The Smart Africa Alliance backed Africa AI Council has announced the appointment of Nigerian tech leader Sonny Iroche to two of its strategic Thematic Working Groups: AI Compute Infrastructure and AI Talent & Skills.
The appointments come as part of the Council’s broader effort to strengthen Africa’s artificial intelligence ecosystem through expert-led policy development and technical collaboration. The Council, established during the Transform Africa Summit 2025, serves as a continental platform to align public and private sector stakeholders on actionable AI strategies.
Iroche, Founder and CEO of GenAI Learning Concepts Ltd based in Lagos, joins a select group of experts chosen through a competitive process that attracted more than 300 applications from across government, academia, industry, and the global African diaspora.
Chaired by Paul Kagame, the Council operates through six Thematic Working Groups, which function as its technical backbone. These groups are responsible for developing recommendations that will be presented to African Heads of State, with a focus on ensuring inclusive, ethical, and sustainable AI development across the continent.
The AI Talent and Skills Working Group one of the bodies Iroche will serve on is tasked with building a robust AI workforce pipeline. Its mandate includes strengthening collaboration between academia and industry, fostering diversity in AI skills development, and positioning Africa as a producer, rather than merely a consumer, of AI technologies.
The AI Compute Infrastructure Working Group focuses on addressing foundational challenges such as access to high-performance computing resources, data infrastructure, and digital sovereignty key elements required to support Africa’s AI ambitions.
Speaking on his appointment, Iroche emphasized the importance of African-led solutions in the global AI landscape. He warned of the risks of “AI colonization,” where the continent could become overly dependent on external technologies and systems, mirroring historical patterns of resource exploitation.
“The Africa AI Council represents a decisive, African-led response to that challenge,” he said, adding that he approaches the role with “humility and a deep sense of duty to the continent and future generations.”
The Africa AI Council’s AI Talent and Skills Working Group is scheduled to hold its inaugural virtual meeting on Thursday, March 26, 2026. The session will outline the group’s 12-month work plan, governance structure, and selection of co-leads, marking the start of its technical and policy engagements.
The Working Group is expected to meet bi-weekly during its initial phase, with its first major deliverable due ahead of the Council’s second plenary session in Kigali on June 15, 2026.
The Council Secretariat noted that the initiative underscores Africa’s growing commitment to shaping its AI future through coordinated leadership, local expertise, and forward-looking policy frameworks.
