NAIROBI,Kenya,May 22-Africa’s growing influence in music, film, fashion, digital content and technology is increasingly shaping global culture and consumer trends.
But speakers at the Africa Soft Power Summit 2026 say the next phase of the continent’s rise will depend less on visibility and more on whether Africans control the infrastructure, data, platforms and capital powering the digital economy.
Discussions during the second day of the summit centred on how Africa can secure a stronger stake in artificial intelligence, creator economies and digital infrastructure as global competition for data, computing power and talent intensifies.
Alex Okosi, Managing Director for Africa at Google,said Africa must avoid becoming merely a consumer market for AI technologies developed elsewhere.
“We need to make sure Africa is not just the consumer of AI, but part of the architecture,” he said.
“If African languages and data are not embedded in these models early enough, it becomes difficult for the continent to capture long-term value from AI.”
Okosi said Africa’s participation in AI development would require investments in local talent, language datasets, cloud infrastructure and developer ecosystems capable of building solutions for both African and global markets.
Snehar Shah, Chief Executive Officer of iXAfrics Data Centers said the continent remains severely underrepresented in global digital infrastructure despite its energy and demographic advantages.
“Africa accounts for nearly 80 percent of the global population but less than one percent of digital infrastructure capacity,” he said.
“Kenya alone has nearly 30 gigawatts of untapped geothermal energy that could support data centres and AI infrastructure at scale.”
According to Shah,investments in hyperscale data centres, connectivity and renewable energy could position African countries as future AI infrastructure hubs.
Charlette N’Guessan, Lead for Data Solutions, AI Ecosystem and Government Partnerships at Amini and founder of Afrokwary, said bias in existing AI systems reflects Africa’s limited representation in global datasets.
“We generate enormous amounts of data, but current AI systems still have significant bias against Africa,” she said.
“It is time for Africa to build its own AI foundations around the three critical pillars of data, compute and talent.”
Meanwhile, Birju Sanghrajka, Chief Executive Officer and Head of Coverage for Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Chartered Bank Kenya,said African lenders are increasingly exploring pension funds and other forms of long-term capital to finance AI infrastructure and innovation projects.
“Our economies are shifting more toward creative industries and services, and financing models must evolve alongside that transition,” he said.
“Financing is available, but the commercial use cases must make sense and institutions must also prepare for emerging cyber and data risks linked to AI.”
The discussions come as African governments and technology firms accelerate investments in AI research, data centres and digital infrastructure amid rising global demand for computing power.
Global technology companies including Google, Microsoft and Meta have expanded AI and cloud initiatives across Africa, while countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa are positioning themselves as regional innovation hubs.
According to the International Finance Corporation, Africa’s digital economy could contribute nearly $180 billion (Sh23.3 trillion) to the continent’s GDP by 2025 and surpass $700 billion (Sh90.6 trillion) by 2050 if supported by stronger infrastructure, digital skills and regulatory frameworks.
Yet industry leaders at the summit warned that without ownership of data, talent and platforms, much of the value created by Africa’s digital growth could continue flowing outside the continent.
