• Smart Africa Alliance and MeetKai signed a strategic partnership to deploy sovereign AI infrastructure in five African countries.
• The initiative was announced during the Mobile World Congress and will operate under the supervision of the African AI Council.
• The project will deploy sovereign AI stacks powered by MeetKai’s MKA1 system to support digital public services and local-language AI applications.

The Smart Africa Alliance announced on March 5, that it signed a strategic partnership with the U.S.-based company MeetKai, which specializes in sovereign artificial intelligence solutions.

The partners presented the agreement during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The agreement plans to launch a pilot program that will develop national AI infrastructure and technical capabilities in five African countries under the oversight of the African AI Council.

At #MWC2026 in Barcelona, Smart Africa and MeetKai launched a landmark 5-country pilot to accelerate Sovereign AI across Africa through the Africa AI Council.#SmartAfrica #SovereignAI #AI #MWC2026 pic.twitter.com/uJxBWGWCBB

— Lacina Koné (@CEOSmartAfrica) March 5, 2026

The initiative aims to support participating governments in building national artificial intelligence infrastructure. The program relies on the deployment of “sovereign AI stacks,” which represent technological architectures designed to give governments full control over data hosting, model development and application deployment.

This framework allows participating countries to develop artificial intelligence solutions that comply with national regulations and local development priorities. The organizers plan to announce the five pilot countries in the coming weeks.

MeetKai will provide the technical support required to deploy AI platforms capable of integrating African languages. The partners aim to automate digital public services in critical sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education and public administration.

To achieve this goal, the Los Angeles-based company will deploy its flagship AI system, MKA1. The system enables the creation of locally hosted AI ecosystems, which reduces reliance on foreign cloud infrastructure while encouraging domestic innovation.

This sovereign approach represents a critical factor for the continent’s economic future. According to McKinsey & Company, artificial intelligence could generate up to $1.2 trillion in value in Africa by 2030.

However, the continent risks losing a large share of that value if countries fail to control infrastructure and develop local talent. The success of the pilot program will therefore influence the ability of African governments to transform technological potential into sustainable and sovereign economic growth.

Samira Njoya