NAIROBI, Kenya — The adoption of robust and scalable Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure tailored to Africa’s context has the potential to drive economic growth and create vast opportunities across the continent and beyond, government officials said during the Nairobi AI Forum 2026.
The two-day Forum, themed “Accelerating Adoption & Impact: Building Green Scalable AI Infrastructure with Africa’s Innovators,” was officially opened today in Nairobi.
It seeks to accelerate cross-border collaboration and financing models that enable green and sovereign AI infrastructure, turning Africa’s resource advantages into new industrial economies that support inclusive human development.
Kenya has prioritised leveraging AI and other digital technologies as key drivers of digital transformation, aligning with the government’s AI Strategy 2025–2030.
Adoption of a robust and scalable Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure suitable for the African context will spur economic growth and create vast opportunities for the Continent and beyond.Earlier today, I graced the official opening of the Nairobi AI Forum 2026 themed,
Core government priorities highlighted at the Forum include promoting inclusive and sustainable AI, digital skilling for public service transformation, and fostering entrepreneurship in the digital space.
Participants are examining how AI infrastructure, financing, and adoption can be integrated by connecting infrastructure builders, innovators, industry players, and governments to accelerate deployment and impact across priority sectors.
The Forum is co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Italy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), attracting private sector leaders, innovators, financiers, and government representatives from Africa, Italy, the European Union, and the G7.
Among the attendees were Italy’s Minister of University and Research, Sen. Anna Maria Bernini, Ambassador of Italy to Kenya Vincenzo Del Monaco, Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to Kenya Ondrej Simek, and Kenya’s Special Envoy on Technology Amb. Philip Thig and ICT Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo, alongside regional and global industry stakeholders.
Officials emphasised that Africa’s adoption of AI must be inclusive, sustainable, and locally driven, ensuring that technology benefits both economic development and societal growth.
