Over 50 Pan-African Fellows Inducted to Strengthen AI Ethics and Governance Across Africa
The Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), in collaboration with the Africa Hub for Innovation & Development (AHFID) and with support from Luminate, has officially launched the Pan-African AI Ethics and Governance Fellowship. This flagship initiative aims to enhance African leadership and institutional capacity for ethical, inclusive, and accountable artificial intelligence governance across the continent.
The launch comes at a pivotal time when artificial intelligence is increasingly transforming governance, public services, and economic systems throughout Africa. While many countries are adopting AI-driven solutions in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, and finance, concerns persist regarding algorithmic bias, data exploitation, weak accountability systems, and exclusion. The Fellowship is designed to equip a new generation of African leaders with the necessary skills to ensure that AI systems are developed and deployed in alignment with the continent's values, priorities, and development needs.
Programme Overview and Objectives
Dr. Osasuyi Dirisu, Executive Director of the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), set the tone for the programme by highlighting the diversity of expertise within the cohort and encouraging fellows to view themselves as co-creators of knowledge rather than passive learners. She described the Fellowship as an opportunity for Africans to intentionally shape AI development: “This Fellowship is designed to move beyond conversations on AI and focus on building practical governance capacity across African institutions. We are raising the next generation of African leaders who will sit at the intersection of AI system development in Africa and ensure that these systems are inclusive, ethical, and serve the public good.”
The 12-week virtual programme brings together over 50 mid-to-senior level professionals from across Africa, representing government, regulatory agencies, civil society, academia, media, and the private sector. Through a combination of virtual learning, expert-led sessions, policy labs, and mentorship, participants will develop practical governance tools, including policy frameworks, audit mechanisms, and accountability systems tailored to African contexts.
Partnership and Collaborative Efforts
Dr. Kunle Kakanfo, CEO of the Africa Hub for Innovation & Development (AHFID), a key partner on the programme, emphasized that the Fellowship is about both leadership development and relationship-building across Africa. He stated, “The fellowship for us is not just about leadership development in AI ethics and governance, it’s also about making significant connections, cross-country networks, and being able to crossbreed experience. This fellowship would be a catalytic platform that is able to help us drive the needed change that we need within AI ethics and governance, on the continent.”
Regulatory Perspectives
From a regulatory standpoint, Dr. Olubunmi Ajala, National Director of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), described the Fellowship as Africa’s deliberate response to the global AI revolution. He remarked, “This is a deliberate, organised, and urgent response of Africa to one of the most consequential technological revolutions in human history. If we don’t do what we need to do in terms of governance and ethics, it will not just be a failed technology. Some of these decisions will be failed citizens, and some of the damages could be colossal.”
Participant Expectations
Fellowship participants have expressed strong expectations for the programme. Ayobola Adedayo, Head of Product at Auto Check Africa from Nigeria, said she hopes to deepen her understanding of AI policy and governance and contribute to shaping how AI evolves across Nigeria and the continent. Similarly, Carol Odero, a tech journalist from Kenya, noted that through this Fellowship, she aims to challenge the view that AI is too new to regulate and to use insights gained from the programme to strengthen conversations around AI ethics and governance.
Future Impact
Looking ahead, the Fellowship is expected to contribute to a growing network of African AI governance practitioners, strengthen policy influence across institutions, and support the development of more accountable and inclusive AI systems across the continent. It also positions Nigeria and its partners at the forefront of advancing AI ethics and governance in Africa, while contributing to global conversations on the future of technology and society.
About the Policy Innovation Centre (PIC)
The Policy Innovation Centre (PIC) is the first national institutionalised behavioural initiative in Africa, supporting government and stakeholders to make behaviourally informed decisions and generate evidence for impact-driven interventions across critical thematic areas. PIC is an initiative of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), a leading African think tank advancing evidence-based policy advocacy.
