Continental AI
Readiness Index

Egypt's National AI Strategy 2021-2026 reaches implementation maturity with the launch of Karnak, a sovereign national Large Language Model with 30-80 billion parameters, unveiled at the Cairo AI Summit. Egypt ranked #1 in Africa for Government AI Readiness (Microsoft AI Report 2026), boasting a 13.4% AI diffusion rate.

South Africa's Draft National AI Policy entered Cabinet approval process in February 2026. A 60-day public consultation is expected to open circa March 2026 — the most significant AI governance development in Africa this quarter. The multi-regulator model rejects a single AI regulator in favour of embedding AI governance in existing sector supervisory frameworks (FSCA, SARB, sector bodies).

Morocco's JAZARI ROOT Institute officially launched in 2026, anchoring a decentralised network of AI centres across all twelve national regions under the AI Made in Morocco roadmap. The country's Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) remains ranked 1st in Morocco and North Africa (2026 THE Rankings) and became the first African HEI to deploy ChatGPT Edu institution-wide in 2025.

Kenya launched its National AI Strategy 2025-2030 in March 2625, positioning the country as East Africa's AI hub. The Kenya Artificial Intelligence Skilling Alliance (KAISA), a joint initiative with Microsoft and KEPSA, is training over 600,000 individuals in AI. The USTDA partnership with Kenyan Semiconductor Technologies Limited to establish a semiconductor manufacturing facility in Nairobi is a landmark infrastructure development.

Nigeria's Digital Economy & E-Governance Bill: TechEconomy.ng (January 2026) reports it 'Passed by the National Assembly and awaiting final assent early this year.' Presidential assent by President Tinubu pending — Minister Tijani confirmed the President was 'awaiting the bill for assent.' Observatory status: [Partial] — conflicting with TechHive Advisory Q2 2026 forecast. If signed: Africa's first comprehensive binding AI and digital economy law. The NDPC's September 2025 enforcement directive on AI-related data processing remains the most significant enacted compliance development.

Rwanda hosted the inaugural Global AI Summit on Africa (Kigali, April 3-4, 2025), cementing its position as Africa's premier AI governance convener. The summit announced the $60 billion Africa AI Fund and established the Africa AI Council. Rwanda is recognised as Africa's first AI Scaling Hub.

Ghana unveiled its National AI Strategy 2025-2033 at the ENJOY AI Summit in Accra (November 2025), with the government confirming an Emerging Technologies Bill is in draft stage to harmonise data governance, cybersecurity, and AI ethics. Ghana's AI diffusion rate stands at 9.3%.

Ethiopia hosted the AU High-Level Policy Dialogue on the Development and Regulation of AI in Africa (ETEX 2025, Addis Ababa, May 2025), with 40+ country delegations. A follow-up dialogue was held at the AU Summit, Addis Ababa, February 2026. Ethiopia's AI Institute operationalises the National AI Strategy 2024.