East Africa Establishes AI Fund Amid Uganda's AI Factory Development

The East African Community has committed to forming a Regional AI Technologies Fund to accelerate AI adoption and attract private investment. Concurrently, Uganda is developing the Aeonian Project, a 100-megawatt AI facility at the Karuma Hydropower Plant, scheduled to begin operations in phases from late 2026.

This initiative is part of a broader strategy to achieve AI sovereignty by processing local data on regional infrastructure. The African Development Bank and UNDP's $10 billion initiative aims to create up to 40 million jobs and could contribute $1 trillion to Africa's GDP by 2035. The emphasis on local AI solutions may help mitigate reliance on foreign technologies but requires timely execution to avoid losing economic opportunities to other regions.