The global AI revolution is often portrayed as a Sino-American race to develop the most advanced frontier models. But the greatest economic prize most likely will be found in deploying practical intelligence, particularly in Africa’s young, dynamic, and fast-growing economies.
ABUJA/LAGOS—Africa has long found itself at the wrong end of the innovation chain. Breakthroughs were made and commercialized elsewhere, then imported by African countries at prices and on terms over which they had little influence. The costs of this approach were starkly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Africa struggled to gain access to vaccines developed and manufactured elsewhere.