An HR Professional and Organizational Development Specialist, Omobolanle Olatoye has said that for African Nations to benefit from the AI revolution, they must develop AI-powered technologies that suit their local needs.
According to her, Africa should focus on competing with other continents in AI development rather than relying on foreign innovations created elsewhere.
Olatoye noted that while AI technology has revolutionized industries critical to Africa’s development such as agriculture, education, and healthcare, however, Africa must decide when it wants to continue relying on external innovations or build its own technology tailored to African languages.
“Imported solutions often fail to address Africa’s unique challenges, such as language diversity and infrastructural deficits. For example, foreign language-processing tools cannot serve the more than 2,000 languages spoken across the continent,” Olatoye said.
She added: “Investing in local AI industries would create jobs and position Africa as a global player in shaping this transformative technology.”
The technology expert warns that overreliance on imported solutions could perpetuate economic dependency and stifle local innovation and suggested that African countries adapt technologies to local contexts and negotiate fair terms with providers to maximize benefits.
She further said that various factors could pose challenges to the development of locally developed AI technologies in Africa. Olatoye mentioned some of the challenges that includes; limited capital, underdeveloped infrastructure, brain drain and unreliable electricity.
However, she expressed belief that with strategic investments in education, infrastructure, and talent retention, these challenges are surmountable.
Olatoye further highlights the immediate benefits of consuming AI solutions citing AI-powered drones for medical deliveries in Rwanda and crop monitoring technologies in Ghana, which saves time and resources while improving lives.
She called on African countries to forge partnerships with global AI leaders while at the same time promoting local innovation through education, research grants and support for tech startups.
“To unlock AI’s potential, Africa must consume smartly, compete fiercely, and build collaboratively,” she said