Artificial intelligence is already deciding who gets a loan, which patients are flagged for follow-up, and how public money is spent. Across Africa, the rules for these systems are being written now: in continental strategies, national AI policies, data protection law, court judgments and the everyday policies of organisations.

This course gives you a working map of that landscape and the practical skills to shape it. You’ll learn what the African Union and international bodies have agreed, how the data protection laws already in force apply to AI, how to classify and assess AI uses by risk, how to buy AI responsibly, and how to write policy that people will actually follow.

Who it’s for

• Policymakers and public servants drafting AI strategies, rules or procurement.
• Regulators and staff of data protection authorities.
• Lawyers, compliance officers and risk managers.
• Civil society, journalists and researchers who hold AI to account.
• Leaders deciding how their own organisation should use AI.

No technical background is needed.

What you’ll be able to do

• Explain the main continental, international and national instruments that shape AI governance in Africa.
• Apply data protection law to AI systems, including automated decisions, impact assessments and cross-border transfers.
• Classify AI uses by risk and choose proportionate safeguards.
• Set requirements when buying AI, and assess, audit and document AI systems.
• Draft an organisational AI use policy and a public policy brief.

How it works

Six modules at your own pace: about 11 hours of lessons, quizzes and assignments, plus about 90 minutes of optional practice. Each module ends with a short quiz. There are two written assignments, marked by an instructor, and optional practice activities throughout: scenarios, a mock product audit, an escape room and more. Practice is never marked.

Complete every lesson, pass the quizzes and pass the final policy brief to earn a verifiable certificate.