Smart Africa expands AI youth initiative with Chad launch
Date: 2025-08-05
The Smart Africa alliance has strengthened its commitment to digital transformation with the launch of its AI for Youth program in Chad. Smart Africa CEO Lacina Koné joined Dr. Michel Boukar, Chad's Minister of Posts and Digital Economy, in N'Djamena to inaugurate both the AI training initiative and the new Smart Africa Youth Chapter for Chad.
This strategic
program aims to equip 2,000 young Chadians with artificial intelligence skills
and digital competencies to position them as drivers of Africa's technological
future. The Chad launch marks the sixth national youth chapter established
under the Smart Africa alliance, following successful implementations in Sierra
Leone, Congo-Brazzaville, Malawi, Gambia and Gabon.
CEO Koné in his address, noted the transformative potential of AI during the launch ceremony,
stating that artificial intelligence serves as a powerful amplifier, enhancing
capabilities for those prepared while potentially creating confusion for the
untrained.
The Chad
initiative forms part of Smart Africa's broader strategy to create a critical
mass of digitally-skilled young professionals across member states. By focusing
on AI literacy and practical competencies, the alliance aims to build
sustainable digital economies while addressing youth unemployment
challenges.
This expansion
into Chad demonstrates growing continental momentum behind coordinated digital
skills development, with multiple nations now collaborating under the Smart
Africa framework to prepare their workforces for the Fourth Industrial
Revolution. The program's rollout in Chad represents another step toward
achieving Smart Africa's vision of a connected, innovation-driven
continent.
With AI
increasingly recognized as a key driver of economic competitiveness, such
initiatives position African youth to actively participate in and benefit from
the global digital transformation while ensuring the continent develops
homegrown solutions to local challenges.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
