CAPE TOWN — Sunil Geness has a clear message for the room in Geneva: Africa is not waiting to be invited into the conversation on artificial intelligence. It intends to help write the rules.
Geness, SAP’s director of global government affairs and corporate social responsibility for Africa, outlined his position ahead of the International Telecommunication Union’s AI for Good Global Summit, scheduled for July 7-10 in Geneva. The summit, part of Digital Week running July 6-10, will host the inaugural meeting of the newly launched AI for Good Global Commission, a body designed to expand access to artificial intelligence, strengthen public trust and increase its social and economic impact across borders.
“Africa must meet that room with clarity, not caution,” Geness said. “Our agenda should be simple and bold: AI governance that expands prosperity. That means compute access, skills investment, trusted data systems, open standards, local-language innovation, accountable public procurement, and regulation that protects people without suffocating entrepreneurs.”
That is a specific list, and the specificity is deliberate. Geness is not calling for a seat at the table in abstract terms. He is describing what Africa should put on it.
The commission brings together representatives from governments, businesses and international organizations to identify practical pathways for unlocking AI’s potential while ensuring equitable access. Its co-chairs are Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Salesforce Chair and CEO Marc Benioff, with ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin serving as vice chair. The summit also coincides with the first U.N.-mandated Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the WSIS Forum 2026.
Kagame’s appointment as co-chair carries weight beyond symbolism. He framed the commission’s work in terms of obligation, not opportunity. “Technology is supposed to be a force for good, and we have a responsibility to use it accordingly,” he said. “Let us work together to reduce inequality and allow more of our citizens to benefit from the good AI can deliver to all of us.”
The scale of the challenge behind that statement is significant. The ITU estimates that approximately 2.2 billion people remain offline, leaving roughly a quarter of the world’s population unable to access AI-driven opportunities and benefits. That digital divide is not a background condition. It is the central problem the commission exists to address.
Meanwhile, Geness identified a concrete next step for African nations: transforming the African Union’s Continental AI Strategy from a policy document into national roadmaps, investment pipelines and mechanisms for regional cooperation. “This is technology diplomacy: 54 nations aligning where they can, rather than negotiating as 54 separate voices,” he said. “This is where I hope to add value.”
Benioff, for his part, tied the economic promise of AI directly to public confidence in it. “The promise of AI is built not only on incredible opportunities for economic growth, but on the foundation of trust required for our shared success,” he said.
Bogdan-Martin was equally direct about the limits of any single actor. “No organisation can single-handedly put AI at the service of all humanity,” she said. “It will take collective leadership and the combined expertise of partners across sectors to ensure AI benefits everyone, everywhere.”
The commission’s stated objective is to bridge digital divides and ensure that artificial intelligence becomes a tool for addressing global challenges rather than widening existing inequalities. Whether the Geneva summit produces the concrete national roadmaps Geness is calling for, or delivers another layer of policy language, may determine how seriously that objective is taken back home across 54 nations.