The National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr Vincent Olatunji, delivered a keynote titled, “The Horizon: Shaping Africa’s AI and Cyber Frontier,” at the Smartcomply Kenya Launch and Executive Breakfast Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dr Olatunji spoke on AI and how it is currently shaping the world across all sectors. He noted the economic role that AI plays in global economy, with a market valued of $391 billion in 2025 and projected to be worth $1.81 trillion by 2030. He added that, despite growing interest in AI, Africa faces critical readiness gaps that must be addressed to fully unlock the technology’s potential.

He pointed out infrastructure deficiency, skill shortages, data quality and scarcity, funding constraints, as well as policy fragmentation and regulatory gaps as some of the issues facing Africa. He spoke on trust deficit, data protection and privacy as the foundation of trust, why data protection matters in the AI era, the strategic imperatives of shaping Africa’s AI and cyber frontier, as well as the role of players in the ecosystem.

Dr Olatunji also participated in a fireside chat titled, “Building Digital Trust at Scale: Lessons from Kenya and Nigeria’s Data Protection Journeys,” where he gave an overview of data protection and privacy in Nigeria, the challenges and achievements of the NDPC, data protection globally, preparedness for the responsible deployment of AI, and compliance with the provisions of the law to avoid not just fines but damage to businesses.

Dr Olatunji concluded by urging all African countries to work together to build trust and mutual understanding for global competitiveness, especially in the area of cross-border transfer of data.