The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest USD 1 billion to expand AI infrastructure and AI-enabled services across Africa, in order to help countries on the continent meet their national development priorities.
UAE Minister of State Saeed Bin Mubarak Al Hajeri announced the “AI for development initiative” at the G20 leaders’ summit in Johannesburg, saying it would bring AI technology to areas such as education, healthcare, and climate adaptation.
“We consider AI not just as a future industry but a cornerstone of humanity’s future. Therefore, my country is actively accelerating innovation to enhance productivity and drive significant advancements in the global economy, with a strong commitment to developing responsible and inclusive AI for the benefit of everyone,” he said in a statement.
The UAE ranks second globally in AI capability, according to a 2025 study by TRG Datacenters, a Texas company focused on national AI supercomputing power, AI company activity and government AI readiness. The Emirates has more than 188,000 AI chips and a total power capacity of 6.4K megawatts. In November, the United States authorised the export of Nvidia’s AI chips to UAE AI company G42, a move seen as a significant boost for the UAE’s economic diversification efforts.
Also, in March 2025, the Gulf country pledged to spend USD 1.4 trillion in the United States as part of a broader technology investment framework. In May, the UAE announced plans to launch a five-gigawatt UAE-US AI Campus during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the country. The Gulf major has also developed start-ups, partnerships and attracted investments from major tech companies, including Microsoft, Nvidia and OpenAI.
It is now seeking to put artificial intelligence “at the service of development, by developing digital infrastructure, enhancing government services and improving productivity” in Africa.
The UAE has emerged as one of the biggest investors in Africa. Its bilateral trade in 2024 reached approximately USD 107 billion, a 28% increase from the 2023 figure, and its total investments in the continent were over USD 118 billion between 2020 and 2024. The Gulf major, despite not being a member of the Group of 20 (G20), which brings together the world’s biggest economies, was invited to the meeting by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting the summit for the first time in Africa.