Nigeria\u2019s artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions should be judged by the lives the technology improves.\u00a0 Uche Amaonwu, Director of the Gates Foundation Nigeria Country Office, believes the number of AI products launched should not be the yardstick.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Moonshot on Wednesday in Lagos, Amaonwu argued that Nigeria\u2019s next phase of AI development should focus on practical applications in healthcare, education, agriculture, and public services. The opportunity for Gates Foundation<\/a>, he noted, is to use AI to extend access to knowledge and economic opportunities for people who have historically been left behind by technological advances.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be clear-eyed between promise and impact,\u201d he said. \u201cThe real test is whether people are going to be able to use these AI solutions and tools, whether there is an institution that can sustain those tools over time, and whether we actually see better outcomes from the use of those tools.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, estimates that Gen AI could unlock $61 billion to $103 billion<\/a> of economic value across sectors in Africa. The Gates Foundation 2026 Goalkeepers report argues that<\/a> AI could become a great equalizer by expanding access to knowledge and services It however, warns that without deliberate intervention, the technology could instead widen existing inequalities.<\/p>\n Amaonwu identified four areas Nigeria needs to get right to move AI from promising products to widespread adoption. Firstly, he mentioned\u00a0 the foundation on which AI applications will run. Nigeria\u2019s fintech growth, he said, was driven by payments infrastructure, regulation, policy, and institutions capable of adopting technology.<\/p>\n \u201cAI is going to need similar foundations for us to be able to replicate what happened with fintech,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to need reliable connectivity, trusted data, and systems that can talk to one another. Without those things, we\u2019ll be institutions where every innovator is going to be trying to solve the same underlying ambition problems in the network.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said Nigeria needs to build AI around its own realities. Amaonwu believes that much of the world\u2019s advanced AI models are developed outside Africa and trained on data that may not adequately reflect the continent\u2019s languages or experiences, which could limit\u00a0 the usefulness of that tool.<\/p>\n Trust is another condition for scale. AI systems will handle sensitive information, making data protection and accountability important in sectors such as healthcare. Amaonwu said these safeguards need to be built into AI from the start.<\/p>\n A more local approach could also determine whether AI is useful beyond the demonstration stage. Amaonwu pointed to Nigerian innovators already working on digital health, agricultural advisory tools, and language capabilities for African contexts. However, he stressed that having a working product is only the beginning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe hardest questions in my experience when people develop solutions comes after that solution has been frustrated and it works,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n