Africa’s challenge with artificial intelligence is no longer about adoption. It is about building the trust, infrastructure and partnerships needed to deploy AI responsibly and at scale, according to Microsoft Corp.
Akua Gyekye, head of government affairs for Africa at Microsoft, said the conversation on the continent has shifted as AI systems become more capable and more embedded in how governments and companies operate.
The central question now is whether organisations can benefit from AI without surrendering control of their data, intellectual property and institutional knowledge.
Microsoft’s Global AI Diffusion Report for the first quarter of 2026 showed generative AI usage among working-age populations at 27.5 percent in the global north compared with 15.4 percent in the global south.
The gap is widening, Gyekye said, and closing it will be critical for Africa to capture economic value.
