AI Hub for Sustainable Development launches the first cohorts of its flagship programmes, accelerating the continent’s path toward sovereign, future-ready AI ecosystems
The AI Hub for Sustainable Development has today announced partnerships with several game-changing ventures under the Africa-Italy Mattei Plan. As part of the AI Hub’s Infrastructure Builder and Compute Accelerator programmes, 10 infrastructure builders, 20 compute ready innovators, and 100 compute curious organizations are partnering with Italy, the European Union (EU) and the G7 to advance a shared vision of strengthening AI foundations in Africa.
The announcement embodies a new partnership model, whereby African innovators define priorities and lead implementation, while EU and G7 partners complement these efforts with compute, hardware, financing and other expertise on African terms. The value of this new partnership model flows in both directions – from global resources to African markets and from African innovation to the world.
Today’s announcement comes as the AI Hub facilitates private-sector dialogue this week at the AU–EU Business Forum in Luanda, Angola — which is being attended by the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Giorgia Meloni — on building AI infrastructure value chains across the Lobito corridor and sets the stage for the AI Impact Summit in India in 2026.
Read more here about the AI Hub’s programmes and partnering ventures here.
Minister Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) “In just six months, the AI Hub for Sustainable Development has already become a beacon of innovation and global cooperation: a tangible bridge between Italy, Europe, and Africa. This is Italy in action! Today’s announcement reaffirms the concrete commitment of our country and of the European Union to a new model of public–private partnership between European and African industries, contributing to the creation of shared value chains in the field of critical raw materials and laying the foundations for sovereign and sustainable AI infrastructure”.
Minister Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research (MUR) “Strengthening skills, training, and research is the strategic choice through which we aim to support technological development in African countries. This is a pathway rooted in reciprocity: reinforcing Africa’s artificial intelligence ecosystem helps generate the capabilities and innovative solutions that will benefit the entire continent. Our goal is to contribute to the development of a sustainable, inclusive, and truly global artificial intelligence—one that creates opportunities without leaving anyone behind”.
Keyzom Ngodup Massally, Director, AI Hub for Sustainable Development “The AI Hub is about G7 nations co-investing in African-designed, African-built MVPs that work for Africa. Today we celebrate the innovators on the continent as well as the Italian, EU and global partners working together to reimagine partnerships—turning minerals, compute, and code for AI into shared development gains.”
Raymond U. Ononiwu, Founder & CEO, Horus Labs (African Infrastructure Builder) “Thanks to strong support from the AI Hub and EU Green Energy partners, we are laying the foundation towards building a series of AI-ready data centres across the African continent. Since we believe world class compute should not be oceans away, our approach is to make compute local and accessible to Africans. This means African entrepreneurs have the ability to pay for compute using local payment solutions, and run the services of the future that are relevant for African realities. Being an AI Infrastructure Builder is not just building highly reliable data centres, it is powering the engine of Africa’s knowledge economy.”