Artificial Intelligence has become one of the defining technologies of our time. From healthcare and education to agriculture, transportation and finance, AI is reshaping how societies work and economies grow. While much of the global conversation has focused on competition between the United States and China, another story is quietly unfolding: China’s AI technologies are rapidly finding a home across Africa.
In a converted warehouse in Embakasi, on the outskirts of Nairobi, a group of young Kenyan programmers huddle around laptops, training an artificial intelligence model to detect crop diseases from a single smartphone photograph.
At Qoje International Construction LTD, a Nairobi-based construction and development company with active projects in Mogadishu, is exploring how artificial intelligence can make construction and project delivery more efficient. From architectural planning and cost estimation to procurement, documentation and project monitoring, Chinese AI tools help QOJE analyse information faster, anticipate challenges and improve decision-making across the project lifecycle.
QOJE’s story also reflects the growing people-to-people connections between China and Africa. Abdullahi Abdiweli Mohamud, who studied civil engineering at Shenyang Jianzhu University in China before establishing QOJE, represents a generation of African graduates bringing knowledge, experience and an openness to emerging technologies back into African businesses.
Abdullahi Abdiweli Mohamud, left – CEO, QOJE International Construction LTD
“My experience studying in China showed me how technology, engineering and innovation can work together to accelerate development. Today, at QOJE, we see artificial intelligence as another tool that can help us design better, manage projects more efficiently and make smarter decisions.”
The Somalia-based Bulaal Development Initiative (BUDI) is exploring how AI and digital tools can make local development projects more efficient, data-driven and responsive to community needs.Through its Innovation Hub, BUDI deploys AI-powered bookkeeping, automated financial forecasting, and intelligent business coaching tools that allow women-led micro-enterprises to manage inventory, project cash flow, and access markets with data-driven precision, transforming informal, pen-and-paper operations into scalable, bankable businesses.
At the Arkaan Leadership & Innovation Hub in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district, artificial intelligence is becoming part of a broader mission to drive innovation and human development. As a development centre committed to empowering individuals, entrepreneurs and institutions, Arkaan combines leadership development, business incubation and emerging technologies to help people reach their full potential. Through initiatives such as Garad AI, its flagship AI platform, the hub is expanding access to AI learning and practical tools, enabling Somali youth, professionals and businesses to improve productivity, develop new skills and explore innovative solutions to local needs and realworld challenges.
QOJE, Arkaan and BUDI are demonstrating how Somalia can move from simply consuming artificial intelligence to developing the skills, platforms and businesses needed to participate in the AI economy. Through the Arkaan A.I Center, the organization is building an ecosystem that combines practical AI education, experimentation, institutional support and startup development.
The AI models they are using include open-source technologies developed by Chinese companies and freely available to users worldwide. It is a small but telling scene: while Western tech giants chase billion-dollar enterprise contracts in Silicon Valley and the Gulf, Chinese companies are on the field, embedding themselves in Africa’s grassroots innovation hubs quietly, practically, and at scale.
For Somalia and the broader African continent, this is not merely a technology story. It is a story about who shows up, who builds, and who believes Africa’s digital future is worth investing in today.
Abdullahi Mohamed Haji Nur, CEO of Arkaan Leadership & Innovation Hub
“AI represents an opportunity for Africa and Somalia in particular to move from being a consumer of technology to becoming a creator of solutions.Through the Arkaan A.I Center and Garad A.I, we want to help build a generation of young Somali innovators who can take advantage of the global A.I revolution while creating solutions rooted in our own realities.”
Open Source, Open Doors
Perhaps the most significant shift in China’s Africa strategy is its embrace of open-source AI. Unlike the closed, proprietary ecosystems of many Western AI leaders, Chinese firms like Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI are releasing powerful models that African developers can download, modify, and deploy freely.
For African developers, the cost difference is stark. Using Moonshot AI’s Kimi (K2.7)costs roughly $3.40 per million output tokens, while comparable Western models can cost $25 to $30. In a market where training an A.I model on an African language can cost three to thirty times more than training on English, affordability is not a minor concern, it is the difference between participation and exclusion.
Speaking Africa’s Languages
One of the most exciting frontiers is language. Africa’s linguistic diversity, over 2,000 languages is a treasure and a challenge. Western AI models, trained predominantly on English and other major Western languages, often fail to serve African users effectively. Chinese companies, by contrast, are increasingly supporting the development of small, specialized language models (SLMs) tailored to local needs.
A panel discussion organized by BUDI on women’s economic and social empowerment.
Laila Abdukadir, CEO of Bulaal Development Initiative noted, “A person who speaks English and uses ChatGPT is very different from the person who doesn’t know English and hence can’t use ChatGPT.” Chinese platforms like Qwen, DeepSeek, and Kimi are currently the best tools available for African developers building these localized solutions. From Somali and Swahili in the Horn of Africa to Amharic and Afaan Oromo in Ethiopia, the potential to build African AI Platforms like Garad A.I that truly speaks to Africans is finally within reach.
The Leapfrog Opportunity
AI is often described as Africa’s great leapfrog opportunity. Just as mobile money allowed the continent to bypass traditional banking, and mobile phones made landlines unnecessary, AI has the potential to transform healthcare, education, and agriculture in ways that do not require replicating decades of Western industrial development.
Chinese companies are already enabling this leap. In agriculture, AI models trained on Chinese platforms help farmers identify crop diseases and optimize yields. The key is that these technologies are being made accessible, affordable, and adaptable – not locked behind expensive and unsustainable paywalls or restricted to elite institutions.
While Chinese AI offers enormous opportunities, responsible adoption is essential.
African nations like Somalia still face significant challenges, including limited digital infrastructure, high internet costs, shortages of data centers, and the need for stronger digital skills and governance. Researchers argue that addressing these gaps is crucial if African countries are to benefit fully from AI while maintaining control over their digital future.
Somalia should therefore invest not only in AI applications but also in internet connectivity, electricity, education, cybersecurity, and policies that protect privacy and encourage innovation.
Partnership with Sovereignty in Mind
As with any major technological shift, questions of sovereignty and balance are natural and necessary. African leaders, including those at the African Union Commission, have to be clear that: the goal is not dependency, but diversification and shared ownership. African actors must be in joint ventures that distribute risks, responsibilities, and profits.
The most productive path forward would be one where African nations actively shape their AI partnerships, ensuring that infrastructure investments serve local priorities, that data remains under national governance, and that African talent is trained not just to use technology, but to build it.
Conclusion
China’s rapid advances in AI, combined with its growing engagement across Africa, present new possibilities for African countries seeking affordable, scalable technological solutions. It is visible in the Nairobi startup using open-source Chinese models to help farmers. It is visible in Mogadishu, at Arkaan Hub and Bulaal Development Initiative. It is visible in the affordable computing power that is finally within reach of young African developers.
Friends of China in Somalia – FOCS recognizes this wave of accessible, open-source Chinese artificial intelligence as a genuine partnership for progress.The rise of affordable and open-source AI models can lower barriers for Somali students, startups, universities and entrepreneurs to experiment, build and develop solutions suited to local needs.
For Somalia, this should be more than an opportunity to consume new technology, it should be an opportunity to learn, collaborate and create. FOCs looks forward to stronger Somalia-China cooperation in AI education, research, capacity building and innovation, enabling Somali youth to participate actively in Africa’s emerging AI economy.
The digital future of Africa will not be built in Silicon Valley or Shenzhen alone. It will be built in Mogadishu, Nairobi and Addis Ababa, by African hands, with African languages, solving African problems.
China has shown up with the tools, the training, and the trust. The rest is up to us.
Author : Yasin JAMA is a co-founder to Friends of China in Somalia and a researcher on Sino-African relations based in Mogadishu.
Co–Author : Abdiaziz Ashkir, President & Co-founder of Friends of China in Somalia
