Bawumia outlines six policy priorities to position Africa as global AI leader

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, former Vice President of Ghana and 2028 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has unveiled six key policy commitments he believes are essential for Africa to emerge as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI).

He presented these proposals during his keynote address at the LSE Africa Summit 2026, hosted by the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Dr. Bawumia emphasised that Africa must move beyond debate and take practical, measurable steps to establish a competitive AI ecosystem. He stressed that success in the digital era requires deliberate planning, sustained investment, and strong institutional capacity across the continent.

“Technological revolutions reward those who build foundations: institutions, infrastructure, skills, and rules before they chase the latest applications,” he said. “Africa must act boldly, but methodically to secure its place in the global digital economy.”

He outlined six priorities for building Africa’s AI capacity:

1. Investing in reliable electricity and broadband infrastructure to support digital innovation.
2. Developing secure and trustworthy data systems that protect users and facilitate large-scale AI applications.
3. Creating large-scale talent development programmes to equip Africa’s workforce with critical AI skills.
4. Strengthening public sector procurement capacity to ensure governments can effectively adopt AI solutions.
5. Integrating ethical standards into AI deployment, ensuring technologies are transparent, fair, and accountable.
6. Promoting cross-border collaboration to create interoperable digital markets that enhance innovation and scale.

“Build AI foundations… build trustworthy data ecosystems… build talent at scale,” Dr. Bawumia emphasised, while underscoring the importance of regional cooperation to unify infrastructure, skills, governance, and markets across Africa.

He concluded with a call to action for African leaders and institutions to seize the moment and shape the continent’s AI future.

“Africa should be poised to shape the global AI conversation not as a passive consumer, but as a builder of responsible systems,” he stated. “If we unite borders through infrastructure, skills, governance, and markets, then AI can become a force for shared prosperity.”