Much has been said about artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa. But the dominant questions are: Will Africa be left behind as countries at the frontier of AI development consolidate economic and productivity advantages? What foundations must be built for AI to be adopted and scaled in the first place? And how can AI enable African countries to leapfrog traditional development pathways? What has remained largely unspoken is that partnerships must be re-imagined so that AI diffusion delivers real, people-centred impact and, in turn, enables Africa to systematically meet the prerequisites for AI adoption at scale. In the age of AI,…