Africa’s digital boom hides a darker truth — a silent takeover of the continent’s data and technology by global powers.
In his paper presented at the just-concluded annual conference of the African Bar Association (AFBA), which took place in Accra, Ghana, Solomon Vendaga Ater, an award-winning writer and expert in Technology Law, warns that Africa faces a new form of domination — digital colonialism.
This is not about land or labour, but control over data, the lifeblood of the digital age, he cautions.
Ater explains that as Africa celebrates its startup growth and mobile penetration, powerful companies in the Global North are quietly extracting value from African users’ data. This process, called datafication, turns human life into raw material for artificial intelligence systems.
Just as colonial powers once seized physical resources, today’s tech giants harvest African data — often without consent or compensation — to train AI models that generate billions abroad.
He describes this as a continuation of history under a modern disguise: “Digital colonialism entrenches global inequalities under the banner of innovation.”
The paper highlights how 95% of Africa’s submarine internet cables are foreign-owned, and 85–95% of African data is processed outside the continent. This means foreign laws like the U.S. CLOUD Act and China’s National Intelligence Law can access African data, creating serious privacy and sovereignty risks.
Foreign platforms deepen this dependency. Google dominates over 90% of search traffic, while WhatsApp connects up to 500 million Africans. These platforms shape public opinion and control digital narratives, often sidelining local culture and innovation.
Ater calls this “a digital fiefdom,” where control is not over land, but over algorithms that influence thought, behaviour, and democracy.
Globally, he situates this in a rising “digital Cold War” between the U.S. and China. Both superpowers race to dominate AI infrastructure, leaving Africa caught between rival tech ecosystems with incompatible standards.
But Africa is not without hope. Ater celebrates the African Union’s Continental AI Strategy (2024) as a major step toward digital independence. The policy, anchored in the principle of Ubuntu, promotes ethical, inclusive AI rooted in African values.
He urges countries to localise AI development and invest in compute sovereignty — building local data centres, AI labs, and high-performance computing systems. “Control over compute is the new sovereignty,” Ater writes.
Without decisive action, he warns, Africa risks becoming “a perpetual data colony,” supplying the world with digital raw materials while importing finished AI products at a premium.
To reclaim digital independence, Ater recommends five urgent steps:
- Localise AI governance and ethics rooted in African culture and accountability.
2. Build compute sovereignty by investing in local infrastructure and enforcing data localisation.
3. Mobilise financing, operationalise the $60 billion Africa AI Fund, and attract private investment.
4. Strengthen regional cooperation through ECOWAS, SADC, and AfCFTA to build a unified digital market.
5. Adopt Africa-first innovation policies, prioritising local tech in government procurement.
He concludes with a clear warning: “Africa’s choice is not whether to adopt AI — but whether to do so on its own terms or remain digitally colonised.”
Ater’s message is unmistakable — Africa must own its data, build its AI, and reclaim its digital destiny before it’s too late.
