eLearning Africa: Dr. Apaak challenges African leaders to respond to American dominance of tech industry

Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has called on African leaders to scale up efforts to build digital infrastructure to counter American dominance in the global technology space.

Dr. Apaak made the remarks during a ministerial roundtable discussion at the eLearning Africa conference held at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra on Wednesday.

The Deputy Minister expressed concern about Africa’s limited presence among the world’s leading technology companies and the implications for the continent’s digital independence.

“Because if out of the ten global giants in the area of technology, not even one is African, nine are American, and if our emails have to still bounce off Europe and America to get to us, then what is really our basis for trying to assert some semblance of independence?” he asked.

He said the situation highlights the urgent need for African countries to invest in infrastructure that would allow them to take greater control of their technological future.

According to Dr. Apaak, building continental digital infrastructure should be a priority if Africa hopes to benefit fully from advances in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

“So in my own thinking, part of what we should be looking at is to get African governments to commit at least about 1-2% of their annual GDP towards a pool or a fund that would support the building of the continental-level digital infrastructure,” he said.

He noted that such a fund could provide the foundation needed to domesticate digital technology and ensure that AI development reflects African realities.

The Deputy Minister also stressed the importance of developing local expertise and institutions capable of driving innovation across the continent.

“So for me that is the biggest challenge that we ought to be addressing, where we can mobilize our own resources to build our own infrastructure, train our own experts as part of the effort to domesticate AI in a way that would protect our history, our culture, and our value systems,” he stated.

Dr. Apaak further questioned whether Africa could achieve genuine independence while relying on technology platforms and systems controlled elsewhere.

“If we are going to depend on the same entities whose agendas we cannot tell, do you really think that will allow us to be independent and to use technology the way we want to?” he asked.

He urged African governments to work together to mobilise resources and build the infrastructure needed to secure the continent’s digital future.