Tech firms launch joint venture for African AI development

In a move aimed at strengthening Africa’s digital infrastructure and sovereignty in artificial intelligence, four technology companies from Australia, Nigeria, the UAE and the Netherlands have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish AfricAI, a multinational joint venture dedicated to building enterprise-grade AI solutions tailored to African markets.

Nigeria has been selected as the flagship market for AfricAI’s rollout, with the venture set to leverage existing national data centers and edge infrastructure to introduce AI-driven applications in healthcare, digital identity, document automation, public administration and enterprise services.

According to the founding partners of the technology companies, Lakeba Group, Next Digital, AqlanX and Agentic Dynamic, AfricAI’s strategy is centred on developing sovereign and inclusive AI ecosystems designed and hosted within Africa.

Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim, Chairman of Nigeria’s Next Digital, described the initiative as “an opportunity to shape AI that reflects African realities,” while Lakeba Group CEO, Giuseppe Porcelli emphasised Nigeria’s role as “an ideal launchpad” for sovereign AI development.

On his part, AqlanX founder, Demetrio Russo noted the importance of “multilingual compliance and digital trust” in AfricAI’s framework, while Eren Sivasli, Chairman of Agentic Dynamic, said the collaboration would bring “scalable, domain-specific automation” to African enterprises and institutions.

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