Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has proposed the establishment of a $10 billion African AI Frontier Technology Fund to anchor a larger $50 billion 10-year strategy aimed at transforming the continent’s scientific, technological, and industrial landscape.
Delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Leadership Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Adesina warned that Africa must urgently invest in its own research, computing infrastructure, and technological enterprises or risk becoming permanently dependent on foreign technology.
The conference, themed “Leadership for a Prosperous Future,” was organized by the Oxford Global Think Tank (OGTT) and convened by Ms. Arunma Oteh, former Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Addressing business executives, policymakers, and traditional leaders, Adesina highlighted that Artificial Intelligence is driving an unprecedented global economic realignment.
“If we fail to invest in our own research, infrastructure, and technology enterprise, we risk spending the next generation purchasing technologies developed elsewhere and paying for Intellectual Property Rights owned elsewhere—creating markets which others capture and becoming dependent on others,” Adesina cautioned.
With Africa’s population projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, Adesina urged the continent to participate in the AI race as a unified economic bloc—seeking to create and lead rather than borrow or follow.
“Who will own the future of AI? Who will develop its transformative technologies, build the global companies, capture the economic value, and shape the standards?” Adesina asked. “Where does Africa stand when this future is being decided in real time?”
The conference also generated key contributions from prominent leaders regarding governance, structural reforms, and domestic capital markets:
Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II in his remarks urged African governments to take decisive ownership of the continent’s tech future. Commenting on ongoing reforms in Nigeria, Sanusi acknowledged macroeconomic improvements under President Bola Tinubu’s administration—such as reduced inflation and stronger GDP growth—but called for practical, ground-level interventions to tackle poverty and food insecurity.
Atedo Peterside, Chairman of the occasion on his part identified systemic corruption as the main barrier to technological advancement in Africa. He emphasized that curbing public sector leakages is essential to freeing up capital for critical tech infrastructure.
Arunma Oteh emphasised the strategic importance of Africa’s internal retail market and called for greater retail participation in domestic capital markets to fund homegrown technological innovation.
