Global AI Summit in Kigali Rwanda. April 4, 2025. (Photo: ICT ministry).

KIGALI, (Eye Radio) – The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information said South Sudan is investing in digital infrastructure, high-speed internet, and human resource development to fully benefit from Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This is despite the country’s ranking as the least among Sub-Saharan African nations and 185 out of 188 countries in the world in terms of AI readiness, according to the 2024 Global AI Index by London-based Oxford Insights.

The AI readiness index examines 40 indicators across three pillars government, technology sector, and data & infrastructure. It also highlights progress and provides actionable insights for policymakers working to integrate AI into public service delivery.

Addressing the Global Artificial Intelligence Summit in Kigali, Dr. Lado Wani Kenyi emphasized that without proper infrastructure, data centers, and a skilled workforce, the country risks being left behind in the AI revolution.

Dr. Lado also said the government plans to integrate AI training into youth development programs under upcoming World Bank projects to foster digital trade and business opportunities.

Undersecretary Wani said with the World Bank approving funding to extend fiber optics in South Sudan, AI-driven solutions could transform key sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture.

“The main outcome of this is that for Africa really to benefit from the artificial intelligence as a localized kind of technology that each country will use for its own local benefit, we have to build three very important structures,”  he said.

“The first one is the digital infrastructure. That is very important. Without it, of course there’s no we don’t have fast internet. You not benefit anything from artificial intelligence. It needs huge data and need very fast internet.”

“In South Sudan, we are doing that with the world back project. We are trying to establish a fast internet as local and national backbone. We also have to create data and with good quality of data.”

“So those data centers also must be integrated into the regional data center to facilitate trade and business. The third thing is to develop the human resources. Human resources are very important to develop especially for the digital technology.”

The Global Artificial Intelligence Summit on Africa kick-off in the Rwandan capital Kigali from April 3 and will conclude the next day. The forum concentrated on the use of Artificial Intelligence to fast-track development in Africa specially in the fields of Education, Health and Agriculture.

South Sudan is deemed to have one of the highest internet tariffs in the region, a situation driven by skyrocketing inflation and a series of data rate adjustments by telecommunication companies.

But the country’s internet access saw a huge boost in June 2024 when the National Communication Authority (NCA) signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX subsidiary firm Starlink Services LLC, for the provision of affordable internet connectivity across South Sudan.