“It’s time to build” - Interview in Le Monde
At the AI Action Summit in Paris in February 2025, the conversation turned toward Africa’s growing place in the global AI story. The continent was no longer framed as a passive recipient of innovation, but as an active contributor shaping where the technology goes next.
One major outcome was the launch of the African AI Council by Smart Africa, a coalition of more than forty member states driving digital transformation across the continent. The council aims to bring together governments, industry, and experts to turn ambition into action and build an inclusive AI economy. As Le Monde observed, Africa’s AI story is one of both progress and constraint. The continent has produced standout players like Tunisia’s InstaDeep, yet gaps in computing power, infrastructure, and funding remain. The potential is undeniable, but speed and coordination will decide who sets the pace.
That was the message from Babacar Seck, Founder and Managing Partner of Askya Investment Partners, in his comments to Le Monde. “We must not start out as losers,” he said, highlighting Africa’s fast digital adoption, expanding pool of technical talent, and the rise of new data infrastructure across the continent. Africa doesn’t need perfect conditions to begin building. It already has the people, the data, and the drive.
For Seck, the path forward is about momentum. “We can already do more with what we have,” he said, calling for greater investment and collaboration between startups, research institutions, and large enterprises.
At Askya, this conviction drives how we think about the future of technology on the continent. It is a future defined by creation, not consumption. The ecosystem is forming. The question now is how quickly we choose to build.
(Original article published in Le Monde, February 11, 2025.)
