The OpenSchool Initiative has concluded its Pan-African AI Governance Fellowship Programme, with 55 professionals from 22 African countries graduating after a four-month intensive training.
The programme, delivered in partnership with Cosmopolitan University and other institutions, aimed to strengthen Africa’s capacity to regulate and oversee artificial intelligence systems.
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Over 800 applications were received from across the continent, with over 70 participants selected through a competitive process.
The fellows engaged with key policy areas, including algorithmic accountability and public-sector AI procurement safeguards, and developed capstone projects featuring draft national AI policy frameworks.
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The programme comes as African policymakers emphasise the need for governance frameworks tailored to the continent’s legal systems and economic structures.
The co-led engineer, from Voice of Nigeria (VON) Abba Muhammad Gadanya, said that, “Africa must not remain a consumer of artificial intelligence. We must become architects of its governance.”
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The closing ceremony featured a keynote address by Catherine Muraga, Managing Director of Microsoft Africa Development Center.
The OpenSchool Initiative aims to establish a distributed governance network to contribute to national and regional AI policy development.
