AI Hub for Sustainable Development,/PHOTO;Courtesy
The AI Hub for Sustainable Development (AI Hub) has launched the first cohorts of its flagship programmes, marking a major step toward creating sovereign, future-ready AI ecosystems across Africa.
The AI Hub is a pan-African initiative designed to accelerate the continent’s AI capabilities by supporting African-led innovation, infrastructure, and skills development.
Acting as a central platform, it connects African innovators with global partners, including the EU, G7 nations, and private-sector organizations to co-develop AI solutions, build local compute infrastructure, and strengthen research and training.
“The AI Hub is about G7 nations co-investing in African-designed, African-built MVPs that work for Africa,” said Keyzom Ngodup Massally, Director of the AI Hub.
“Today we celebrate the innovators on the continent as well as the Italian, EU, and global partners working together to reimagine partnerships, turning minerals, compute, and code for AI into shared development gains.”
The launch signals a decisive move toward building a robust, African-led AI ecosystem, combining local innovation with global collaboration to deliver long-term, sustainable development gains.
As part of the Africa-Italy Mattei Plan, the Hub has established partnerships with 10 infrastructure builders, 20 compute-ready innovators, and 100 compute-curious organizations.
The flagship programmes, Infrastructure Builder and Compute Accelerator, are designed to empower African innovators to set priorities, test solutions, and lead implementation.
At the same time, European and G7 partners provide expertise in computing, hardware, financing, and training.
For instance, Horus Labs, an African infrastructure builder, is setting up AI-ready data centers across the continent. Raymond U. Ononiwu, Founder and CEO, said:
“Thanks to strong support from the AI Hub and EU Green Energy partners, we are laying the foundation for AI-ready data centres across Africa. Our approach is to make computing local and accessible to Africans, allowing entrepreneurs to pay using local solutions and run services relevant to African realities. Being an AI Infrastructure Builder is not just about data centres, it is powering Africa’s knowledge economy.”
This initiative represents a new model of collaboration, where global resources support African markets while African innovation contributes to global AI development.
By prioritizing local leadership and contextually relevant solutions, the Hub ensures that AI initiatives are sustainable, inclusive, and directly aligned with African needs.
The announcement coincided with the AI Hub facilitating private-sector dialogue at the AU–EU Business Forum in Luanda, attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Discussions focused on building AI infrastructure value chains along the Lobito corridor, linking African innovation with regional and international partners.
The programmes also set the stage for the AI Impact Summit in India in 2026, which will showcase African-led AI solutions globally.
Minister Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research (MUR), emphasized the importance of training and skills development:
“Strengthening skills, training, and research is the strategic choice through which we aim to support technological development in African countries. Reinforcing Africa’s artificial intelligence ecosystem helps generate the capabilities and innovative solutions that will benefit the entire continent. Our goal is to contribute to the development of a sustainable, inclusive, and truly global AI that creates opportunities without leaving anyone behind.”
With these new cohorts, the AI Hub is transforming ambition into action, building infrastructure, nurturing talent, and paving the way for Africa to lead the next wave of global AI innovation.
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