Kenya's Tech Envoy Urges Africa to Build AI Capabilities for True Sovereignty Before Nairobi Summit

Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology, Ambassador Philip Thigo, has issued a strong call for Africa to prioritize building its own AI capabilities over mere adoption. Speaking ahead of the Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, he emphasized that true sovereignty in the intelligence era demands control over the entire AI stack.

Thigo highlighted Africa’s progress in connectivity, mobile money, and innovation hubs in cities like Nairobi, Lagos, Kampala, and Kigali. However, he stressed that access alone does not equate to power or independence.

‘The age of intelligence is about who owns the infrastructure, builds the models, and shapes the data,’ Thigo stated. He warned that without governing African data, representing local languages in AI, and accessing affordable compute, the continent risks remaining a consumer of foreign systems.

Framing AI sovereignty as a ‘full-stack’ challenge, he listed key layers: data governance, energy-powered compute, talent development, model building, deployment, and ethical governance. Missing any layer renders sovereignty hollow.

Thigo rejected isolation, advocating for partnerships like those with France that build African capacity. The summit, themed ‘Africa–France Partnerships for Innovation and Growth,’ should yield concrete commitments on regional compute, green data centers, talent pipelines, and digital trade rules under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

He described technology as central to foreign policy and the economy, impacting sectors from agriculture to security. Failure to act could exacerbate inequalities and extract value from Africa.

‘Africa arrives in Nairobi as a partner with markets, talent, and ambition, ready to negotiate and build its digital revolution,’ Thigo concluded.

Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)