AI Literacy for Policymakers in Africa: Lessons from Kenya, Nigeria & South Africa
African governments are starting to use AI to improve services, but many lack the skills and systems to manage it well. This leaves them reacting instead of planning, which leads to increased inequality and risks foreign companies controlling local data. Many leaders also struggle to handle issues like bias, deepfakes, and surveillance, made worse by Africa having less than 1% of the world’s computing power.
In 2025 and 2026, Qhala Trust delivered AI 101 masterclasses for policymakers across Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, supported by Luminate. We've captured what we learned about governance gaps, implementation realities, inclusion failures, and what actually works when teaching AI to non-technical decision-makers in two policy briefs and two advocacy briefs.
This webinar is where we share them as a live conversation with experts building African AI governance. You will learn:
Why sovereignty is a governance question, not just an infrastructure one — and what “value for money” actually means when evaluating public sector AI decisions
What works when training policymakers on AI — practical, tested guidelines from three countries’ worth of masterclass delivery
Why inclusive AI governance has to be built deliberately — and what gets missed when it isn’t
Why AI literacy belongs alongside numeracy as a foundational governance competency, not an optional add-on
Please take time to go through the Policy and Advocacy Briefs ahead of the webinar:
Advocacy Briefs:
Policy Briefs: