72
P. Wamuyu, and W. Mambo,
African National Artificial Intelligence Strategies: A review, analysis and research agenda”,
Latin-American Journal of Computing (LAJC), vol. 12, no. 2, 2025.
African National Artificial
Intelligence Strategies:
A review, analysis and
research agenda
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 9 November 2024
Accepted 27 January 2025
Published 7 July 2025
Patrick Kanyi Wamuyu
United States International University-Africa
Computing Department
Nairobi, Kenya
kanyiwamuyu@yahoo.com
ORCID: 0000-0002-4241-2519
Wangai Njoroge Mambo
United States International University-Africa
Computing Department
Nairobi, Kenya
mambown@protonmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0001-9754-1273
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
73
DOI:
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
10.5281/zenodo.15742005
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July - December 2025
African National Artificial Intelligence Strategies:
A review, analysis and research agenda
Patrick Kanyi Wamuyu
United States International University-Africa
Computing Department
Nairobi, Kenya
kanyiwamuyu@yahoo.com
Wangai Njoroge Mambo
United States International University-Africa
Computing Department
Nairobi, Kenya
mambown@protonmail.com
Abstract Some countries have developed their national
artificial intelligence strategies (NAISs) while others have formed
task forces to develop them. This study reviewed elements and
concepts required to develop NAIS, related science, technology and
innovation (STI) strategies, policies and manifestos. Some of these
elements and concepts apply to both developing and developed
countries while some others are specific to one of them. STI
elements and concepts apply to artificial intelligence strategies since
AI technology is a specialization of STI technologies. The concepts
and elements identified by this study can aid strategy creators by
providing important insights for creating NAISs. For instance,
catch-up strategies based on learning from a country with similar
past technology, catch-up successes, and others who have created
NAISs are a low-cost way for developing and implementing NAISs.
Keywords artificial intelligence, capability building, catch-
up, leapfrogging, national artificial intelligence strategy
I. INTRODUCTION
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is drastically
transforming the world, and several countries view it as a
transformative technology. AI solutions are useful to
everyone, and governments should strategize to create AI-
driven economies that solve diverse problems [1]. Developing
AI strategies and policies will align actors’ efforts and
resources towards this goal. In fact, technology strategies
enable countries to navigate the technology development
landscape to achieve strategic goals.
In this context, AI has been defined in literature in
different ways: As making computers act rationally and
humanly, or as making computers think like humans and
rationally [2]. Both identify AI as an enabling factor for
developing applications that imitate humans to increase
business, industries, governments and society
competitiveness.
Within the many countries that missed the first industrial
revolution, some were able to join the second and third
revolutions. Meanwhile others will join the fourth industrial
revolution, in which AI is known as one of its major drivers.
However, those that fail to join the fourth revolution in its
early phases will find it almost impossible to join later and will
face a high poverty and unemployment crisis. The gap
between those who catch up and those who fail is likely to be
exponentially larger than the gap created by the previous three
industrial revolutions.
Several national technology strategies have been
developed in the African continent. The latest of these
strategies are national innovation and ICT strategies.
However, most national ICT strategies do not even mention
AI. One way to start developing AI capabilities at low cost is
to add AI aspects to existing technology strategies. There is
few AI courses offered in African higher education
institutions. AI itself can be used to provide online courses at
lower cost than physical classes.
Creators of national artificial intelligence strategies
(NAISs) should start by assessing the country´s priorities,
strengths and weakness; the possibility of deployment with the
country’s limited resources and citizens’ aspirations [1]. A
NAIS building on citizens’ aspirations will get national
implementation support. In addition, citizens must be
educated about the benefits of AI technologies and NAIS.
Technology breakthroughs combined with large global
investments are likely to establish technology dominance.
Dominant technologies like the Internet drive competing
technologies out of the market and force related technologies
to become compatible with it. If AI becomes dominant, then
ICT technologies including mobile applications and Internet
of Things (IoT) will have to become AI compatible to remain
competitive.
NAIS aligned with other specific and general technology
strategies, creates a system of strategies that work together to
achieve national objectives. Designing a new national strategy
should align with other strategies and those likely to be
developed soon.
The current research questions are:
1. What concepts, elements and catch-up lessons
identified in literature are necessary for creating
national AI strategies (NAIS)?
2. Which technology concepts, elements and catch-up
lessons learned are relevant for creating African
NAISs?
II. METHODOLOGY
The study used two research methods: the literature
review, research method [3] and Conjecture Analogy design
science method (CADSRM) [4]. The search was conducted to
find relevant NAIS studies. CADSRM analogy determined
similarities between literature and requirements for creating
African NAIS.
Most literature reviews focus on the past. Some identify
future research agendas, but few extend the literature by
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
74
DOI:
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
10.5281/zenodo.15742005
P. Wamuyu, and W. Mambo,
“African National Artificial Intelligence Strategies: A review, analysis and research agenda”,
Latin-American Journal of Computing (LAJC), vol. 12, no. 2, 2025.
taking steps into the future. Reviews are based on what is
published, and extending into the future involves exploring the
unknown. A literature review is a springboard for future
research [5]. Strategies are tools for navigating an
organization´s future and a literature review provides a
springboard into that future.
A literature review is concept-centric and organized
around concepts. It should analyze the literature, identify
knowledge gaps and encourage researchers to address them
[3]. Gaps in knowledge for developing NAIS strategy limit the
efficiency and effectiveness of the strategies created.
The CADSRM research method supports research,
innovation and learning from ones experience as well as the
experience of others. Developing countries (DCs) can benefit
by learning from their experience of areas they have
successfully leapfrogged, from other technological strategies
they have developed as well as from NAIS of the countries
that are leaders in AI technology.
The search string concatenated the terms: “African”,
“national science”, “technology”, “strategy”, “policy”,
“manifesto”, “innovation”, “system”, “adoption”, lesson
learnt” and “technology success”. The search terms were
applied to Google, Taylor and Francis, IEEE explore and
Springer databases. The search found one hundred and sixty
(160) articles, which were then screened for relevance. This
resulted in forty-nine (49) articles being included based on
their abstracts. After a full-text reading, forty-five (45).
relevant articles remained. The CADSRM method was used
to identify concepts and elements in relevant articles for
creating an AI catch-up strategy for Africa.
III. RESULTS
The results are organized into sub sections: NAIS
concepts, related strategies and learning from past successes.
A. Elements of a national AI strategy
NAIS key pillars are AI in government and public
services; skills and education; research and development;
data, digital infrastructure and ethics [6]. The AI revolution
should be guided by ethics, as it aims to make computers act
and think intelligently like humans, which raises many ethical
issues. To join the AI race, countries that are behind should
start by providing resources to training institutions to build
knowledge and skills and develop AI infrastructure.
Educational institutions should integrate AI and related fields
in their curricula [7]. Skilled manpower is the most critical
component of building AI capability. Governments should
initiate AI projects, including some open source to create
avenues for beginners to acquire skills, experience and build
capabilities.
A comparative analysis of developing countries, NAIS can
help shed light on important elements that need to be included
or excluded in the strategy [8]. The comparison can help
identify the starting points of other countries and directions
they took, allowing strategy creators to select suitable
approaches for their countries. A governments NAIS
strategy sets AI strategic directions for AI, shaping market
structure and societal outcomes [9]. Designing flexible
strategies helps overcome future challenges.
NAIS should set high-level priorities based on the
country’s future vision [10]. The vision determines a
country´s focus and aligns sets of strategies. Lessons learned
for creating national ICT strategies in DCs include involving
citizens and aligning strategies [11]. Changes in government
do not affect African national visions because they represent
national interest agreed upon by most stakeholders.
For AI to become widely used, it should focus on mobile
phones which are widely available in sectors like education
and business that have large potential adopters [12]. This
creates the possibility of commercial success for applications
and AI becoming widely used.
B. Artificial intelligence strategy concepts
Mauritius was the first African country to develop NAIS
[13]; a few others have followed, while many have established
task forces. Experts from academia, industry and government
drafted Ghanas AI innovation and adoption strategy [7]. The
three categories of experts ensure viewpoints of different
sectors are included. Forward thinking governments are
creating comprehensive NAIS to leverage AIs transformative
power [6]. This process requires identifying areas where AI
will have transformative effects. Several countries are moving
quickly to be early AI adopters, especially regionally, to
obtain or maintain competitive advantage [13]. A SWOT
analysis is used to determine whether to create an AI strategy
that integrates both innovation and adoption or starts with
adoption followed by innovation.
Countries should start by building basic AI skills, then
proceed incrementally to more advanced skills. Assisted
intelligence helps people perform tasks better, augmented
intelligence assists people do what they could not, and
autonomous intelligence creates machines that replace
peoples roles [14]. Augmented intelligence and autonomous
machines represent the next generations of AI. The current
generation is predominantly assisted intelligence, with few
simple examples of augmented intelligence and even fewer
examples of autonomous intelligence. Innovation capability,
defined as the ability to generate innovative artifacts [15], will
be essential to create next AI generation technologies.
Strategies are future predictions modified as emerging trends
become clearer over
time.
Benchmarking is an analogical approach of learning and
building capabilities by extracting best practices, methods and
processes from organizations and countries that are more
successful to achieve similar performance [16]. Countries are
benchmarking their NAIS instead of reinventing what has
already been developed elsewhere. Benchmarking can be
done at regional [17] and at other levels. Innovation and
design literature indicates countries apply benchmarking to
national technology strategies, research, knowledge transfer
mechanisms, networks and clusters, [18]. NAIS shows how a
country plans to navigate the landscapes of the AI technology
revolution.
An entity imitates another’s better performing entity to
learn by analogy from it. Mix and match, also called
benchmarking, involves an imitator that mixes and matches
practices of several competing firms. On the other hand,
Copying the Best refers to an imitator identifying the best
performing firms and copying a subset of observable practices
from them [19]. Mix and Match produces a more diverse set
of best practices compared to Copy the Best. NAIS are
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
75
DOI:
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
10.5281/zenodo.15742005
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July - December 2025
observable as they are available to all AI actors in a country
and often available on the web.
African NAIS benchmarking against India, China, United
Kingdom, Canada and United Arab Emirates is a strategy
creation approach [20] in which best practices are selected
from benchmarking, adapted and adjusted when creating new
strategies. Chinas strategy is to become the leading AI power
[21]; United Kingdom aims to improve its position as an AI
technology developer [22]; Canada seeks to improve AI
research and training profile [23]; India explores how to
leverage AI transformation power for inclusive growth
aligned with its governments philosophy [8]; and the UAE
plans to use AI to improve government at all levels [24].
National strategies drive building skills, capabilities, business
ecosystems and establishing industries efficiently and
effectively. Efficiency maximizes the ratio of inputs to outputs
and effectiveness maximizes the number of goals met [25]. A
strategic plan sets the direction for a desired future destination.
Sampene et al. [20] categorizes the best practices in African
NAIS benchmark into inclusive growth, innovation,
continental leadership, improving AI training and technology
development. Countries worldwide apply NAIS
benchmarking to create competitive advantage [13]. However,
[20] do not indicate criteria for selecting the best practice
categories from NAIS strategies in the benchmark. More
research is needed on creating NAIS strategy benchmarks.
China is an exemplar of a large developing country in
catching-up AI; the United States (US) is a leader in basic and
applied research and development (RD) and invention. The
US is leading in quality of AI publications and the number of
patents. Chinas and other countries AI catch-up capabilities
were created by learning from the US. The US strategy should
be included in the African NAIS benchmark as well as
strategies for South America and other countries.
C. Science, technology and innovation strategy, policy and
manifesto concepts
AI history is filled with many promises, some of which
were not realized. AI inability to meet its promises is a risk
to be managed.
African national information technology (IT) strategies
should include general publics needs, be adaptable,
adjustable and have a section on every domain of IT, including
national development and training needs for five years or more
[26]. NAIS is an IT technology strategy, and having these
characteristics is an added advantage. AI technology
industries are in different stages of industry formation cycle.
Each stage has different requirements. The innovation stage
requires start-ups to use experimentation and trial and error,
imitation stage requires informal research and development,
while the growth stage requires formal RD by large firms [27].
Firms deciding to start developing specific AI technology
must determine the stage of the industry formation cycle and
the entry strategy.
The Informal sector is the largest employer in most
developing countries, but its return on investment is very low.
Innovation in the informal sector is based on grassroots
innovation that innovates by trial and error and experimenting.
The next generation of AI technology revolution will support
grassroots innovation movements [28] and countries that
embrace AI grassroots innovation will be able to drastically
improve informal sector productivity. Informal sector
grassroots innovation should be a major part of developing
countries NAIS.
The NAIS primary long-term goal is to ensure leadership
position, using AI to increase global competiveness and
address society challenges and development needs [8]. These
are critical goals that every country aspires to achieve.
However, competition for technology leadership is cutthroat
and only countries with sufficient resources have good
chances of being technology leaders. Some countries, instead
of focusing on becoming overall AI technology leaders, are
focusing on specific AI subfields and application domains.
For example, Canadas AI strategy seeks to make it a global
leader in AI education domain. Countries that are left far
behind in AI should seek to become emerging or DCs
technology leaders or followers.
AI strategies based on catch-up models can enable
countries to leapfrog and reduce the gap with technology
leaders based on incremental innovations. Radical AI
innovation strategies in developing countries have a very low
probability of success but can enable DCs to become
technology leaders. They require large investments that are
almost impossible to get and have high failure rates, making
them very risky. The failure of DC’s AI radical innovation
project would have dire and almost irrecoverable
consequences in all economic sectors.
Recommendations for rooting STI and AI in society for
transformational revolution are: Rejecting knowledge
dependence to make Africa a major producer and a funder of
AI research, encouraging bottom-up innovation and new
forms of innovation [29]. New forms of innovation like
inclusive and grassroots innovations can be included in NAIS.
To bridge the gap between scientists, technologists and
industry, governments should promote transdisciplinary
thinking and research centers [29]. Transdisciplinary artificial
intelligence research can bridge different knowledge and skills
silos enabling the utilization of knowledge locked in silos.
The NAIS strategy has elements of STI strategy goals:
stimulate networking, create awareness, advice policy makers
and include wide range of stakeholders [30]. Networking
enables sharing knowledge and expertise. AI human networks
enable knowledge to flow between members of a network for
spreading awareness. Policy makers consult existing
strategies to ensure that government agencies are working
towards a common goal.
African countries can develop innovation capability by
leveraging informal sector knowledge, indigenous
knowledge, biodiversity and biotechnology [31]. Next AI
generation will automate grassroots innovation based on
collaboration of AI and human systems [28]. Every country is
technology and knowledge leader in its indigenous technology
and knowledge. Grassroots innovation uses informal and
indigenous knowledge, and it is an important element in
African STI capability building [31]. Mauritius NAIS puts
little emphasis on informal sector [13]. This sector is
important for the continent’s development. Countries ignore
this sector at their own risk.
The pilot analysis of Nigerian STI policy indicated it
pursued five industrialization strategies: focusing on
appropriate technology RD, developing local design and
production capacity, fostering interactions among
universities, research institutions, industries and investors to
generate innovations and promote entrepreneurial innovation
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
76
DOI:
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
10.5281/zenodo.15742005
P. Wamuyu, and W. Mambo,
“African National Artificial Intelligence Strategies: A review, analysis and research agenda”,
Latin-American Journal of Computing (LAJC), vol. 12, no. 2, 2025.
[31]. These strategies generate new knowledge and develop
capabilities to apply knowledge to innovate. Kenya’s STI
policy is to create an STI innovation culture, while Nigerian
objective is to inculcate a culture of innovation [31]. Kenyan
and Nigerian STI pilot studies indicated commonalities and
different emphasis on distinct aspects. Organizations, national
and regional innovation systems integration into global value
chains are developing into increasing global innovation
systems [30]. Increased networking and collaboration among
different African innovation system actors facilitate the
commercialization of research and innovation [32].
Integrating African STIs ecosystems into national innovation
systems through global networks will benefit from global
research and experience.
D. Learning from past technological successes
Experience is important in technology development, and it
is the reason why organizations often prefer employing
experts over novices. Novices are good for generating radical
ideas, many of which fail but those that succeed have a large
impact. Experts are better at generating incremental ideas,
many of which succeed but have relatively smaller impact
[33]. Expertise levels apply to individuals, organizations and
countries. Countries joining the AI race rely on ideas and
efforts of both novices and experts.
Africa is beginning to significantly learn and master many
AI technologies. A novice can only create new technology and
management innovation like a strategy by reference to an
example [34]. It is, therefore, more efficient and effective for
Africa to learn from its past technological successes as well as
learn from other countries by imitating.
The African countries used low-cost catch-up strategies to
build their initial education and technology systems after
independence. They had to build working systems within a
short time and with very limited resources. Catch-up literature
is vast and two Kenyan catch-up cases, one in education and
other mobile money transfer, are used. Analogy-inspired
approaches provide a way of systematically learning and
leveraging similar past experiences to solve new problems.
The most widely used analogy-based learning approach is
design by analogy, also called analogy-inspired design.
Design by analogy can enable learning from past success, the
experiences of others and from biology through innovation
and research [35]. The African AI strategy benchmark
provides a means to learn from suitable strategies of other
countries.
Kenya faced the challenge of introducing computing
degree programs because of the lack of skilled trainers,
practitioners and computing infrastructure. Without them, the
mobile telecommunication and mobile money transfer
revolution would not have succeeded. Kenya started a
postgraduate computing degree by introducing a one-year
postgraduate diploma in AI. One-year postgraduate diploma
courses are more affordable and produce graduates more
quickly than master’s and PhD programs. This enables those
without a computing background to be able to join the field.
The initial idea was to start with a postgraduate diploma to
create necessary foundations for starting master’s programs.
However, today many African countries have few AI masters
degrees and face a lack of critical mass of graduates to carry
out the AI revolution.
Kenya used frugal improvisation to transform personnel
from science, technology, engineering and mathematics
disciplines, who had studied in computing areas in Masters
and PhDs degrees, into undergraduate computing lecturers.
The first postgraduate degree was introduced at the University
of Nairobi, providing the foundations for introducing
computing master’s degrees. Many students from different
non-computing disciplines were able to use this degree to
transition into computing fields and become computing
practitioners. Some went into pursuing master’s and PhD
degrees abroad, and later returned to help create the critical
mass to start computing master’s and PhD degree programs.
While this was not an ideal solution, it was low-cost and
affordable, making graduate computing programs feasible.
Sometimes, affordability is the most critical success factor for
catching up.
A country can analyze whether it can manage with an
average upgradable solution or wait for a better solution that
it is not guaranteed to create. Another example of education
is Jean School at Kabete, which at independence, used
frugality to improvise teaching aids and necessary equipment
[36]. The institution has grown to become one of the major
technical colleges in Kenya. Frugal innovation and
improvisation were possibly the most successful strategies
that triggered the establishment of technology foundations of
African countries at independence. Frugal innovation,
combined with design thinking, can support DCs innovation
and entrepreneurship [36] needed to establish AI industries.
Research on frugal AI innovation could help both in
introducing AI in the informal technology sector, and in
automating other ignored areas.
Africa’s leapfrogging in mobile communications, money
transfer, solar energy and lessons from
Chinese education and
technology are applicable to the design of DCs leapfrogging
strategies [37]. Technology leapfrogging refers to skipping
low-grade and costly technologies and industries in favor of
more effective and advanced technologies [38]. Leapfrogging
experience creates mental models and builds capabilities
within a country. Nations can build on these mental models
and capabilities from previous technology leapfrogging.
Kenya’s MPESA mobile money transfer leapfrogging
leveraged existing mental models, such as mobile vehicle
banking and the practice of employees working in towns
sending money by public transport vehicles to their rural
relatives [39]. The most important resource for technological
catch-up, leapfrogging and job creation for Africa’s large
unemployed youth in Africa is human capital [37]. Some
evidence of this is all African countries have slogans like the
youth is the greatest asset these countries have.
AI is a major driver of Industry 4.0. All national
technology strategies should be aligned since they work
towards the same STI strategic goals. The commonly studied
strategy alignment in computing is between business and IT
strategies. Aligning business and IT strategies is an effective
way to create efficiency and achieve targets for any business
[40]. Organizations that align their strategies benefit from
related organization elements working as a system, which
creates synergy. African NAISs can follow either bottom-up
or top-down strategies [41]. Strategy creators can decide
which bottom-up, top-down, middle-out or a combination of
strategies are appropriate.
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
77
DOI:
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
10.5281/zenodo.15742005
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July - December 2025
For DCs, incremental innovation is better than radical
innovation as it is cheaper, less risky and enables firms to
innovate by imitating solutions from other parts of the world
[42]. They creatively imitate and retranslate existing solutions
from other industries such as technologies, patents, specific
knowledge, capabilities, general principles, business
processes and whole business models [43]. Chinese, Japanese
and South Korean SMEs have used imitation by breaking
down and reassembling products or creatively imitating or
importing and improving upon the best knowledge,
experiences and solutions [44]. In Japan, the culture of
imitation has existed for five centuries, where individual
entrepreneurs invented a product, then other entrepreneurs
imitated inventors and firms commercialized invented
solutions [44]. Imitation that learns by analogy is often
cheaper than invention. A pattern of expertise levels derived
from Japanese martial artists, consisting of learning, detaching
and transcending was used as the basis for creating agile
method developers’ capability-building model [45]. The
Agile methods have since been adapted for AI technology
development. The first example is learning by analogy from
an indigenous system on how to create a modern technology
innovation. The second example is how artificial intelligence
learned how to apply a software engineering method.
The mindset that imitation is embarrassing is misleading.
Business leaders should see imitation not as an inhibitor but
as an enabler of innovation, but risks are not to be ignored
[46]. Imitation is often viewed by business, society and
academia negatively as something to avoid. Imitation that is
unethical or that violates intellectual property is negative.
Blind imitation copies non-beneficial elements while smart
imitation copies only useful elements and invents others.
Several countries, such as China, Japan and South Korea as
well as many firms have been able to catch-up based on
imitation. One-way startups create imitation competitive
advantage through learning by analogy from technology
leaders’ new product development: cheaply and with fewer
resources, to create their own innovations [47]. Startups can
also learn by imitating processes, start-up creation and growth
approaches from developed countries. For example, Tanzania
can learn from European and Asian SMEs along with start-ups
experiences on how to combine imitation and innovation to
overcome limited research and development capacity; and
infrastructure constraints to catch-up in science, technology
and innovation [48]. AI Invention strategy is largely preferred
over Imitation strategy in Africa. Tencent used an imitation
strategy to develop its first product by copying good elements
from an American company and substituting not-so-good
elements with innovative others to grow [49]. Literature
provides many examples of individuals, groups, firms,
communities and countries catching up through learning by
imitation.
IV. CONCLUSION
Some of the core concepts for African countries in creating
NAIS strategies include capability building, learning from
past technology building successes like mobile money
transfer; and using follower and catch-up strategies. These
concepts are necessary to create strategies with sound
theoretical foundation that could work.
African countries can learn from their past successes to
upgrade AI education, research and development, and to set
up necessary infrastructure. The technology leapfrogging
strategy was the force that drove mobile money revolution.
These are exemplary technology leapfrogging cases.
NAIS can help align national thinking and efforts in a
common direction, providing a more effective and efficient
way of building national AI capabilities. Failing to plan is
planning to fail. A strategy is a form of planning and failure to
create an AI catch-up strategy is, in effect, like creating an AI
strategy to fail. Making large investments in AI without
establishing prerequisite foundations is likely to lead to
failure. Knowledge and research should be the basis of such
investments.
In the past, AI made many great promises, some were
realized while others were empty promises. Today, AI still
presents as many threats as opportunities. To deal with these,
most of AI technology leaders invest short-term in less risky
incremental innovations and long-term in highly risky radical
innovations. Followers invest in incremental innovations or in
building capabilities to build commercial applications and
continuously upgrade applications and capabilities.
There is little research on African information and
communication technology catch-up, although it is an
important source of learning. Literature reviews can provide
foundations for future catch-up research and provide a quick
reference for those interested in catch-up research like policy
makers.
R
EFERENCES
[1] World Economic Forum. “A Framework for Developing a National
Artificial Intelligence Strategy Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution.
White Paper, World Economic Forum,” 2019.
[2] S. Russel, and P. Norvig, Artificial intelligence a modern approach,
Prentice-Hall, 2010.
[3] J. Webster and R. T. Watson, “Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the
Future: Writing a Literature Review,” MIS Quarterly, vol. 26 no. 2,
pp. xiii-xxiii, 2002.
[4] J. S. Gero, "Research methods for design science research:
computational and cognitive approaches," Proceedings of ANZAScA,
2000.
[5] J, Paul and A. R. Criado. “The art of writing literature review: What
do we know and what do we need to know?” International business
review. vol. 29, no. 4, 2020.
[6]
E. Martinho-Truswell, H. Miller, I. Asare, A. Petheram, R. Stirling, C.
Mont, and C. Martinez, “Towards an AI strategy in Mexico:
Harnessing the AI revolution,” 2018.
[7] K. K. Kubuga, D. A. Ayoung, and S. Bekoe, “Ghana’s ICT4AD
policy: between policy and reality, Digital Policy, Regulation and
Governance.” vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 132-153, 2021.
[8] A. Kumar, “National AI Policy/Strategy of India and China: A
Comparative Analysis,” Research and information systems for
developing countries, 2021.
[9] World Bank, “Harnessing artificial intelligence for development in the
post-Covid-19 era: A Review of National AI Strategies and Policies,”
World Bank, 2021.
[10] L. N. Parker, “Creation of the National Artificial Intelligence Research
and Development Strategic Plan,” AAAI, 2018.
[11] P. Palvia, and N. Baqir, “ICT policies in developing countries: An
evaluation with the extended design-actuality gaps framework,” The
Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries.
vol. 7 no 1, 2015.
[12] B. D. Nye, “Intelligent Tutoring Systems by and for the Developing
World: A Review of Trends and Approaches for Educational
Technology in a Global Context,” Int J Artif Intell Educ.vol. 25, pp.
177203, 2015.
[13] Mauritius strategy. Mauritius Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Working
Group on AI, 2018.
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
78
DOI:
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
10.5281/zenodo.15742005
P. Wamuyu, and W. Mambo,
“African National Artificial Intelligence Strategies: A review, analysis and research agenda”,
Latin-American Journal of Computing (LAJC), vol. 12, no. 2, 2025.
[14] S. A. Yablonsky, “Multidimensional Data-Driven Artificial
Intelligence Innovation, Technology innovation review,” vol. 9, no. 12,
pp. 16-28, 2019.
[15] D. Esterhuizen, C. Schutte and A. Du Toit, A. “A knowledge
management maturity model to grow innovation capability,” SA
Journal of innovation management. vol. 14, no. 1, 2012.
[16] M. Iðoraitë, “Theoretical Aspects of Benchmarking Theory, Vieðoji
Politika Ir Administravimas,” 2004 .
[17] F. G. Solfa, “Benchmarking Design: Multiplying the Impact of
Technical Assistance to Msmes in Design and Product Development, “
Proceedings of the DMI 2012 International Research Conference, pp.
109-115, 2012.
[18] A. Whicher, G. Cawood, and A. Walters, “Research and Practice in
Design and Innovation Policy in Europe, Proceedings of the DMI
2012 International Research Conference, pp. 291-307, 2012.
[19] H. Posen, S. Yi, and J. Lee, “A contingency perspective on imitation
strategies: When is “benchmarking” ineffective?” Strat Mgmt J. vol.
41, pp. 198221, 2019.
[20] A. K. Sampene, F. O. Agyeman, B. Robert, and J. Wiredu, “ Artificial
Intelligence as a Path Way to Africa's Transformations,” Journal of
Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology, vol. 9, no. 1,
pp. 14940-14951, 2022.
[21] M. S. Reshetnikova, “China’s innovation race: future leader or
outsider?” vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 5663, 2021.
[22] UK strategy. “Artificial intelligence strategy,” Command Paper 525,
2021.
[23] N. Chowdhury, Z. Hakim, T. Kim, N. Taylor, T. Remennik, S. Rogers,
et al. “Pan-Canadian AI Strategy Impact Assessment Report October
2020,” Accenture and CIFAR, 2020.
[24] UAE Strategy. “UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
2031,” 2021.
[25] R. Stair, and G. Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, Tenth
Edition. Course Technology Incorporated, 2012.
[26] E. Woherem, Information Technology in Africa: Challenges and
Opportunities, RIKS and ACTS Press, 1993.
[27] T. Byers, D. Dorf, and A. Nelson, Technology Ventures: From Idea
to Enterprise, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2015.
[28] A. P. Botha, “A mind model for intelligent machine innovation using
future thinking principles,” Journal of Manufacturing Technology
Management, vol. 30, no. 8, pp. 1250-1264, 2019.
[29] C. K. Urama, O. Ogbu, W. Bijker, A. Alfonsi, N. Gomez, and N. Ozor,
“The African Manifesto of Science, Technology and Innovation,”
ATPS, 2010.
[30] D. Meissner, “Approaches for developing national STI strategies, ”
STI Policy Review, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 34-56, 2014.
[31] United Nations. “Economic Commission for Africa. County STI
profiles: A framework for assessing science, technology and
innovation readiness in African countries,” Economic Commission for
Africa, 2018.
[32] African, Union. Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for
Africa 2024, 2014.
[33] R. Conti, A. Gambardella, and M. Mariani, “Learning to be Edison?
How Individual Inventive Experience Affects the Likelihood of
Breakthrough Inventions,” DRUID-DIME Academy Winter 2010 PhD
Conference, 2010 .
[34] H. Zhuge, J. Ma, & X. Shi, “Abstraction and Analogy in Cognitive
Space: A Software Process Model,” Information and Technology, vol
9, pp. 463-468, 1997.
[35] F. Katherine, D. Moreno, M. Yang, and K. Wood, “Bio-Inspired
Design: An Overview Investigating Open Questions From the Broader
Field of Design-by-Analogy,” Journal of Mechanical Design, vol. 136,
no. 11, 2014.
[36] L. Holm, M. Reuterswärd, and G. Nyotumba, “Design Thinking for
Entrepreneurship in Frugal Contexts,” Design Journal, vol. 22, pp. 295-
307, 2019.
[37] World Bank Group, China Development Bank. Leapfrogging: The Key
to Africa's Development? 2014
[38] N. Amuomo, “Absolute Poverty and the Desire to Emancipate
Communities Driving Mobile Communication for Development
(M4D) in Africa,” Journal of Information Systems and Technology
Management, vol. 14, pp. 431438, 2017.
[39] B. Ngugi, M.Pelowski, and J. Ogembo, “M-PESA: A Case Study of
the Critical Early Adopters Role in the Rapid Adoption of Money
Banking in Kenya,” EJIDC, vol. 43, no. 3, 2021.
[40] M. Dairo, J. Adekola, C. Apostolopoulos, “Benchmarking strategic
alignment of business and IT strategies: Opportunities, risks,
challenges and solutions” Int. j. inf. tecnol, vol 13, no. 6, pp. 2191
2197, 2021.
[41] F. Yang, and S. Gu, “Industry 4.0: A revolution that requires
technology and national strategies, Complex & Intelligent Systems,”
vol. 7, pp. 13111325, 2021.
[42] W. Naudé, A. Szirmai , and M. Goedhuys, “Policy brief, United
Nations University,” 2011.
[43] E. Enkel and O. Gassmann, “Creative imitation: exploring the case of
cross‐industry innovation,” R&d Management, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 256-
270, 2010.
[44] K. Tan, and L. Chung, “Cracking the Chinese SME innovation
frontier: Crossing the imitation chasm, Technology innovation and
industrial management, “ pp. 265-274, 2015.
[45] A. Cockburn, Agile Software Development: The Cooperative game,
Pearson Education, 2007.
[46] O. Shenkar, “Copycats: how smart companies use imitation to gain a
strategic edge,” Strategic direction, vol. 6, no. 10, pp. 3-5, 2010.
[47] J Liu,. X. Yan, and S. Sheng, “Imitation or innovation? New ventures’
NPD strategies in emerging markets,” Industry and Innovation. 2023.
[48] E. F Nzunda, and J. G. Mayeka, “Imitation and Innovation of Practices
in Science and Technology: Lessons from Asia and Europe for
Tanzania,” East African Journal of Science, Technology and
Innovation, vol. 4, no. 2, 2023.
[49] M. Hu, “Literature review on imitation innovation strategy,”
American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, vol. 13, no.
8, 2018.
ISSN:1390-9266 e-ISSN:1390-9134 LAJC 2025
79
LATIN-AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING (LAJC), Vol XII, Issue 2, July 2025
AUTHORS
Prof. Patrick Kanyi Wamuyu is an Associate Professor of Information
Technology at United States International University-Africa, Nairobi,
Kenya. Dr. Wamuyu earned his Ph.D. degree in Information Systems
and Technology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban,
South Africa. He completed his postdoc research at the Freie
Universität, Berlin, Germany and the Indian Institute of Information
Technology, Allahabad, India. His research focuses on a broad range
of topics related to Information and Communication Technologies
for Development (ICT4D), Social Media Use and Consumption,
E-business Infrastructures, ICT Innovations and Entrepreneurship,
Wireless Sensor Networks and Databases. His academic publications
include books, book chapters, peer reviewed journal articles, and
refereed conference proceedings. He has over twenty-seven years
of experience in the computing and information technology industry
that have taken him from software development, running his own
Information Technology Enterprise to the academic world. He has
advised many graduate (Masters and Ph.D.) and undergraduate
students. Currently serves as the Associate Dean, School of Graduate
Studies. When he is not in academia, Patrick enjoys hiking, traveling,
and volleyball.
Wangai Njoroge Mambo started his computing career in government
and industry, and then began teaching and research at Kenyan
institute of administration thereafter moved to universities. He worked
at Kabarak University, Kenyatta University and several other Kenyan
universities. He obtained master’s degree in computer applications
from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China and BSc (Chem and Math's)
degree from university of Nairobi, Kenya. Currently he is an adjunct
lecturer computing department, United States International University
Africa. His research interests are artificial intelligence, transdisciplinary
intelligent software engineering, trans-fields, software innovation
and indigenous knowledge. His work explores intersection between
these fields and indigenous knowledge His research has appeared
in multiple peer reviewed journals including artificial intelligence,
computers science and robotics, transdisciplinary engineering and
science, African journal of innovation and entrepreneurship journal
among others.
Patrick Kanyi Wamuyu
Wangai Njoroge Mambo
P. Wamuyu, and W. Mambo,
African National Artificial Intelligence Strategies: A review, analysis and research agenda”,
Latin-American Journal of Computing (LAJC), vol. 12, no. 2, 2025.