Nigeria set to lead Africa with first economy-wide AI regulations

Nigeria is preparing to approve legislation that will put the country at the forefront of African nations working to control artificial intelligence, marking a shift after tech companies operated with little supervision for years in one of the continent’s largest digital economies.

The National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill will hand regulators authority over data, computer algorithms, and online platforms. The move addresses a gap that has existed since the country released its draft AI plan in 2024.

Lawmakers expect to greenlight the bill before March ends. The law will put tougher checks on AI systems considered higher risk, such as those used in banking, government operations, monitoring activities, and automated choices. Companies building these systems will need to send yearly reports to authorities detailing possible dangers, how they plan to reduce problems, and how well their systems work.

Under the proposed rules, regulators can fine companies up to 10 million naira, which equals about $7,000, or 2% of what an AI company makes in Nigeria each year. The bill does not clearly explain how these penalties will be determined.

“In the area of governance, we need to put the safeguards and guardrails in place to make sure the AI we are building is within that guardrail,” Kashifu Abdullahi, who heads the National Information Technology Development Agency, told Bloomberg. “That way, if there are bad actors, you can easily detect and contain them.”

Leading Africa’s AI regulation

If lawmakers approve it, Nigeria will become one of the first African countries to have rules covering AI across the entire economy, Abdullahi noted. While other nations like Mauritius, Egypt, and Benin have developed AI plans, they have not put full laws in place.

The bill will create standards for openness, fair treatment, and responsibility. It uses a system that judges AI by risk level, similar to what Europe and some Asian countries are doing. This could change how companies ranging from Google to Chinese cloud services work in Africa’s most populous country.

Regulators will also get the power to ask for information, give orders to enforce rules, and stop or limit AI systems they find dangerous or breaking regulations. The proposal includes controlled spaces where new companies and institutions can try out technologies while being watched by regulators, aiming to encourage new ideas.

“You cannot be ahead of innovation,” Abdullahi said, “but regulation is not just about giving commands. It’s about influencing market, economic and societal behavior so people can build AI for good.”

Continental push for AI development

African leaders are working to speed up AI use across the continent. This was clear at the first Global AI Summit on Africa held in Rwanda on April 3–4, 2025. The Kigali meeting brought together policy makers, business leaders and others to plan Africa’s part in the worldwide AI economy.

The summit produced the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence, which forty-nine African countries, the African Union, and Smart Africa backed.

The declaration follows the African Union Continental AI Strategy from 2024 and promises to develop seven areas: talent, data, infrastructure, market, investment, governance, and working together between institutions. It also announced a $60 billion Africa AI Fund and an Africa AI Council to push AI projects forward, especially in governance.

Meanwhile, China released draft rules last month to limit AI chatbots from affecting human feelings in ways that could cause suicide or self-harm. The proposed regulations target services that act like humans through text, images, sound or video. Comments on the draft are due by Jan. 25.

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