A New Blueprint to empower Africa’s next generation of AI builders
Across Africa, a powerful paradox is at play. While enthusiasm for AI is incredibly high - reaching 95% in countries like Nigeria - businesses tell a different story. Over half report their biggest barrier to growth isn’t funding, but finding people with the right AI skills.
This skill gap is a critical challenge we must face to unlock Africa’s immense potential.
As a long-term partner in Africa’s digital transformation, we’ve invested in foundational infrastructure like the Equiano and Umoja subsea cables. Now, we are deepening that commitment with three new, complementary initiatives designed to help strengthen and accelerate a sustainable AI ecosystem.
A roadmap to build Africa’s AI talent
The centerpiece of our announcement is the launch of a new, detailed AI Skilling Blueprint, which we commissioned from the Nextrade Group. This framework expands on last year’s AI Policy Blueprint for Africa, which identified the core pillars for AI readiness. It provides a practical, step-by-step guide to help governments create national strategies and build a future-ready workforce.
The Blueprint proposes a core strategic principle: AI skilling must be adopted at the highest levels of government and coordinated across ministries. This moves planning beyond isolated projects to build a cohesive national plan. The strategy focuses on developing three essential groups of people for a thriving AI ecosystem:
- AI Learners: Helping everyone gain the foundational knowledge to use AI tools confidently and safely in their daily lives, from identifying misinformation to using new features in their favorite apps.
- AI Implementers: Upskilling the professional workforce to improve productivity across sectors . We want to empower doctors using AI to improve diagnostics, farmers using it to monitor crop health, and small business owners using it for marketing.
- AI Innovators: Nurturing the deep technical experts, researchers, and entrepreneurs who will build the next generation of AI solutions in Africa, for Africa. They will create new technologies tailored to local languages, contexts, and opportunities.
We believe this framework can help create a virtuous cycle of skill development and innovation. We invite policymakers, educators, and business leaders to explore the full AI Skilling Blueprint for Africa.
Putting people first with expert local organizations
To bring the blueprint to life, we are activating our $7.5 million Google.org skilling commitment by supporting expert local organizations. These trusted social impact organizations have the trust and expertise to deliver real-world impact on the ground.
FATE Foundation and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) will focus on developing 'AI Innovators'. They will embed advanced AI curricula directly into universities and entrepreneurship programs. Simultaneously, JA Africa and the CyberSafe Foundation will focus on 'AI Learners'. They will scale up vital digital literacy and online safety training for young people.
Building the data foundation for innovation
Skilled innovators need reliable, high-quality data to solve the continent’s most pressing challenges. That’s why the third pillar focuses on funding data sets to support the modernizing of Africa’s public data infrastructure for AI. To that end Google.org and Google’s Data Commons initiative are providing $2.25 million to support the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21).
This contribution will create a Regional Data Commons. It will empower African institutions with the trustworthy data and tools necessary to make strategic decisions that drive growth and prosperity. This foundational work will fuel innovation in everything from public health and food security to economic planning. You can read more about this work on our blog.
These initiatives are designed to work together. A policy roadmap, skilled talent powered by expert local organisations, all built on a foundation of trustworthy data. Together, they represent the next step in our commitment to help build a prosperous, AI-driven future for the entire continent.
