African countries must take a stronger role in setting global rules for artificial intelligence and internet governance to ensure their interests are reflected in decisions shaping the digital economy, Communications, Digital Technology & Innovation Minister Samuel Nartey George said.
The continent risks remaining a consumer of technologies and policies developed elsewhere unless it increases its participation in international decision-making and invests in the infrastructure needed to develop its own digital capabilities, George said at the closing ceremony of the 2026 African School of Internet Governance (AfriSIG) in Accra.
He warned that artificial intelligence systems developed without sufficient African data, languages and perspectives could misrepresent the continent and reinforce existing inequalities.
The minister called for greater investment in digital skills, computing capacity, data infrastructure and local innovation, alongside stronger data protection and accountability frameworks.
“Africa must move beyond being a consumer of technologies and policies developed elsewhere and become an active participant in setting global digital standards,” he said, according to the statement.
George urged African countries to coordinate their positions in international digital policy discussions, including at the Internet Governance Forum, the International Telecommunication Union and other global standard-setting institutions.
As chair of the African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Communication and ICT, he said he was committed to advancing the continent’s interests in those engagements.
The minister also pointed to Africa’s youthful population as an opportunity to influence the future of the internet, arguing that stronger representation in global governance institutions would help ensure the continent’s priorities are considered.
Ghana’s One Million Coders Programme was cited as part of the country’s efforts to equip young people with skills for the digital economy.
Addressing graduates of the AfriSIG programme, George urged them to apply their training in developing digital policies, regulation and inclusive internet governance in their respective countries.
The 2026 programme was held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT. George, who attended the 2023 AfriSIG programme in Abuja, Nigeria, commended the programme’s convenors and partners for their role in building internet governance expertise across Africa.
