Nairobi summit spotlights Africa’s AI economy, infrastructure gap

AI Everything Kenya X GITEX Kenya opened Tuesday, May 19, at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, anchoring a wider East African conversation about who will build, fund and regulate artificial intelligence across the region as governments, investors and technology firms converge to stake their claim in Africa’s digital future. Powered by the 45-year legacy of GITEX GLOBAL, the event convened more than 400 C-suite delegates, including chief AI officers, chief information security officers and global technology executives, alongside investors and more than 20 pan-African government officials. ALSO READ: AI Salon Kigali launched to connect Rwanda’s innovators to global AI networks Organizers said the inaugural edition has drawn more than 500 global enterprises and startups, over 10,000 technology executives, more than 100 active investors and venture capital firms, representatives from 75 countries and more than 150 speakers. The stated ambition is to convert what they described as fragmented innovation into “scalable, transnational, and globally competitive AI infrastructure,” at a time when artificial intelligence is forecast to generate $1.5 trillion in additional economic value across Africa by 2030. ALSO READ: African universities race to align education with AI-driven future of work Presiding over the opening of the Inclusive AI Everything Summit, Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology Philip Thigo framed the moment as urgent. “AI, as we know, is undeniably massive,” he said. “Especially in countries like Kenya.” He argued that the continent must not approach AI as it did previous technological waves. “AI, as it comes to the African continent, must not be adopted as previous other evolutions of technologies where we adopted it last,” he said. “It has potential, yes, for creating challenges and risks. But also, it has a lot of opportunities.” Thigo cited agriculture, health, food systems, climate protection, the creative economy and public service delivery as areas where AI could alter outcomes. “Africa’s role in AI must therefore be articulated as an investment agenda,” he said. “AI is not a product. AI is literally everywhere.” He acknowledged infrastructure gaps, saying the continent still lags “around connectivity” and “energy,” but stressed that the issue is not talent. “Not necessarily talent,” he said. “But all issues around connectivity. Energy.” He pointed to Kenya’s startup ecosystem and regulatory environment, noting that the country attracted significant investor interest and has been ranked highly for its regulatory framework. “If you’re an investor,” he said, “then what are you missing? ... We are open for business. But also open for investments.” ALSO READ: Hallucinations aren’t just an AI problem Thigo also tied the conversation to demographics. “By 2050, 25 percent of the global population will be from this continent,” he said, arguing that the demographic shift has implications for global investment flows. “We possess everything around artificial intelligence,” he said, listing “green minerals,” “data,” “talent” and “modern innovations.” Trixie LohMirmand, chief executive officer of GITEX Global, expanded the argument beyond Kenya. “Technology is no longer an option,” she said. “And I think when it comes to AI, it is more critical.” She described AI as “a critical infrastructure” and said there is “a renewed urgency more than any other times” for countries to leverage technology “to build resilience” and “for advancement at times of uncertainty.” She congratulated Kenya for its record in digitalization and fintech. “You set the momentum, you set the pace, you disrupted the space,” she said, referring to the country’s mobile payments ecosystem. But she warned that the landscape has shifted. “There’s a new world order of intelligence economy that’s rising,” she said. “This is the global AI race.” According to LohMirmand, the competition is no longer limited to private companies. “AI is no longer competition confined to private companies,” she said. “It is a global race led by cities and countries and from leadership.” She emphasized the idea of sovereign AI, saying countries want not only to use AI but to create it. “Using AI makes you a market,” she said. “Creating AI makes you a power.” She described collaboration as essential. “Collaboration is a new currency in the AI generation,” she said, noting that AI infrastructure requires coordination across government policy, research and development, capital flows, integration with large technology firms and talent development. She said platforms like GITEX serve as connectors in that ecosystem and stressed that AI “is not reserved for China and the US.” “AI is accessible and open and available to everyone,” she said. LohMirmand cited examples from other GITEX-hosting countries. In Egypt, she said, leaders invested in a national language model and moved up the AI innovation index. In Morocco, she referenced a sovereign AI nexus factory backed by a $1.2 billion commitment. In Singapore and Kazakhstan, she said governments are embedding AI across finance, industrialization and manufacturing. The point, she said, is speed. “See how fast the world is moving,” she said. Dr. Monica Musenero Masanza, Uganda’s Minister of Science and Technology, delivered one of the most pointed interventions of the summit. She argued that Africa has largely received AI “as a technology” rather than as a new economic system. “Industrial revolutions, although they present a frontline technology, are actually an economic revolution,” she said. “They redefine how people and nations do their business.” She said the continent risks focusing on innovation counts instead of value capture. “Don’t sit in an AI summit or conference and you leave without knowing where the money is,” she said. “Don’t just think about the technology. Where is the money? Because this is about money.” She added that Africa is currently retaining “only one percent of the value in the AI economy,” despite visible activity across startups and pilot projects. Musenero called for new economic metrics tailored to African realities, particularly where informality dominates. “We must develop metrics,” she said. “We cannot use the same metrics as developed nations.” She also urged governments to involve ministries of finance, trade officials and central bankers in AI discussions. “We must bring the people who determine the economic policies, the monetary policies on board,” she said. “They must be part and parcel of this discussion.” Her broader message was that Africa cannot afford intellectual passivity. “You cannot delegate thinking in the era of the AI,” she said. “We must set up our thinking.” She referenced the launch of an Africa think tank at the summit, intended as a space to examine how AI can shift economies rather than remain confined to technical experimentation. Across the opening sessions, the through line was ownership. Leaders repeatedly stressed that Africa should not limit itself to consuming imported systems. The challenge, as articulated from the stage in Nairobi, is to build infrastructure, shape regulation, mobilize capital and capture value.

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Nairobi summit spotlights Africa’s AI economy, infrastructure gap