In the evolving digital landscape of Tanzania, the imperative to accelerate digital transformation has never been more critical. Digital Transformation stands as a cornerstone to attain the digital economy and build digital society that will create jobs and contribute to the GDP. Centre to this is the leverage of technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), for socio-economic development. According to AI4D Africa report, the continent of Africa represents just 2.5% of the global artificial intelligence (AI) market, but the report indicate that emerging applications could boost the continent’s economic growth by US$2.9 trillion by 2030.

According to GSMA, the majority of African AI use cases are related to agriculture (49%), climate action (26%) and energy (24%). Agriculture employs 52% of the African working population and contributes 17% on average to GDP. According to World Bank, employment in agriculture (as percentage of total employment) in Tanzania was reported at 65.37 % in 2023. In Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 80% of food is produced by smallholder farmers who often use traditional techniques and lack access to information that would help improve yields.

However, to harness the transformative potential of AI in Tanzania, there needs to be a platform that annually facilitate dialogue between all stakeholders with regard to the AI technology. The forum is Tanzania AI Forum which will meet once every July of the year. The purpose of this forum is to bridge that gap, by providing a comprehensive overview of AI issues and use cases and their societal impacts. Also, the forum will be platform to chat out the policy challenges that need to be address.