Africa can’t win the AI race as 55 states

Professor Arthur Mutambara argues that AI is a revolution on the scale of fire, electricity, and the steam engine, and says Africa must respond as one bloc rather than 55 fragmented states.

He explains the five layers of the AI industry, the risks of superintelligence and autonomous weapons, and why Africa needs energy, data centers, talent, and continental-scale coordination to have any real leverage.

In this episode: Arthur Mutambara lays out why AI is not just another digital trend, but a civilization-level shift with implications for industry, geopolitics, and human development.

He says AI has five layers - energy, chips, infrastructure, models, and applications - and Africa must participate in all of them, not just consume the final products.

Prof Mutambara argues that without energy and digital infrastructure, there can be no meaningful AI development anywhere on the continent.

He warns that AI systems inherit the values and biases of the data and people who build them, which is why Africans must harvest, curate, store, and train on their own data.

He makes the case for African unity at scale, saying South Africa, Nigeria, and other individual states are too small to compete alone in an AI economy dominated by China and the US.

He links AI to industrialization by pointing to productivity gains, efficiency, innovation, and cost savings across agriculture, mining, education, healthcare, and manufacturing.

He says Africa needs data centers on the continent for data sovereignty and AI sovereignty, while acknowledging the land, energy, and water costs they bring.

He distinguishes between digital AI and physical AI, saying humanoids, drones, and driverless cars are the next frontier and that China is moving quickly there.

He warns that jobs will be modified more than destroyed, but only if African countries develop skills, urgency, and participation across the AI stack.

He says recursive self-improvement could arrive around 2028 and artificial superintelligence by 2036, making governance and global regulation increasingly difficult.

00:00 - AI as a revolution on the scale of fire and electricity

00:30 - Arthur Mutambara’s background and why his perspective matters

01:30 - Superintelligence, recursive self-improvement, and weaponized AI

02:34 - AI as a general-purpose technology for development

02:55 - Why AI depends on digital transformation and infrastructure

03:22 - The five layers of the AI industry

04:14 - Africa must build, not just consume, AI

05:18 - Energy, data centers, and critical minerals as Africa’s leverage

05:52 - What a GPU is and why hardware matters

06:55 - Bias in AI systems and the need for diverse creators

08:31 - Why Africa needs scale to compete in AI

09:17 - The talent, funding, and energy needed for AI factories

10:08 - Negotiating with China and the US as a continental bloc

11:07 - How AI supports industrialization and productivity

12:27 - AU awareness, urgency, and linking AI to human development

14:21 - Why Africa-first leadership and integration matter

16:25 - Partnering to manufacture chips using African minerals

17:49 - Geopolitical competition and the governance problem

19:45 - Why Africa should negotiate as one block on minerals

20:33 - Learning from China while protecting African interests

21:39 - AI, climate pressure, and the case for green AI

23:00 - Why Africa needs data centers on the continent

24:55 - Digital AI versus physical AI

26:04 - Job displacement, job modification, and new skills

27:43 - Recursive self-improvement and the 2028 timeline

28:57 - Artificial superintelligence and the 2036 projection

29:44 - What happens if Africa misses the AI revolution

He says:

*“We must be like China. We must be like India.”

*“AI is a game of numbers. It requires scale.”

*“We must be creators, not consumers.”

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My Burkina Faso, Four Years After Traoré

This episode examines Burkina Faso four years into Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s rule, using a conversation with Dr. Lamourdia Thombiano, a soil scientist and writer from eastern Burkina Faso. It explores security, sovereignty, indigenous values, and the political mood in the country, with a strong focus on how many Burkinabe people see the changes firsthand.Dr. Thombiano argues that the country has more hope, cohesion, and national purpose than it did before Traoré took power, especially outside the cities. He also explains why many citizens view the current period less through the lens of elections and individual rights, and more through development, social unity, and cultural grounding.

Key topics

• Dr. Thombiano says Burkina Faso feels more vibrant and politically engaged than it did four or five years ago.
• He links today’s patriotism to the legacy of Thomas Sankara, saying Traoré’s appeal partly comes from continuing Sankara’s unfinished project.
• Security remains a major challenge, but he frames it as part of a broader package that includes peace, social cohesion, development, and public confidence.
• He says the army’s morale has improved because soldiers are better equipped and supported by civilians who share information, food, and water.
• He argues that many Burkinabe people would prefer development spending on health, agriculture, and education over the costs of elections.
• He describes a shift toward indigenous governance, including traditional leaders handling disputes that are then recognized by the Ministry of Justice.
• He says Burkina Faso is moving toward a model where democracy is not only about elections, but about good governance and communal responsibility.
• He highlights concrete agricultural changes, including subsidized fertilizer, government ploughing support, and new crops such as coffee, cacao, plantain, banana plantain, and wheat.
• He says youth are being trained through “immersion patriotique,” with 65,000 young people reportedly trained this year in values like solidarity, hospitality, fairness, and service.
• On freedoms and repression, he argues that in Burkinabe culture the collective takes priority over the individual, so public speech is judged by whether it helps or harms the community.

Chapters

00:00 — Dr. Thombiano introduces himself and Burkina Faso’s new political reference points

00:56 — Traoré’s rise, his sovereignty message, and the promise to restore security

01:26 — Why many Burkinabe people feel renewed enthusiasm and national momentum

03:50 — Sankara’s influence and Traoré’s revolutionary legacy

04:20 — Security as part of a wider package of peace, cohesion, and development

05:19 — Why Sahel insecurity is viewed as a regional and global problem

06:20 — Improved army morale and stronger public support

07:18 — Dissolving political parties and delaying elections

07:47 — Indigenous values and traditional dispute resolution

09:16 — Democracy through a Burkinabe lens

10:41 — Why many people reportedly prefer development spending over election costs

11:09 — Mobile hospitals, rural healthcare, and agricultural support

12:07 — How Burkina Faso’s agricultural possibilities are changing

13:34 — Innovation, agricultural dynamism, and optimism

14:04 — Why optimism is stronger in rural areas

16:06 — Traoré’s hero status among young people

18:04 — French influence, Russian cooperation, and international alliances

19:59 — Burkina Faso as a country of hope and sovereignty

20:30 — “Immersion patriotique” and training a new generation

21:56 — Personal freedoms, collective responsibility, and cultural perspectives

Notable quotes

“It’s a country of hope.”

“The individual is at the service of the community, not the other way round.”

“People realize the amount of money which is being used to organize election, they can use it for health, for agriculture, for education.”

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Africa has 18% of the world's population and only 2% of its air traffic. RwandAir CEO Yvonne Makolo says the continent did that to itself.

I speak to Yvonne about her nine years running Rwanda's national carrier — an airline that still isn't profitable, in a country of 15 million people with almost no outbound travel market, at a time when most African flag carriers have collapsed.

She explains why Rwanda decided to build an airline anyway, how Kigali became a transit hub where more than half of passengers are just passing through, and that the long-delayed Qatar deal is still going through. She's blunt about what's holding African aviation back: taxes, fees, closed skies, restrictive visas, and a mindset that treats flying as a luxury for the rich.

On being one of very few women running an airline, she has a sharp answer to the question she says she's always asked.

And after nine years in the job, I ask her whether she'll still be doing it in ten.

Yvonne says the question she's always asked — "what will you do to bring more women into aviation?" — is aimed at the wrong person. What did you make of her answer?

Yvonne explains how Rwanda has used aviation as a strategic pillar for growth, why Kigali has become a growing transit hub, and how the airline’s ambitions tie into the country’s broader economy. She also reflects on the challenges facing African aviation, from high fees and restrictive visas to infrastructure gaps and geopolitical tensions.

Tags

RwandAir, Yvonne Makolo, African aviation, Kigali, Bugesera airport, Qatar Airways, Qatar Investment Authority, Ethiopian Airlines, open skies, Yamoussoukro Decision, IATA, AfCFTA, Rwanda, women in aviation, airline CEO, Africa Here and Now, Martine Dennis

This is part of Africa Here & Now's special series on aviation including conversations with: Mesfin Tasew of Ethiopian Airlines, Kamil Al Alawadhi of IATA, Allen Onyema of Air Peace, Henok Teferra Shawl of Boeing Africa, Adefunke Adeyemi of AFCAC, and Nigeria's aviation minister Festus Keyamo.

Key moments

00:00 — Why Yvonne hopes the next generation takes over

00:28 — Aviation and Africa’s unrealized potential

Martine introduces the special aviation series and frames the broader question of why African aviation still underperforms.

00:51 — From technology to aviation

Yvonne shares her unusual career path from geography and environmental science into IT, telecoms, and aviation.

02:33 — Entering a male-dominated industry

She describes the shock of walking into a room full of “grey suits” at her first IATA AGM.

04:01 — The question women are always asked

Yvonne explains why conversations about bringing more women into aviation should involve men too.

05:53 — Why Rwanda invested in a national airline

She outlines the government’s deliberate decision to use aviation as a foundation for national development.

06:22 — How the airline supports Rwanda’s economy

Tourism, exports, conferences, and sports tourism all benefit from the airline’s growth.

08:20 — Measuring the value of a loss-making airline

Yvonne discusses how the airline’s wider contribution to the economy matters as much as profitability.

10:09 — Kigali as a hub

More than half of passengers are transit travelers, showing how Kigali is becoming a regional connection point.

11:07 — Growth plans and new destinations

RwandAir is already competing internationally and plans to expand to more long-haul destinations.

12:28 — Qatar Airways partnership

13:23 — The new airport and future hub ambitions

16:19 — Building aviation capacity in-house

18:37 — Investing in aviation skills

19:35 — Why African aviation is still underperforming

22:23 — Why progress is too slow

Rwanda’s example shows what’s possible when the right policies are in place, but regional reform remains slow.

23:16 — Fuel costs and geopolitical pressure

24:36 — Navigating geopolitics

25:34 — Looking ahead

Yvonne reflects on her future in the role and says it may be time for the younger generation to take over.

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