By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Benin is strengthening its
position in Africa’s artificial intelligence landscape after securing strong
rankings in AI governance and recording notable performances in continental and
international AI competitions.
Minister of Digital
Transformation and Innovation, Mahuna Akplogan, said the developments reflect
the growing maturity of Benin’s artificial intelligence ecosystem and the
country’s efforts to build the capacity, policies and institutions required to
support responsible AI development.
In July, the Global Index on
Responsible AI 2026 ranked Benin fifth in Africa for responsible AI, while the
Africa AI Governance Index 2026 placed the country third among Africa’s 54
states after assessing performance across 80 indicators.
Benin has also recorded a
series of achievements in international AI competitions in recent weeks.
At the Deep Learning Indaba
in Nigeria, Gaëlle Pricile Gangbè, a member of the #JaimeMaLangue initiative,
won the Cassava AI Root Cause Detective Challenge, which focused on the
application of language models to telecommunications networks.
At the International
Artificial Intelligence Olympiad in Astana, Emmanuel Christiano Guidimadjegbe
won a bronze medal, while NGUEBOU Raphael received an honourable mention. Benin
ranked third among African countries in its second participation in the competition.
The #JaimeMaLangue
initiative also won the Afrivoice EAC Hackathon, which focused on speech
recognition for African languages, with four Beninese teams finishing among the
top five.
Akplogan attributed the
results to collective efforts involving the Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research, the Ministry of Secondary Education, Sèmè City, the Agency
for Information Systems and Digital Technology (ASIN), IIDIA, as well as mentors,
teachers, researchers, communities and other partners supporting the country’s
AI ecosystem.
He congratulated the young
Beninese innovators, saying their achievements demonstrate that with the right
conditions, local talent can compete with the best in Africa and
internationally.
The Minister said the
rankings and competition victories should serve not only as a source of
national pride but also as motivation to expand training, invest in
experimental and innovative projects, and translate AI skills into practical
solutions for the economy and citizens.
He said the momentum around
artificial intelligence in Benin must now be sustained through collective
action, continued investment and stronger links between talent development,
innovation and real-world applications.
