Africa’s ability to benefit fully from artificial intelligence could be undermined by fragmented data governance frameworks across the continent, according to Microsoft, which warned that inconsistent rules on data sharing and cross-border flows risk slowing innovation and limiting economic gains.
Government Affairs Director at Microsoft, Akua Gyekye, said Africa’s digital future will be shaped not only by how quickly AI technologies spread but also by how deliberately countries govern and share the data that powers them.
Across the continent, governments and businesses are increasingly adopting emerging technologies to support economic growth and improve public service delivery, supported by expanding digital public infrastructure and improving connectivity. However, Gyekye noted that the central question for Africa is whether value generated from African data, talent and AI deployment will remain within African economies.
She said, “AI systems depend heavily on large volumes of data to learn and operate effectively, placing data governance at the centre of Africa’s digital transformation agenda.
While many African countries are beginning to treat data as strategic infrastructure comparable to energy networks and broadband systems, governance structures that regulate how data is shared, protected and utilised remain uneven and fragmented.”
According to data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, about 76 per cent of African countries now have data protection and privacy legislation in place, reflecting significant progress over the past decade. Yet Microsoft said regulatory fragmentation, persistent data silos and restrictive localisation requirements continue to limit innovation and cross-border collaboration.
The company argued that enabling trusted cross-border data flows, while maintaining privacy safeguards and national sovereignty, will be critical to building a digital economy capable of scaling across African markets. Without interoperable data systems, AI deployment across sectors and borders could remain constrained, reducing Africa’s influence over how global AI systems are designed and deployed.
Current policy approaches across the continent have largely prioritised data protection and privacy. While these remain essential, Gyekye said equal attention should be given to enabling mechanisms such as interoperability, data portability and responsible localisation policies to unlock broader digital economic opportunities.
Microsoft identified regional integration as a key pathway for accelerating AI adoption, pointing to the African Continental Free Trade Area and its Digital Trade Protocol as important frameworks for strengthening data governance and enabling digital trade. The African Union estimates that AfCFTA could boost intra-African trade by more than 50 per cent, a target that increasingly depends on seamless and secure cross-border data flows.
In a digital economy, the movement of data is becoming as critical as the movement of goods and services, the company said, stressing that Africa must develop governance models tailored to its own market realities rather than replicate external regulatory systems.
Several continental initiatives are already laying the groundwork for improved coordination. These include the African Development Bank’s Africa Information Highway, which connects open data platforms across 54 countries and regional organisations, as well as the African Union Data Policy Framework and guidelines supporting digital trade protocols. However, Microsoft noted that these efforts remain foundational and that a significant gap persists between policy ambition and operational implementation.
The company called for a modern approach to data sovereignty that protects citizens’ rights while enabling participation in regional and global digital ecosystems. Such an approach, it said, should support local innovation, ensure fair value distribution and strengthen long-term digital capabilities.
Microsoft added that partnerships between governments, research institutions, civil society and technology providers will be necessary to build trusted and interoperable data systems capable of supporting safe and inclusive AI deployment at scale.
Without coordinated policy action, Gyekye warned, economic value generated by AI systems could increasingly accrue outside the markets where data is produced and applied, limiting Africa’s role in shaping the global AI economy.
She added that Africa’s opportunity lies in designing governance models that balance sovereignty with openness, allowing the continent to participate confidently in global digital systems while advancing its own development priorities.
