African civil servants can now take free courses on using artificial intelligence in government, developed by Stanford University Online and SDA Bocconi School of Management and backed by the African Development Bank Group.
The bank launched the programme on 25 September 2026, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States, with the AI Hub for Sustainable Development of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Google and the civil-service training platform Apolitical, which hosts it on its Government AI Campus.
What is on offer
The courses include AI fundamentals for public servants, covering opportunities, risks and strategies; AI leadership in government; and smarter procurement with AI. Learning is self-paced, and enrolment is free for serving officials in the bank’s member countries who work on AI in public services, digital infrastructure, public-private partnerships or innovation. The bank did not say how many places are available.
“Building that understanding in government has been neglected, and this partnership helps us put that right,” said Ousmane Fall, the bank’s director for industrial and trade development.
Why governments first
The bank describes the training as the first step in acting on its own report, Africa’s AI Productivity Gain, which projected that inclusive use of AI could add up to $1 trillion to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035, and named skills and trusted governance among 5 conditions for getting there.
Several African governments are already setting policy in the field: 5 of them backed a push for African-language AI in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 2026.
The UNDP hub behind the programme is endorsed by the G7 and co-led with Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, and aligned with Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa. The bank, which on 4 September 2026 also set out to reach 34,000 women-led businesses with AXIAN, is a founding member of the hub’s steering group.
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