcare. But importing ready-made systems without adapting them to local contexts could come at a cost,” she said.

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She cautioned that reliance on foreign-built systems risks locking the region into solutions that do not reflect its realities.

"The greatest risk that East Africa faces is that we will remain consumers of AI systems built elsewhere, trained on data that does not reflect our own realities, and optimised for problems that are not ours.”

Ingabire framed the issue as one of control over data, systems, and the economic value generated by AI.

"AI sovereignty means the capacity of East African nations, individually and collectively to define how AI is developed, deployed, and governed within our borders. It means our data stays in our hands, our citizens’ rights are protected by our laws, our AI systems reflect our values, and the economic value generated by AI in East Africa accrues to East Africans.”

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She noted that most major AI systems are developed outside Africa, trained on foreign data, and shaped by external regulations, conditions that risk sidelining local realities if adopted without scrutiny.

"When we deploy these systems without adaptation, local oversight, or the capacity to audit or challenge them, we cede something fundamental: the ability to determine our own digital future.”

Ingabire called for a coordinated regional response, arguing that no single country can address the challenge alone.

"The EAC bloc is uniquely positioned to assert AI sovereignty, but only if we act together. Regional coordination is not optional, it’s existential.”

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She identified three key areas for joint action: infrastructure, regulation, and research capacity.

"Data sovereignty requires regional infrastructure. As long as East African data is processed and stored on servers outside the region, we have limited legal or practical control over how it is used.”

She proposed investment in regional data centres and cloud infrastructure to reduce reliance on external systems.

Ingabire also warned that fragmented national AI regulations create loopholes for global technology firms.

"Companies will naturally route their least regulated operations through whichever EAC member state has the weakest rules,” she said, noting that a harmonised regional framework would help close such gaps and strengthen bargaining power.

Beyond policy and infrastructure, she emphasised the need to build local expertise, warning that reliance on foreign-owned systems could shift economic gains out of the region.

"If the AI systems used in agriculture, healthcare, finance, and education are entirely foreign-built and foreign-owned, then the investment and productivity gains they generate will flow disproportionately to foreign shareholders.”

"Building local AI research and innovation capacity is not just a skills agenda but an economic sovereignty agenda. It determines who captures the value that AI creates in our economies.”

She further warned that global institutions, including the United Nations, major economic blocs, and international technology bodies are shaping rules that will govern artificial intelligence for decades, and Africa risks being left out.

"This is not a protectionist ambition. We welcome global AI partners and investment, but partnership must be built on equity, not dependency.”

Louise Haxthausen, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, reinforced the urgency from a global governance perspective, backing the call for AI sovereignty.

She said UNESCO’s AI Readiness Assessment Methodology has been deployed in six of the eight East African Community member states, and highlighted the recognition of Swahili as an official language of the organisation as a step toward building AI systems that reflect local languages.