UNDP, G7 leaders meet to drive AI for Africa

The United Nations Development Programme and the G7 Italian Presidency, alongside a delegation of African private sector leaders, are meeting with G7 AI leaders in San Francisco this week to discuss how artificial intelligence can support sustainable development across Africa.

The event, hosted by the Italian Consul General in San Francisco, is supported by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, InnoVit, and CDP.

According to a statement on Tuesday, the event will feature a delegation led by Robert Opp, UNDP’s Chief Digital Officer, and Fausta Bergamotto, Undersecretary of State at Italy’s MMIT.

The focus of the discussions is to ensure AI benefits sustainable development in Africa. The AI Hub for Sustainable Development, co-led by UNDP and Italy’s MMIT, is central to the talks.

The Hub aims to foster partnerships and investments between the G7 and Africa’s private sector to transform sectors such as energy, agriculture, health, water, education, and infrastructure across the continent.

The conference highlighted four key areas: inclusive and representative datasets, including low-resourced languages; local AI talent development across Africa; accessible and affordable green computing infrastructure; and responsible AI adoption.

The Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and Co-chair of the G7 Digital and Tech Working Group, Vincenzo Del Monaco, emphasised the importance of ensuring that AI presents an equal opportunity for Africa.

“The AI Hub is a space for collective action with the pivotal role of the G7 and African industry,” Del Monaco said.

The event builds on the G7’s previous commitments to support Africa’s sustainable development and aims to create scalable, impactful partnerships between the private sector and governments for AI-driven industrial growth.

The Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy and Co-chair of the G7 Digital and Tech Working Group, Vincenzo Del Monaco, stated, “True to the spirit of the Italy-Africa Mattei plan, we need to ensure AI is an equal partnership opportunity with Africa. The AI Hub is a space for collective action with the pivotal role of the G7 and African industry.”

The Head of Digital and AI Programmes, UNDP, Keyzom Massally, stated, “Sustainable development is facing multidimensional crises of trust and innovations that do not put people at the center of AI.

“Building on the AI commitments of G7 countries, we must convene in shared spaces to understand, learn, and co-create, and go beyond the status quo of global AI development.

“This is the goal of the AI Hub for Sustainable Development. Coming to San Francisco with African private sector leaders is a demonstration of how we must go beyond dialogue to people-focused impact for development at scale.”

The CEO and Founder of Aurion Capital, Ali Diallo, stated, “With Aurion Capital, we are mobilizing capital to invest in AI-enabled companies supporting rural and emerging economies.

“Educating local stakeholders around ways to attract the right kinds of investments in the form of public, private, and institutional capital to solve challenges in key sectors like healthcare and energy.

“Our funds are committed to empowering startups and innovation-driven enterprises that build transformational digital solutions that strengthen the footprint of America and of its allies on the international stage.

“Investing in critical digital infrastructure in an ever-changing geopolitical landscape requires strong collaborations between all stakeholders. As a result, we are seeing significant interest from American investors and companies to build stronger bridges across rural America and international markets such as Italy and Africa through partnerships with local entrepreneurs and government agencies to ensure long-term growth and sustainability.”