Adesina proposes $10bn fund to power Africa's AI push over 10 years

Akinwumi Adesina, former president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has put forward a plan for a $10 billion fund to finance Africa's artificial intelligence ambitions, as the anchor of a wider $50 billion push over the next 10 years.

He spoke on Tuesday at the 2026 Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference in Abuja, themed "Leadership for a Prosperous Future". The event was convened by Aruma Oteh, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Adesina's warning was blunt: if the continent does not pay for its own research, infrastructure and tech businesses, it will spend the coming generation buying technology made elsewhere and paying royalties on ideas owned elsewhere.

"We must decide whether Africa will simply become a market for technologies developed elsewhere, or whether we will become creators, owners and exporters," he said.

Where the $50 billion would come from

Under the proposal, African governments would commit $15 billion in phases over 10 years, depending on their priorities and budgets. Multilateral and African development finance institutions would add another $15 billion through loans, equity, guarantees and risk-sharing.

Private investors, philanthropic partners and global technology companies would supply $10 billion. The remaining $10 billion would sit in the proposed African AI Frontier Technology Fund, which would back research, computing infrastructure, frontier technologies and African tech firms.

Adesina also proposed a coalition bringing together the World Bank, the AfDB, other development banks, governments, investors and technology companies to coordinate the money.

He cited AfDB estimates that generative AI could add between $61 billion and $103 billion in economic value to Africa, but said that would not happen on its own. He pointed to Stanford University's 2025 AI Index, which put global AI investment at $252.3 billion in 2024.

He named agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, education, energy and financial services as sectors where AI could cut costs and lift output. Farmers, for instance, could get better guidance on soil, water and weather.

He said Africa's ability to compete would rest on electricity, affordable internet, computing capacity, secure digital systems and good data. He pointed to Mission 300, a World Bank and AfDB partnership to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, saying more than 50 million people have already been reached.

Adesina urged governments to consider appointing ministers responsible for AI, and said the African Union's continental AI strategy, adopted in July 2024, now needs to move from paper to action.

Tijani: productivity is the test

Also at the conference, Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said AI would only deliver shared prosperity if countries turn it into higher productivity and better living standards.

He compared it to Nigeria's telecoms boom, where millions of small changes in how people communicate, trade and reach customers added up to a transformed economy. He said that growth came from government and private business working together.

The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, called for reforms by African leaders to drive the continent's technological future. He also advised President Bola Tinubu's government to take a practical approach to poverty and hunger, while acknowledging that inflation has eased and GDP growth has improved.

Atedo Peterside, who chaired the occasion, blamed corruption for holding back Africa and Nigeria's technological progress, saying resources must reach critical sectors.

Oteh said Africa's domestic market is central to the region's development and called for more retail investors in the capital market.

What happens next

The proposal is not yet policy. It would need buy-in from African governments, development banks and private investors before any fund is created.