PAP Partners with APHRC to Drive Inclusive AI Ecosystem in Africa

The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), H.E. Chief Fortune Charumbira, has called for Africa to transition from dialogue to decisive action in harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for sustainable development.

Speaking at a high-level African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) roundtable on “The Role of Multi-Stakeholders in Promoting AI and Emerging Technologies Advancement in Africa,” held on the sidelines of the World Mobile Conference in Kigali, Chief Charumbira emphasized that Africa’s future competitiveness depends on how effectively it positions itself in the global digital revolution.

“While we continue to engage in long discussions about the future and benefits of AI, Africa falls behind in putting in place mechanisms to harness the opportunities of the digital revolution. Now it is time for everyone to play their role. I am here to say that the Pan-African Parliament is ready to play its role,” said Charumbira

AI’s Promise and the Challenge of Inclusion

Participants at the roundtable acknowledged the enormous potential of AI to unlock economic and social progress across Africa. However, they also warned that global AI models remain skewed, often underrepresenting African datasets, local languages, and contexts, thereby perpetuating structural inequalities and deepening the digital divide.

Chief Charumbira highlighted that such exclusion risks making Africa a passive consumer rather than an active creator in the digital ecosystem. He therefore called for a collective effort among governments, researchers, legislators, and private actors to design an African-led AI agenda that reflects the continent’s realities and aspirations.

From Rhetoric to Results

The PAP President commended APHRC for spearheading a multi-stakeholder approach that connects research, policy, and practice. He noted that the Pan-African Parliament, as the legislative arm of the African Union, stands ready to provide the policy leadership and legislative framework required to ensure responsible and inclusive AI development.

“The Pan-African Parliament fully supports the work undertaken by our partners. This is why we have carried and owned it. It’s now time to expand our horizons and move beyond the current scope. This requires more than political will: it demands leadership at all levels. And the Pan-African Parliament is well positioned to provide that leadership,” he told the participants.

Building Africa’s AI Ecosystem

The roundtable explored how Africa can build its own AI ecosystem: one that strengthens governance, enhances service delivery, and boosts productivity while safeguarding rights and inclusion. Participants exchanged cross-country experiences and policy options, identifying key roles for legislators, researchers, civil society organizations, continental bodies like the ACDC, academia, and the private sector.

They also emphasized the urgency of data sovereignty, ethical AI principles, and capacity building to ensure that AI serves African interests rather than external agendas.

Chief Charumbira’s intervention marks a turning point in PAP’s growing involvement in Africa’s digital transformation agenda. By signaling readiness to move from rhetoric to implementation, the PAP aims to align with the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy (2020–2030) and the emerging continental frameworks on AI governance.

Africa’s ability to leapfrog development challenges, from health and education to agriculture and governance, depends on whether institutions like PAP can mobilize the political will, partnerships, and policies to make AI a tool for inclusion rather than exclusion.