African telecommunications regulators are calling for stronger and more coordinated governance of artificial intelligence (AI), arguing that the technology’s expansion across the continent must be accompanied by safeguards that protect citizens without restricting innovation.
The call emerged during a five-day ICT Policy and Regulation Institutional Strengthening Programme forum in Nairobi convened by the Communications Authority of Kenya. The meeting brings together regulators and policymakers from across Africa to exchange regulatory experience and strengthen institutional capacity as digital technologies evolve. (Communications Authority of Kenya)
David Mugonyi, director-general of the Communications Authority of Kenya, said AI could transform sectors including education and healthcare but required responsible deployment and appropriate oversight. The position reflects Kenya’s wider policy direction, which seeks to encourage AI innovation while addressing risks relating to privacy, security, bias and misuse. (Communications Authority of Kenya)
The discussion is also consistent with the African Union’s Continental Artificial Intelligence Strategy, endorsed in 2024. The strategy advocates an Africa-centric and development-focused approach to AI, with emphasis on building local infrastructure, skills, datasets, research and innovation while ensuring that technological development reflects African social, economic and cultural realities. (African Union)
African governments have subsequently moved towards a more coordinated approach to AI governance. In May 2025, an African Union high-level policy dialogue called for countries to develop AI policies and legislation suited to their national circumstances while strengthening continental cooperation. It also advocated regular assessment of AI-related risks, stronger safeguards for personal data and greater African participation in international discussions on AI governance. (African Union)
Participants in Nairobi stressed that regulation should not become a barrier to the development of locally relevant technologies. Lafayetta Boye-Massaquoi of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority argued for evidence-based, people-centred regulation that protects consumers while allowing AI to support public services, financial systems, healthcare, education and agriculture.
Brian Kalinga, a senior ICT officer at the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority, highlighted another dimension of the debate: access. He called for greater investment in digital infrastructure and skills, alongside support for African AI start-ups and innovators. He also stressed the importance of ensuring that marginalised communities, including persons with disabilities, are not excluded from emerging AI-enabled services. (Africa Commodities Report)
The challenge for African regulators therefore extends beyond controlling technological risks. It also concerns who has access to AI, who develops the underlying systems and data, and whether the economic value generated by the technology remains within African economies.
For a continent with significant differences in connectivity, digital infrastructure, institutional capacity and access to capital, a uniform regulatory model is unlikely to address every national circumstance. The emerging policy direction instead points towards cooperation around shared principles while allowing countries to develop frameworks suited to their own development priorities.
The debate places AI governance within a broader African effort to move from being primarily a consumer of digital technologies towards becoming an active participant in their development, regulation and economic value creation.
