The African Development Bank has joined forces with Intel to transform Africa’s digital landscape, aiming to train 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials in artificial intelligence (AI). This collaboration, which was formalized during the African Development Bank Annual Meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, is set to build a substantial pool of African talent equipped with skills for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), thereby fostering economic growth and productivity and positioning Africans as active creators in the 4IR space rather than mere consumers.
The training initiative is designed to tackle socio-economic challenges and enhance efficiency in vital sectors like agriculture, health, and education. This is expected to revolutionize traditional economic development patterns, as highlighted by the bank.
Furthermore, the partnership will support African governments, regional economic communities, and continental institutions in developing cohesive policy and regulatory frameworks for AI, 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, data, and cloud technologies.
Intel’s director of government affairs for Africa and IGA CTO Liaison, Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo, expressed enthusiasm about deepening Intel’s engagement with African governments. The goal is to democratize access to cutting-edge technologies such as AI, eliminating barriers related to location, gender, and ethnicity, and fostering broad-based participation in the digital economy.
Ousmane Fall, the acting director of industrial and trade development at the African Development Bank, emphasized the critical role of digital skills for Africa’s burgeoning youth population. He pointed out that with the rapid evolution of digital technology and the expected surge in Africa’s youth population to 830 million by 2050, large-scale and swift skill development is essential, necessitating collaboration from all stakeholders.
