At Abuja AI Summit, stakeholders warn that Africa generates massive digital value but lacks compensation, control, and representation in global AI systems.
By Martha Agas | Naija247news / NAN Report
Abuja, Nov. 26, 2025
Technology experts, innovators and digital rights advocates have renewed calls for Nigeria and other African countries to develop homegrown Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to strengthen data privacy, protect indigenous digital resources, and reduce the continent’s dependence on foreign platforms.
The call was made on Wednesday in Abuja during the AI Summit hosted by the Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID), which brought together technology practitioners, policy leaders and AI researchers.
Participants warned that Africa produces vast amounts of digital content that power global technology companies, yet the continent remains largely excluded from the wealth, influence, and decision-making generated through the use of its data.
Africa Generates Value But Gets No Share — Mozilla Fellow
Kiito Shilongo, Senior Tech Fellow at the Mozilla Foundation, said Africa continues to suffer from a systemic imbalance in the global AI value chain.
She noted that although Africans generate content and data that shape major platforms, “the continent is not compensated for the use of its data,” despite contributing significant value to worldwide technological ecosystems.
Shilongo explained that African data affects everything from political discourse to cultural representation, but these contributions rarely translate into benefits for the communities producing them.
Compensation, she stressed, must extend beyond payments and should include African participation in designing the digital products used across the continent.
“It’s not always economic,” she said. “Africans must influence decisions on how their data is used and shape the technologies developed using their contributions.”
She added that stronger public awareness would help citizens recognise their stake in data ecosystems and demand accountability from platforms operating in Africa.
AI Value Chain Depends on Data — CcHub
Dr. Oluwaseun Adepoju, Managing Partner at Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), said data sits at the core of the AI value chain, making local control essential for sustainable technological advancement.
“In Africa, people may consent to data use or request deletion, but we still lack the infrastructure for a truly impactful AI ecosystem,” he said.
Adepoju called for stronger data protection enforcement and innovative compensation systems such as community-driven data-donation models, which allow people to contribute deliberately to AI development while maintaining influence over how their data is applied.
He said such frameworks could help Africa build its own AI engines with more equitable governance.
Data Literacy, Local AI, and Digital Independence — Nubia AI
Seyi Olufemi, Country Director of Nubia AI, highlighted the growing need for linguistic inclusion to enable Africans to understand and assert their data rights.
He said improved data literacy would help people identify the implications of sharing their information across sectors including finance, health, education and entertainment.
Olufemi said that developing local AI technologies and establishing African-owned data centres would give the continent stronger legal control, policy autonomy, and data governance aligned with African realities.
Such systems, he noted, are also essential to strengthening digital independence and ensuring that Africa’s cultural priorities are reflected in emerging technologies.
African Context Must Shape AI Tools — Quantum LC Company
Kwabena Offei-Kwadey, IT Manager at Quantum LC Company, said Africa must prioritise data systems that reflect its own culture, languages and evolving socio-economic identity.
He observed that many global AI platforms deliver poor results for African users because their training datasets exclude African languages, contexts and lived experiences.
Offei-Kwadey urged African governments and private-sector leaders to invest in innovators building AI solutions rooted in African values and cultural realities.
Supporting such solutions, he added, would strengthen Africa’s competitiveness and allow the continent to shape the global AI landscape “on its own terms.”
(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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Reporting by Naija247news in Lagos, Nigeria.
