I. THE URGENT PROBLEM: A GLOBAL BLIND SPOT
AI governance is being shaped almost exclusively by the Global North, leaving Africa — home to 1.4 billion people, one in six humans on Earth — critically underrepresented. This exclusion is dangerous and unsustainable.
Risk to Democracy: AI-driven disinformation and deepfakes threaten fragile elections and political stability.
Risk to Rights: Biometric surveillance is expanding without safeguards for privacy or human rights.
Risk to Livelihoods: Unregulated AI in vast informal economies undermines the stability of millions of workers.
Without Africa’s inclusion, global AI governance frameworks will remain dangerously incomplete, blind to risks that directly affect a sixth of humanity.
II. THE CATALYTIC SOLUTION: RAI-GI INSTITUTIONAL HUB
The Responsible AI Governance Initiative (RAI-GI) — a fully registered nonprofit with the Government of Nigeria — is establishing Africa’s first independent AI governance hub in Abuja. This modest but high-leverage institutional base will localize global principles, generate actionable research, and inject validated African realities into international governance.
Year 1: Specific, Measurable Results
Objective Key Activities Target Impact Metric
1. Localize Urgent Policy Produce three briefs on election disinformation, surveillance, and informal economy risks. ≥ 3 briefs distributed to ≥ 5 Nigerian government agencies and ≥ 1 international body (AU, UNESCO).
2. Build Stakeholder Consensus Host two high-level convenings with government, academia, and civil society. Draft West African AI Governance Framework (white paper) for Nigeria/ECOWAS region.
3. Global Integration Share insights internationally with global AI governance forums. ≥ 2 international presentations or submissions (UN AI advisory body, Bletchley Park follow-up).
III. GLOBAL IMPACT & HIGH LEVERAGE
Funding RAI-GI is an investment in stability and inclusivity — a global public good.
De-Risking Global Deployment: Provides first-hand African insights essential for robust, context-aware safety frameworks.
Creating a Scalable Model: Demonstrates a low-cost, replicable hub for AI governance across Africa (East, West, Southern regions).
Preventing Fragmentation: Ensures inclusivity, which is stability. Without Africa’s voice, governance risks fracturing into unstable, competing regimes.
This is not optional: excluding Africa undermines global AI safety for everyone.
IV. BUDGET REQUEST: CATALYTIC SEED FUNDING ($25,000)
Category Budget Breakdown Impact Justification & Leverage
Researcher Stipends $12,000 (2 researchers, 12 months) Secures consistent, high-quality African research outputs that are otherwise absent globally.
Working Space $10,000 (12 months) Transforms RAI-GI from volunteer group into a recognized, credible institution for convening policymakers.
Convenings & Dissemination $3,000 Ensures briefs and insights shape real policy locally (Nigeria/ECOWAS) and globally (UN, AU).
TOTAL $25,000 High-leverage funding to amplify the voice of 1.4 billion Africans in global AI safety.
CALL TO ACTION: FUND THE MISSING VOICE
With just $25,000, you can catalyze Africa’s first independent AI governance hub.
This modest but high-impact investment will:
Establish RAI-GI as a credible institutional actor.
Deliver policy outputs that inform both Nigerian and global decision-makers.
Ensure 1.4 billion people’s risks and realities are represented in the future of AI safety.
👉 Fund the Missing Voice in Global AI Governance. Inclusivity is not charity — it is the key to global stability.
📍 Website: www.responsibleaigovernance.org
📧 Email: contact@responsibleaigovernance.org
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responsibleaigovernanceinitiative/