"The State of AI in Africa Report 2025 offers a critical reflection on how AI ecosystems across the continent have evolved since 2023, highlighting advances in infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and sectoral innovation, while also surfacing enduring structural disparities. This report reveals a continent that is no longer on the margins of AI development but actively reshaping how AI is conceived, deployed, and governed. Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana have made notable strides in anchoring AI within national digital strategies, strengthening local innovation ecosystems, and investing in foundational infrastructure such as data centres and broadband connectivity. The growing presence of indigenous datasets, grassroots NLP initiatives, and AI models tailored to African realities reflects a broader shift from consumption to creation. Yet this progress remains uneven. While pockets of excellence are emerging, many regions continue to grapple with limited access to reliable electricity, fragmented regulation, data governance challenges, and critical skill shortages. Central Africa, in particular, still faces infrastructural and institutional constraints that hinder meaningful participation in the continental AI space. This report also documents how AI is being embedded in key sectors; agriculture, health, law, and the creative economy to address uniquely African challenges – from crop failure and disease surveillance to language preservation and cultural expression. These use cases affirm the value of locally informed, contextsensitive AI innovation. On the governance front, the adoption of the AU-AI Continental Strategy and the development of national AI policies signal a growing awareness of the need for harmonised, responsible and inclusive AI development. However, effective implementation remains a central concern, particularly around enforcement mechanisms, ethical guardrails, and regional coordination. This report presents a nuanced picture of AI in Africa: one of ambitious experimentation, uneven capacity, and deep potential. Africa’s future in AI depends not only on technological advancement but on the continent’s ability to embed equity, local relevance, and sustainability at the heart of its AI agenda." (Executive summary)