Laying the AI Foundations: Data and Compute for Africa

AI adoption in Africa is held back by two major hurdles: vast compute deficits and a scarcity of locally relevant data. Less than 0.1% of online content exists in African languages, compared to 53% in English. Meanwhile, Africa hosts 18% of the world’s population but accounts for less than 1% of global data center capacity. 

This session will highlight the efforts underway to change that. From regional data centres and edge computing networks to startups and research institutions creating local language models, the continent is laying the digital groundwork for the next wave of AI innovation. 

Join AI leaders and innovators as they examine how Africa can overcome structural barriers, unlock data and compute potential, and establish an ecosystem that empowers homegrown solutions. Learn how practical investments, collaborative initiatives and forward-looking infrastructure are shaping Africa's AI future, one server, dataset and model at a time.