African Strategies for Tapping into Artificial Intelligence (AI): Highlights from the Namibia AI Readiness Assessment Report

African nations are engaged in efforts to determine their Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategies, to consider the impact the technology will have on national development goals. These strategies extend beyond development agendas to address governance and regulatory concerns and define the scope of AI adoption without compromising human rights, expanding the digital divide, or causing irreparable harm. In Namibia, this process has led to the UNESCO AI Readiness Assessment (RAM) report, which lays the foundation for a future national strategy. The RAM and related policy initiatives prioritise sectoral transformation, the development of enabling infrastructure, and building digital skills for citizens.¹

The AI Readiness Assessment Methodology is a tool developed alongside the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI to support countries in evaluating the gaps relevant to AI adoption through regulatory, sociocultural, economic, scientific, and technological dimensions. The resulting report informs interventions by defining the status quo and highlighting necessary steps to improve each country’s readiness to ethically integrate AI.

The Lead-Up to the AI Readiness Assessment Report

Namibia did not arrive at this point overnight, having laid the groundwork with various national initiatives. The 2022 Final Report of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Task Force (4IRTF) assesses the country’s readiness for emerging technologies, including AI; it identifies key gaps, including limited digital infrastructure, a shortage of skilled workers, and the need for clear policies.² It also highlights opportunities available to Namibia, including a stable political environment, a growing ICT sector, and national vision. The National Vision, Vision 2030, prioritises innovation for socioeconomic progress.³ The 4IRTF report indicates that infrastructure, skills, the innovation ecosystem, and governance are key factors to inform future directions for national AI planning.

Another key event in Namibia’s journey towards building its AI governance structures is the Windhoek Statement on Artificial Intelligence in Southern Africa. This Statement resulted from the UNESCO Southern Africa Subregional Forum on Artificial Intelligence, where ministers in charge of communication, digital technologies, and higher education gathered to outline a way forward to harness AI.⁴ The Statement emphasises the creation of a data governance and AI ecosystem that reflects local values and sociotechnical realities to develop ethical and inclusive AI.⁵ It also recommends updating national laws and policies, such as enacting data protection legislation to govern the processing of personal data in AI creation and use. Recognising the reliance of a thriving AI ecosystem on infrastructure, the Windhoek Statement emphasises that countries invest in closing connectivity gaps and establishing innovation hubs to develop AI skills. Also key in the statement is the need for stronger Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education, and more inclusive participation to foster technologies that reflect local contexts.⁶

Key Considerations in Namibia’s AI Readiness Assessment Report

The multidimensional nature of the RAM allows us to interrogate the key opportunities and gaps Namibia is facing as it shapes its national AI agenda. The report addresses the legal, socio-cultural, educational, economic and infrastructural considerations, indicating how AI adoption in the country should interact with governance, skills, and existing infrastructural capacities. As such, the report offers a clear picture of Namibia’s strategic priorities as the nation draws its AI future.

Multi-Sectoral Transformation

Namibia’s readiness assessment indicates that AI will play an important role in healthcare, education, agriculture, and mining, especially if improvements are made across all the RAM dimensions, being regulatory, socio-cultural, educational, economic, and infrastructural spheres.⁷ AI use cases in healthcare, precision agriculture, digital health, and optimising mining processes are key in economic and infrastructural transformation in the country. The public sector is also a key consideration for AI use to improve government service delivery and overall development in the country.⁸ However, these opportunities can only be realised if Namibia establishes the proper infrastructural backbone, through expansion of broadband, creation of data centres, and leveraging mobile platforms to provide services in the high priority sectors of healthcare, education, agriculture and mining.⁹

AI Governance

Discussions around AI governance in Namibia highlight the importance of coordination across different sectors and institutions.¹⁰ In Namibia, unclear mandates, overlapping responsibilities, and limited coordination mechanisms between government entities risk duplication of efforts.¹¹ The RAM shows that the institutional framework for digital governance is spread out among multiple bodies, including the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, which implements digital policies and oversees other bodies such as the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN).¹² The Ministry of ICT works with the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture (MEIYSAC), which implements education and innovation policy in the country.¹³ The National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) is the regulator responsible for science and technology initiatives in the country, while the Office of the Prime Minister manages public-sector ICT and data policy. Thus, the digital governance landscape in Namibia spans multiple actors and requires strong coordination to improve coherence.

The nation’s regulatory framework consists of several enabling laws that promote ethical practices in the use of AI, including the Data Protection Bill, the Electronic Transactions Act, the draft Cyber Crimes Bill, and the Access to Information Act. The RAM highlights the need to adopt a coordinated and human-rights based approach in AI governance, to embed transparency and accountability while safeguarding privacy and the freedom of expression.¹⁴ The Data Protection and the Cyber Crimes Bills must also be enacted to strengthen the regulatory framework to address privacy and cyber crime risks likely to be exacerbated by widespread AI adoption.

Balancing National Priorities and Continental Goals

The questions of privacy, data protection, and AI governance are central to Namibia’s ability to achieve a human-rights centered AI ecosystem as recommended in the legal and regulatory dimension.¹⁵ The Namibia Data Protection Bill, 2023, if enacted into law, would regulate the data processing of Namibians’ personal data in both manual and automated systems.¹⁶ Citizens would have recourse in the event of privacy rights violations, such as profiling, discriminatory algorithms, or the misuse of personal data. The absence of an enacted data protection law raises significant questions about the country’s data governance readiness, considering AI systems’ need for large-scale data processing. This is especially concerning in sensitive sectors like healthcare and public-facing sectors like education and government service provision. Namibia’s RAM also recommends establishing clear transparency and accountability measures, as well as human rights safeguards for privacy and freedom of expression.¹⁷ To address this gap, Namibia should urgently enact its data protection law and align it with the AU Data Policy Framework’s key priorities, including harmonising cross-border data transfers and inclusive data governance.

To fully align with regional aspirations, Namibia must enact the Data Protection and Cybercrime Bills, and address gaps in the Communications Act to capture complexities brought on by AI. The RAM also recommends the establishment of AI-specific laws to establish transparency and accountability measures, while addressing concerns around algorithmic bias, cybersecurity, and protections for online use.¹⁸

Based on the Windhoek Statement¹⁹ and the 2022 4IR Task Force Report,²⁰ Namibia’s approach aligns with AU priorities in sectoral transformation such as education, healthcare, and agriculture. While the AU emphasises gender-responsive AI, including benefits for women and girls, it remains to be seen whether Namibia’s approach would incorporate similarly explicit provisions.²¹

Concluding thoughts

The Windhoek Statement and Namibia’s 4IR Task Force Report reflect regional priorities, including the use of AI for national development of key sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture, with an emphasis on ethical, inclusive, and contextualised approaches to adoption. Building on the foundational roadmap established by these key frameworks, Namibia’s readiness assessment report highlights the multiple dimensions key to sectoral transformation in priority sectors, including reforms in legal, infrastructural and skills capacities in the nation. To successfully adopt these aspirations, any future AI strategy will rely on the translation of the readiness assessment report into policy, while maintaining responsible, contextualised and inclusive adoption.

This post has been revised to incorporate additional research and contextual updates.