55 fellows graduate from Pan-African AI governance programme

The OpenSchool Initiative has graduated 55 policymakers and institutional leaders from 22 African countries following the completion of its four-month AI Literacy Fellowship for African Policymakers.

Co-led by Dr. Najeeb G. Abdulhamid, the fellowship was designed to strengthen Africa’s capacity to govern artificial intelligence (AI) responsibly and inclusively.

According to Abdulhamid, the programme emerged from research indicating a critical policy gap across sectors.

“The idea for this fellowship was born from evidence, not hype. When we looked closely at nearly 20,000 feedback responses related to AI and digital literacy, one finding stood out: clear and usable policies guiding responsible AI use were strikingly rare,” Abdulhamid said in his welcome address.

He explained that the absence of institutional AI governance frameworks across academia, professional bodies, businesses, and civil society organisations prompted the creation of a structured programme aimed at building policy capacity beyond awareness.

The volunteer-led initiative ran for nearly seven months in development before launch. OpenSchool volunteers met weekly to shape the curriculum, recruit global resource persons, and coordinate logistics for participants across multiple countries and time zones.

A total of 872 applications were received from 22 African countries. Seventy applicants were shortlisted, while 55 fellows completed the programme, meeting attendance and assignment requirements.

“These numbers matter because they demonstrate reach, but also because they show what is possible when serious participants are offered a rigorous structure and a credible learning ecosystem,” Abdulhamid stated.

The fully virtual programme comprised 24 learning activities, including 12 lectures, eight practical workshops, two masterclasses, and three self-paced courses delivered across four modules. The curriculum covered AI foundations, ethics and risk, policy strategy, data-driven governance, innovation practice, mentorship, and applied communication.

Abdulhamid said the design emphasised practical policymaking capacity. “Policymaking capacity is built through practice and iteration, not information alone,” he noted.

The fellowship was delivered in collaboration with Cosmopolitan University Abuja, System Strategy and Policy Lab, and Tanzeel College International as core institutional partners.

The programme also benefited from technical contributions and speaker participation drawn from industry and academia, including professionals associated with Microsoft through its Change Agents initiative, as well as insights from Google, universities, and policy-focused organisations that supported knowledge sharing throughout the fellowship.

Fellows worked in sector-based teams covering education, health, agriculture, labour, finance, justice, climate and urban systems, and governance. All teams submitted capstone projects by the February 2 deadline. The projects will be refined into a public white paper titled National AI Policy Blueprint for Ubuntia: Governing AI for Equity, Innovation, and Sovereignty.

Ubuntia, a hypothetical sub-Saharan African country characterised by a young population and uneven digital transition, served as a shared model for translating governance principles into practical instruments such as policy roadmaps and regulatory frameworks.

Among the graduating fellows were vice chancellors, directors and deputy directors in government ministries, senior government officials, security and intelligence professionals, bankers, chief executive officers, and civil society leaders.

“Their presence in one cohort signals an important shift: AI governance is no longer a niche concern. It is becoming a shared leadership agenda across government, academia, civil society, and the private sector,” Abdulhamid said.

In his closing message, Fellowship Project Lead Engr. Abba Muhammad Gadanya described the graduation as a transition from learning to action.

“Today, 55 Fellows stand at the completion of that journey not simply as graduates of a programme, but as part of a growing network of informed leaders prepared to shape how AI is understood, governed, and applied in Africa,” Gadanya said.

He emphasised that the fellowship’s long-term impact would be measured by policy decisions taken across institutions.

“The real impact of this Fellowship will be measured not by certificates, but by decisions taken in ministries, agencies, universities, and regulatory institutions across Africa,” he said.

Gadanya announced the launch of a pan-African alumni network to facilitate continued dialogue, peer learning, and coordinated policy leadership. He also indicated that future cohorts may expand to include religious leaders, following stakeholder recommendations.

“Africa must engage AI not from a position of reaction, but from one of strategy, clarity, and confidence. Let this moment mark not the end of a programme but the beginning of Africa’s coordinated leadership in the AI age,” Gadanya added.

OpenSchool said it will also publish a fellowship playbook documenting lessons learned from launching and delivering the pan-African AI governance programme to support replication and adaptation across the continent.

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