May 23 , 2025
Ethiopia hosted the “AI for Africa” event on Saturday (May 17) as part of the Ethiopian Tech Expo 2025. Held on the second day of the expo, officially opened by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the event featured a high-level policy dialogue focused on advancing artificial intelligence in Africa on the continent’s own terms.
The event, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, the African Union, and the Institute for Security Studies, opened with welcoming remarks from Worku Gachena, Director General of the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute. He highlighted the continent’s historic opportunity to use AI as a driver of transformation and emphasized that ethical development and implementation of AI require collaboration.
In her statement, Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, outlined the African Union’s AI ambitions. She stated that the vision is to harness AI for Africa’s development and prosperity, focusing on making AI accessible for socio-economic growth, fostering homegrown AI capacity, advancing multisectoral and multistakeholder governance, and promoting innovative regulations that enable AI adoption while protecting African people.
Prime Minister Abiy officially opened the high-level dialogue, stating that AI is no longer a futuristic concept but a current engine of development across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and governance. He acknowledged risks like job displacement and inequality arising from rapid technological progress, calling for bold, inclusive policies, agile regulation, and a strong commitment to data sovereignty to ensure AI development aligns with African needs and values.
Prime Minister Abiy highlighted Ethiopia’s digital progress over the past five years, including the creation of the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, telecom liberalization, renewable energy growth, the issuance of over 15 million digital IDs and local innovation and education through initiatives like the 5 Million Coders program. Looking ahead, he stressed the government’s committed to strengthening digital infrastructure, protecting digital sovereignty, investing in digital literacy and AI education, and building an inclusive digital economy. He urged Africa to lead in shaping a future where technology benefits all.
The first panel of the day, moderated by Billene Seyoum, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, featured key continental and international voices. Foreign Minister Gedion Timotheos, AUC Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, Lerato D. Mataboge, UN Under-Secretary-General on Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Gill, and Algeria’s AI Scientific Council Chair, Merouane Debbah, discussed strategies to promote AI adoption across Africa. They emphasized the need for coordinated policies, capacity-building, and regulatory frameworks to ensure responsible and transformative AI integration.
The following two panels featured global experts and focused on responsible AI governance. The first highlighted best practices from the UK, UAE, China, and Brazil, with Fonteh Akum of the Institute for Security Studies moderating and emphasizing mutual learning and partnerships with Africa. The final panel stressed the urgency of addressing the AI divide through inclusive policies, regional coordination, and public-private partnerships to accelerate AI adoption across the continent.
The Communiqué issued at the event’s conclusion declared Artificial Intelligence a strategic priority for Africa and committed to collaboratively developing the digital infrastructure, high-quality datasets, compute capabilities, skills, and research capacity necessary to support ethical and responsible AI development. This commitment aims to drive sustainable development while mitigating risks associated with AI.
The Communiqué further pledged to harness AI’s vast potential to accelerate the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063, ensuring AI development and governance are integral to Africa’s long-term strategic vision for inclusive economic growth, social progress, and sustainable development. It was also agreed to maintain momentum; the next Dialogue edition is scheduled during the AU Summit in February 2026 in Addis Ababa.