In a move that signals growing efforts to position Africa for the global artificial intelligence revolution, DecisionSpaak Group has launched a N50 million AI scholarship initiative aimed at training and empowering 10 million Africans with future-ready digital skills.
The initiative was announced during the first edition of The Spaak Conference 2026, a global virtual gathering that attracted innovators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and creators from four continents under the theme, “Reinventing Human Possibility.”
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The company said the scholarship programme is designed to expand access to artificial intelligence education for students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and retirees seeking to remain relevant in an economy increasingly shaped by automation, data intelligence, and emerging technologies.
What began as a N5 million intervention was later expanded to N50 million following support from DecisionSpaak and partner organisations across Africa, highlighting the growing urgency around AI education and digital transformation on the continent.
Speaking during the conference, Philip Ade-Akanbi, the CEO of DecisionSpaak Technologies, described the initiative as part of a broader mission to remove barriers preventing Africans from participating fully in the global technology economy.
According to Ade-Akanbi, Africa risks being left behind if access to emerging technology education remains limited to only a small segment of the population.
“The Spaak Conference is not just an event; it is a new platform for continuous innovation, dialogue, and opportunity creation. By scaling this scholarship to N50 million, we are actively dismantling the barriers to AI education, rethinking old systems, and empowering the next generation of global builders and problem-solvers,” he said.
Industry experts at the conference stressed that the rapid adoption of AI across industries is already reshaping workplaces, public services, healthcare, education, finance, and entrepreneurship globally, making digital literacy and AI competence increasingly important for economic survival.
They noted that Africa’s young population presents a major opportunity if properly equipped with practical digital capabilities that can compete in the global innovation ecosystem.
Discussions during the conference focused on five major areas, including the future of work and AI, technology-driven public services, decentralised innovation systems, everyday applications of technology, and purpose-driven innovation.
Organisers explained that the conference was intentionally designed to go beyond the format of a conventional technology gathering. Instead, it aims to evolve into a long-term innovation movement connecting African talent, ideas, and businesses to global opportunities.
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The initiative also comes at a time when governments, startups, and private sector organisations across Africa are increasing investments in artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, and technology-driven education as competition for global digital relevance intensifies.
Analysts say one of Africa’s biggest challenges remains the shortage of accessible and affordable technology training, especially in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and automation.
By targeting millions of Africans, DecisionSpaak appears to be positioning itself within a growing ecosystem of organisations seeking to bridge the continent’s widening digital skills gap.
With the successful debut of The Spaak Conference, organisers said the platform would now become an annual event focused on collaboration, innovation, digital learning, and conversations around the future of technology and human potential in Africa.
Applications for the N50 million AI scholarship programme have officially opened for interested participants across the continent through DecisionSpaak’s official learning platform.
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