The current investment in AI in Africa is an exciting space especially if you believe AI could contribute up to 1.5B dollars to the continents aggregated GDP, or almost one third of it at a projected 4.6B dollars in 2030. Those willing to commit today to the development of the African AI landscape stand to reap significant rewards which could be the most dramatic economic shift in most of the African nations history to date.
However promising, there are a number of aspects to consider that may have perverse consequences: are these Western-style unicorns driving innovation in ways that prioritize the creation of non-essential goods, potentially exploiting technology-curious but less technologically mature African communities? It is of paramount importance that African AI is increasingly made in, made for, and made by Africans or people who share these values, cultural legacies, and understand the needs and aspirations of a very young and meaning seeking population.
In this panel we will contemplate how Pax Technologica and partner organisations, entrepreneurs, and finance pioneers can affect the balance and ratio of African to foreign technology, and design filters or protocols to spawn or accelerate startup ecosystems and companies mature to grow across borders in Africa that model behaviour and use cases that bring the value home.