Former African Development Bank (AfDB) president Dr Akinwumi Adesina has called for a US$10 billion African Artificial Intelligence Frontier Technology Fund. He wants it to anchor a much bigger push to raise US$50 billion over the next 10 years for research, computing power and African technology companies.

Adesina, now executive chairman of the Global Africa Investment Summit, made the proposal on Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria. He was giving the keynote at the 2026 Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Leadership. BusinessDay and Techeconomy also reported the plan.

It is a proposal, not a launched fund. None of the reports we checked named any government or lender that has committed money yet.

How the US$50bn would add up

According to BusinessDay and Techeconomy, Adesina set out four sources:

US$10 billion for the AI Frontier Technology Fund itself, as catalytic capital;

US$15 billion from African governments, phased over 10 years;

US$15 billion from multilateral and African development finance institutions, through loans, equity, guarantees and concessional finance;

US$10 billion from private investors, philanthropic partners and global technology companies.

To coordinate it, he proposed a Coalition for Financing AI in Africa, bringing together the World Bank, the AfDB, other development banks, African governments, institutional investors and tech companies, BusinessDay reported.

"This is not simply a proposal to raise money for AI projects. It is a proposal to build a continental financing platform capable of transforming Africa's position in the global economy," Adesina said, as quoted by NAN.

What the money would pay for

The reports list universities and research centres, more computing facilities, scholarships and fellowships, technology for African languages, and better electricity and digital infrastructure. Adesina also wants finance to help African tech firms turn research into products, protect their intellectual property and compete abroad, Techeconomy reported.

He warned that if Africa fails to invest in its own research, infrastructure and technology businesses, "we risk spending the next generation purchasing technologies developed elsewhere", according to Leadership.

BusinessDay reported that Adesina cited an AfDB estimate that generative AI could add between US$61 billion and US$103 billion in economic value to Africa.

Why it matters

The proposal lands in a busy week for AI in Africa. On Monday, Google launched its free Skilling Africa learning hub, which aims to train 3 million people by 2030. The African Union adopted a Continental AI Strategy in July 2024, and a recent UN Economic Commission for Africa paper says weak connectivity, infrastructure gaps and limited government capacity still stand in the way, AI Reports Africa reported.

The World Bank's Africa chief economist, Andrew Dabalen, said this week that power and connectivity have to come first. In a World Bank study of three leading African AI users, only 6% of jobs were exposed to possible displacement, while 25% stood to gain from AI tools, he said on the bank's People First podcast.

For Zimbabwe and other smaller economies, a continental fund of this size would matter only if it reaches them as well as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Adesina did not say how money would be shared between countries.

Sources: BusinessDay (Nigeria), "Former AfDB president Adesina proposes $10bn AI fund to anchor $50bn investment drive across Africa", 3 Nov 2026: https://businessday.ng/africa/article/former-afdb-president-adesina-proposes-10bn-ai-fund-to-anchor-50bn-investment-drive-across-africa/ · Techeconomy, "Adesina Proposes $10bn African AI Fund to Mobilise $50bn Investment Over 10 Years", Nov 2026: https://techeconomy.ng/adesina-proposes-10bn-african-ai-fund-to-mobilise-50bn-investment-over-10-years · News Agency of Nigeria, "Former AfDB President Seeks $10bn AI Fund For Africa", Nov 2026: https://nannews.ng/former-%e2%81%a0%e2%81%a0%e2%81%a0%e2%81%a0afdb/ · Leadership (Nigeria), "Former AfDB President Adesina Proposes $10bn To Fund Africa's AI Technology", Nov 2026: https://leadership.ng/former-afdb-president-adesina-proposes-10bn-to-fund-africas-ai-technology/ · World Bank, "Africa's AI Moment: From Potential to Progress", People First Podcast, 3 Nov 2026: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/podcast/2026/11/03/africa-ai-moment-from-potential-to-progress-people-first-podcast · AI Reports Africa, UNECA paper on the AU Continental AI Strategy, 2 Nov 2026: https://aireportsafrica.com/2026/11/02/un-economic-commission-for-africa-publishes-paper-on-putting-the-aus-continental-ai-strategy-into-practice/

Related: Google opens free AI skills hub, aims to train 3m Africans by 2030