This collaboration reflects a shared belief that AI can play a transformative role in the public good, but only when designed with strong institutions, local context, and long-term sustainability in mind.
Wadhwani AI Global and smart africa We have taken a bold new step to accelerate the development and adoption of artificial intelligence across Africa. This partnership will strengthen AI-enabled public systems across the continent and the Global South.
beside india AI Impact Summit In New Delhi, Sharina Wadhwani, Co-Founder, Wadhwani AI Globaland Lasina Kone, Executive Director and CEO of Smart Africa, said: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on behalf of the respective institutions.
This collaboration reflects a shared belief that AI can play a transformative role in the public good, but only when designed with strong institutions, local context, and long-term sustainability in mind.
A partnership based on common priorities
Under this non-binding framework, Wadhwani AI Global and Smart Africa will work together to drive comprehensive, context-driven AI use cases across priority areas, including: Health, agriculture, education, financial services, government services, climate action, etc.
The partnership will focus on developing and scaling AI solutions to enhance public systems. Supporting AI readiness, governance frameworks and institutional capacity across Smart Africa member states. Establish an AI Digital Public Goods (DPG) platform to share proven and adaptable solutions. Building capacity among policymakers, technologists, and innovators. Facilitate peer-to-peer collaboration between African governments and the Indian AI ecosystem.
Rather than focusing on rapid deployment, this partnership is designed to support responsible sequencing that ensures AI systems are deployed in ways that are reliable, manageable, and can have long-term impact.
Connecting experiences of the Global South through shared learning
Wadhwani AI Global has successfully deployed and reaped the benefits of AI solutions within India’s public systems at scale. 100 million people across education, agriculture, public health and service delivery.
Smart Africa’s mission is to drive Africa’s digital transformation through policy coordination, innovation and collaborative action among member countries.
“This partnership reflects a shared commitment to building AI that enhances public systems, rather than circumvents them. Africa and India face many of the same challenges around scale, governance, and trust, and this collaboration creates space for honest, peer-to-peer learning across the Global South.”
— Sharina Wadhwani, Co-Founder, Wadhwani AI Global“The future of AI in Africa will be shaped by collaboration, not imitation. This partnership with Wadhwani AI Global brings valuable experience in building AI within public systems and creates new opportunities for member states to learn, adapt and lead responsibly.”
— Rashina Kone, Director and CEO, Smart Africa
Looking to the future
This MoU marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration aimed at translating shared intentions into concrete results. Over the coming months, Wadhwani AI Global and Smart Africa will work together to identify priority opportunities, pilot collaborations, and capacity-building initiatives that align with national and regional goals.
