Africa is building AI strategies. But doesn’t control the infrastructure (opens in new tab)

Despite increasing AI policy activity across the continent, the most consequential layers of the AI economy remain externally owned and governed, writes Koffi Yao-Kouame. In January 2024, Google opened its first African cloud region in Johannesburg. Months later, Microsoft and G42 announced a one-billion-dollar investment in cloud and AI infrastructure in Kenya. By 2025, the