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San Francisco 80 years later: UNDP convenes an international conference of AI private sector leaders from Africa and G7 countries with the G7 Italian Presidency and as part of the Italy-Africa Mattei Plan.
This week, the United Nations’ leading development agency (UNDP) and the G7 Italian Presidency, along with a delegation of private sector leaders from the African continent, met with G7 AI leaders in San Francisco. The event was hosted by the Italy Consul General in San Francisco with Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MMIT), InnoVit and CDP.
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The UNDP delegation was led by the Chief Digital Officer Robert Opp, and the Italy delegation by Fausta Bergamotto, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy. Objective of the meeting was clear. Stakeholders must for AI collectively to benefit sustainable development in Africa.
AI Hub for Sustainable Development
The AI Hub for Sustainable Development is co-led by UNDP and Italy’s MMIT. Following the G7 Leaders Declaration, the Hub aims to co-create innovative partnerships, solutions, and investments between G7 and Africa’s private sector. The plan is to transform energy, agriculture, health, water, education and training, and infrastructure in Africa.
This international conference focused on four key areas of opportunities for development. They are 1) inclusive and representative datasets including low resourced languages; 2) local AI talent development across Africa in countries. Others are 3) accessible and affordable green computing infrastructure, and 4) enabling environments for responsible AI adoption.
1945 during the drafting of the UN Charter in San Francisco
History was written in 1945 during the drafting of the UN Charter in San Francisco that gave birth to the United Nations. This international conference lays the fertile ground to anchor sustainable development at the heart of AI private sector globally and in Africa. It will collectively move beyond goodwill and commitments to impactful, scalable partnerships with the private sector for AI-led industrial growth. A partnership where Africa is an equal partner for years to come.
Leaders from the Italian government, UNDP, and Silicon Valley’s investment community commented on the significance of the G7 Italian Presidency Special Event. Vincenzo Del Monaco, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy commented . He is also Co-chair of the G7 Digital and Tech Working Group. “True to the spirit of the Italy-Africa Mattei plan, we need to ensure AI is an equal partnership opportunity with Africa. The AI Hub is a space for collective action with the pivotal role of the G7 and African industry.”
Keyzom Massally, Head of Digital & AI Programmes, UNDP spoke in similar vein. “Sustainable development is facing multidimensional crises of trust and innovations that do not put people at the center of AI. Building on the AI commitments of G7 countries, we must convene in shared spaces to understand, learn, and co-create. [We] must go beyond the status quo of global AI development. This is the goal of the AI Hub for Sustainable Development. Coming to San Francisco with African private sector leaders is a demonstration of how we must go beyond dialogue to people-focused impact for development at scale.”
Mobilizing capital to invest in AI-enabled companiesÂ
Ali Diallo, CEO and Founder, Aurion Capital: “With Aurion Capital, we are mobilizing capital to invest in AI-enabled companies supporting rural and emerging economies and at the same time, educating local stakeholders around ways to attract the right kinds of investments in the form of public, private, and institutional capital to solve challenges in key sectors like healthcare and energy.
He spoke further. “Our funds are committed to empowering startups and innovation-driven enterprises. [They] are building transformational digital solutions that strengthen the footprint of America and of its allies on the international stage. Investing in critical digital infrastructure in an ever-changing geo-political landscape requires strong collaborations between all stakeholders. As a result, we are seeing significant interest from American investors and companies to build stronger bridges across Rural America and international markets. [They are looking at] Italy and Africa through partnerships with local entrepreneurs and government agencies to ensure long term growth and sustainability.”
Some notable African leaders working at the country-level for development at the international conference include Tonee Ndungu, Founder, Kytabu; Alex Tsado, and Founder and CEO, Ahura AI. Others are Houda Ghozzi, CEO, Open Startup International; Daniel Boateng, Venture Talent Specialist, The Future List. The list also include Sam Yala, President of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS).
