This pilot represents a strategic effort to ensure African countries retain ownership and control of their artificial intelligence ecosystem, including data, models, and deployment frameworks.
Mobile World Congress 2026 (MWC2026) held in Barcelona, at Smart Africa and MeetKai Co., Ltd. announced a ground-breaking five-country pilot program aimed at accelerating the development of sovereign AI across Africa. The initiative was announced by Smart Africa CEO Lacina Koné and MeetKai CEO James Kaplan.
This pilot represents a strategic effort to ensure African countries retain ownership and control of their artificial intelligence ecosystem, including data, models, and deployment frameworks. This cooperation is designed to align AI development with national laws, institutional structures, and broader development priorities across participating countries.
The initiative, implemented under the framework of the Africa AI Council, will help member countries deploy AI systems tailored to local needs. The program focuses on enabling AI solutions that support African languages, strengthen public institutions, and drive transformation across key sectors such as education, healthcare, agriculture, and citizen services.
The core objective of this pilot is to enable governments to build and manage AI capabilities that reflect local contexts and national interests, while protecting data sovereignty.
