Artificial intelligence is no longer the preserve of start-ups. It is now making its way into African governments, companies and classrooms, as several events held this week in Guinea and Senegal have shown.
In Conakry, Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah opened the second International Forum of Government General Secretariats on Wednesday. Focused on AI in support of the government platform, the event aims to explore how these tools can improve the functioning of institutions and the coordination of public action. Organisers are stressing ethical, secure and responsible use. The Minister and Secretary General of the Government, Tamba Benoît Kamano, recalled that the first edition in 2025 had led to the creation of a formal international network of general secretariats. This year, participants are working in eight workshops on administrative cooperation and responsible uses of AI.
In Dakar, the debate shifted to the world of work. At the 2026 Decision Makers’ Meeting, Abdoulaye Tine, Minister-Adviser and Spokesperson for the Presidency, described human capital as the key to competitiveness. In his view, technology will not replace people, but those who fail to master it risk being left behind by the changes it brings.
Speakers gave a concrete sense of the transformation under way. Sonatel’s head of human capital, El Hadji Birahim Guèye, explained how AI had made it possible to analyse more than 2,000 CVs in a matter of hours. He voiced concern about the consequences for young graduates, whose entry-level tasks are often the easiest to automate. Pape Matar Guèye, who represents Skello in Senegal, sees the automation of administrative tasks as a chance to refocus HR on training, while acknowledging that some roles could disappear. Consultant Djibril Ndoye recommended a gradual rollout, starting with a review of internal processes. Abdoulaye Tine also raised the possibility of a cross-disciplinary commission to work on the legal framework, from data protection to liability when things go wrong.
Training young people remains the condition for these promises to benefit as many as possible. That is Ecobank’s bet, as the bank celebrated the 14th edition of Ecobank Day in Dakar on Thursday. The pan-African group says it helped set up 66 computer labs across Sub-Saharan Africa between 2023 and 2025, well above its target of 40, and trained more than 46,000 beneficiaries. The programmes cover AI, coding and robotics.
At CEM Rufisque-Ouest, one of the schools supported, the impact is already visible. According to its principal, Mamadou Lamine Diagne, eleven teachers and around twenty pupils were first trained in AI before the initiative was extended to more than 500 students. The school also has a high-speed internet connection for two years, which it shares with local residents.
From Conakry to Dakar, the message is the same: AI can modernise the state and boost productivity, provided that as much is invested in skills and rules as in technology. The risk of a digital divide between those who have access and those who do not remains very real.