Call for Policy Papers- AI Made in Africa: Removing Policy Barriers for SME-Driven Innovation

The Global Center on AI Governance, in collaboration with GIZ African Union, announces a call for policy papers under the AI Made in Africa initiative. This joint effort aims to strengthen Africa's AI innovation landscape by addressing the policy and regulatory barriers that hinder Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) from fully harnessing the potential of Artificial Intelligence. The initiative invites experts to contribute short, policy-focused papers analyzing the barriers facing African SMEs and private-sector innovators in the AI landscape. Each paper should present clear, relevant analysis and offer practical policy recommendations tailored to African contexts. The series seeks to generate practical, evidence-based insights to support more enabling environments for responsible and locally grounded AI development. Priority themes include regulatory and legal barriers (AI and intellectual property, data governance, procurement rules), market and trade barriers (digital trade, standards and certification, competition), and innovation and investment ecosystems (access to compute and cloud infrastructure, skills and talent, investment and capital, AI and sectoral opportunities). A modest honorarium will be provided for selected authors.