Barcelona, Spain, March 3, 2026 – MeetKai and Smart Africa today announced a landmark collaboration to launch a five-country pilot advancing Sovereign AI across Africa.
The pilot will support establishing national AI capabilities designed to operate with sovereign control over data, models, and deployment — aligned with each country's laws, institutions, and development priorities. The participating pilot countries will be announced in the coming weeks.
"Africa's digital future must be built on systems that serve our people and strengthen our institutions," said Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa. "This five-country pilot is an important step toward enabling member states to adopt AI that is locally governed and inclusive — particularly in how it supports our languages, cultures, and public services."
"We believe every country should have the ability to own its AI destiny," said James Kaplan, Co-Founder & CEO of MeetKai. "This pilot is about proving that sovereign AI isn't just a concept — it's something governments can stand up today, with full control over their data and models, and with real impact on the lives of their citizens."
"Sovereign AI means a country retains full control of its AI stack — its data, models, and deployment — so it can innovate securely and at national scale," said Peter John Alexander, President & Chief Business Officer of MeetKai. "This pilot is about delivering real outcomes: AI that speaks local languages, supports national priorities, and improves daily life across public services like education, healthcare, agriculture, and citizen-facing government delivery."
About MeetKai
Founded in Los Angeles in 2018, MeetKai is a Sovereign AI company specializing in post training optimization, local language reasoning models, and national AI platforms. Its flagship MKA1 Platform enables governments, enterprises, and consumers to build and operate fully sovereign AI ecosystems with data control, localization, and long term value creation. Learn more at www.meetkai.com.
About Smart Africa
The Smart Africa Alliance is an African-led initiative that brings together African countries, private sector partners, and international stakeholders to accelerate socio-economic development through ICT and digital transformation. Smart Africa works to advance flagship programs, harmonize policy, drive regional integration, and enable impactful digital public infrastructure across member states. Learn more at https://smartafrica.org/contact-us/.
Source: Smart Africa Press Release
