• Governments adopted the Cotonou Declaration, which commits to creating three regional AI excellence centers and training 20 million people in digital skills by 2030.
• The region holds only 0.2% of global computing capacity, which the World Bank calls a major obstacle to AI development.
• The plan includes training 200,000 cybersecurity and advanced-tech professionals and enabling 2 million youth, women, and people with disabilities to access digital jobs or entrepreneurship opportunities.

Ministers of digital affairs from West and Central Africa announced a large-scale plan to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption and expand employment in the digital economy. They unveiled the initiative during the Regional Summit on Digital Transformation held on 17–18 November 2025 in Cotonou.

Governments adopted the Cotonou Declaration, co-organized with the World Bank, which commits to creating three regional AI excellence centers by 2028. The declaration also mandates the training of 20 million people in digital skills by 2030 and 200,000 specialists in cybersecurity and advanced digital technologies.

Officials view these measures as essential because governments increasingly deploy online public services.

West Africa currently accounts for only 0.2% of global computing capacity, which restricts research, public digital services, and local innovation.“Without massive investment in computing capacity and skills, Africa will remain a spectator in the digital revolution,” warned Sangbu Kim, World Bank vice-president for digital development.

Africa today represents 16% of the global workforce, and projections indicate the share will reach 41% by 2100. “Our youth is arriving massively on the job market. The demographic dynamic is to our advantage […] By 2050, Africa will become a demographic power. The continent will host the largest number of young people in the world… and there will be more young people in Africa than in the rest of the world in 2100,” said Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Benin’s Minister of Development and Coordination of Government Action.

Governments want to turn this demographic growth into an opportunity.

The declaration provides that two million young people, women and persons with disabilities will gain access to digital employment or entrepreneurship opportunities.

The World Bank notes that only 7% of micro-enterprises in Africa use smartphones and only 2–8% use computers depending on gender, which limits digital productivity. This shift is therefore “indispensable,” said Ousmane Diagana, World Bank vice-president for West and Central Africa. “We must create quality jobs to avoid a deep digital social divide.”

The planned excellence centers will serve as platforms for applied research, advanced training and innovation incubation. They will also support public administrations in developing AI-based services in education, health, social protection and agriculture.

Governments have not yet announced a deployment timeline. For Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, Benin’s Minister of Digital Affairs, the approach must be collective: “The time for isolated initiatives is over. If we want Africa to become a producer of artificial intelligence and not just a consumer, we must pool our resources and our talents.”

World Bank data show that Sub-Saharan Africa faces several structural barriers.
 Although 84% of the population lives in an area covered by 3G or 4G, only 22% (or 38–40% in West and Central Africa) actually uses mobile internet. This 62% usage gap is the largest in the world.

For poorer households, a data plan can cost up to one-third of monthly income, which limits digital adoption. The region also suffers from a major shortage of intermediate skills such as data engineering, data preparation and data center management—skills essential for deploying AI in administrations and businesses.

The Cotonou Declaration calls for strengthened broadband access, regional data infrastructure development and a dedicated regional financing mechanism for digital transformation.

“We must now act quickly so that this declaration does not remain just another promise,” said Moustapha Cissé, engineer and AI researcher.

This article was initially published in French by Fiacre E. Kakpo

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum