Bio Calls for African Control of AI Data, Infrastructure and Rules

President Julius Maada Bio has urged African countries to play a more active role in developing, governing and benefiting from artificial intelligence, arguing that the continent should have greater control over the technology’s infrastructure, data and rules.

Bio made the remarks on September 21 at a high-level AI roundtable convened by Kenyan President William Ruto in New York on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He said Sierra Leone is developing its first national AI strategy with support from the World Bank Group. The strategy is still being developed, and details of its full content have not been provided.

A strategy focused on local needs

Bio said AI solutions designed for Sierra Leone should work on mobile devices and in low-bandwidth settings, while recognising African languages and local contexts. He also framed their success in practical terms, asking whether the technology could help farmers make better decisions, support health workers, assist teachers and make public services easier for citizens to access.

“For me, that is the real test. Can a farmer get better information about his crops? Can a health worker make a better-informed decision? Can a teacher use these tools to help a child learn? Can a citizen access a public service more easily?” he said.

Africa’s infrastructure constraints were central to Bio’s argument. He noted that the continent is home to roughly one-fifth of humanity but has limited data-centre capacity compared with its population. He called for greater investment in African talent, research institutions, languages, datasets and innovation ecosystems, alongside protections for privacy and rights.

Proposal for regional data cooperation

Bio also disclosed that Sierra Leone has been exploring the concept of regional data embassies. Under the model, critical public data could be hosted in another participating country while Sierra Leone retains defined legal jurisdiction and control.

“The principle is simple: sovereignty should travel with the law, not simply with the building,” Bio said.

The proposal has been described as an area of exploration rather than an adopted arrangement. Bio said African countries could cooperate on computing capacity, data governance, interoperability, skills development, safety and regulatory approaches while maintaining control over matters of national interest.

He called for interested African countries to begin work on a practical framework for shared AI sovereignty, saying cooperation could help the continent build capacity and resilience without giving up national control.

Warning against another extractive economy

Bio warned African countries against repeating past economic patterns in the data and AI sectors. He said the continent had often exported raw materials while much of the value created from them was captured elsewhere.

“For generations, we have exported raw materials and imported much of the value created from them. We should be careful not to do the same thing with data,” he said.

He urged African countries to participate in setting global AI rules rather than waiting until major decisions had already been made. In his view, the continent should build the capabilities it can develop itself, cooperate where scale requires it and engage internationally on terms that reflect African interests.

“We have another choice. We can build what we can build ourselves, work together where scale is necessary, protect what is sovereign and engage the rest of the world on terms that reflect our interests,” Bio said.

Freetown summit invitation

Bio invited governments, investors and businesses to continue the discussion at the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit in Freetown on November 17 and 18, 2026. Digital transformation is among the summit’s four principal pillars.

He said the gathering could help move the conversation beyond declarations and support concrete projects and partnerships.

“So, what we discuss here in New York as principle, let us begin testing in Freetown as practice,” he said.

Bio’s remarks presented shared sovereignty as Sierra Leone’s proposed approach to AI cooperation: expanding regional capacity and participation while protecting legal authority, public data and national interests.