Huawei’s president for the Sub-Saharan Africa region, Hover Gao, has called on African governments to seize the opportunities of artificial intelligence (AI) to power the continent’s next phase of digital and economic transformation.

Speaking at the Ministerial Forum, held yesterday in Cape Town and titled “Artificial Intelligence Powering Africa’s Leap into the Digital and Intelligent Era”, Gao said the continent was entering a defining moment as it moves toward an “intelligent economy” driven by AI innovation.

On the eve of the Africa Tech Festival, starting today in the Mother City, Gao acknowledged that turning strategy into tangible progress remains a challenge for many African countries. Key barriers include insufficient AI computing power, a lack of localised large language models, limited access to high-quality data, and a shortage of skilled AI professionals.

Gao notes Huawei is exploring practical solutions to address these challenges, mentioning two key initiatives designed to strengthen AI readiness across the region. “First, we believe that countries should prioritise the development of national computing power centres, Gao said. “Second, African countries should develop their own foundational AI models.”

In regards to national computing power centres, Gao noted China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, who in 2020 introduced a framework known as “One Centre + Four Platforms”. By establishing a national AI computing centre that brings together computing power, data and ecosystems, it served as the foundation to support four key platforms:

• a public computing service platform
• an application innovation incubation platform
• an industrial aggregation and development platform
• a scientific research and talent cultivation platform.

Goa stated national AI computing centres can reduce redundant investment, provide shared computing resources and AI capabilities, and also offer countries a place to localise data to strengthen digital sovereignty.

Regarding the second – African countries creating their own foundational AI models, Gao believes current global foundational models must be further trained using local African data. “Only by doing so can AI truly empower industries across the continent and reflect Africa’s unique social, economic and cultural context,” Gao said. He further stated that locally trained models can minimise regional biases that might exist in global AI models, and local governments can adopt the new models for local usage instead of starting from scratch.

During his speech, Gao highlighted the African Union’s Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy, released last year, and noted that at least 16 countries have since introduced their own national AI frameworks. "By 2030, AI is expected to contribute up to 6% of Africa’s GDP, while the growth rate of computing power demand on the continent may reach twice the global average,” he mentioned.

Goa stated that Huawei is committed to working hand in hand with African governments to find practical solutions to ensure  that Africa can fully realise its AI potential. Now in its fourth year, the Ministerial Forum is co-hosted by Huawei and the African Telecommunications Union.