{
  "id": 2783086,
  "title": "The African firms adopting Chinese AI as US-China rivalry intensifies",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/the-african-firms-adopting-chinese-ai-as-us-china-rivalry-intensifies",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-23T12:00:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3364966/african-firms-adopting-chinese-ai-us-china-rivalry-intensifies"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United States is attempting to pit various nations against each other in the artificial intelligence (AI) race with China, but African firms are taking a more practical approach. Companies are utilizing Chinese AI models when they offer better value or flexibility, while keeping their options open. For instance, the Nigerian-based insurtech platform Curacel recently integrated the Chinese model GLM-5.3 into its AI infrastructure alongside models from Western providers. Curacel's CEO, Henry Mascot, explained that Chinese models deliver comparable results at a lower cost on high-volume tasks like coding, data extraction, classification, and customer support. The multi-model setup enables Curacel to route suitable workloads to GLM-5.3 based on quality and cost without committing to a single vendor. This approach aligns with a broader trend, as Chinese models such as DeepSeek, Qwen, and Kimi challenge established systems from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. Many Chinese models provide their weights, which allow companies to adapt and run them locally, making them increasingly popular in Africa. China's efforts to expand its role in the continent's digital infrastructure, technical training, and AI governance have driven this adoption. Huawei, a Chinese company, introduced a \"model as a service\" platform in South Africa, providing pay-per-token access to DeepSeek, Qwen, and GLM, along with development and deployment tools. China has also launched the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organisation (Waico), positioning its open-weight technology as an alternative to the largely proprietary systems offered by leading American companies. While African businesses may choose technology based on price and performance, governments may face pressure to align with either the United States or China. A draft State Department communication from August 14 warned that countries joining Waico could be excluded from the US-led Pax Silica coalition. Despite the growing competition, African firms are focusing on the capabilities that deliver the best commercial sense, rather than solely on model power. For instance, a Ugandan AI model called Sunflower, which provides farmers with weather updates and agricultural advice in over 30 local languages, was built using Qwen3 due to its better handling of Ugandan languages compared to models from Meta Platforms or Google. Additionally, a fintech company in Ivory Coast, Djamo, assigns different models based on the specific task at hand, using lightweight Chinese models for simple customer service tasks and more advanced models for complex work like writing or code review. Open-weight models enable banks and fintech companies to run models within their own infrastructure, keeping sensitive data local. However, self-hosting requires computing capacity and technical expertise, and may shift dependence from the model developer to cloud platforms, chips, and technical support.",
  "summary": "The United States may want the world to choose sides in the AI race with China, but in Africa, many businesses are pursuing a more pragmatic strategy: using Chinese models where they offer better value or flexibility, while keeping their options open. For example, when African insurtech platform Curacel expanded the range of artificial intelligence (AI) models powering its internal…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "The African firms adopting Chinese AI as US-China rivalry intensifies",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/the-african-firms-adopting-chinese-ai-as-us-china-rivalry-intensifies-2785498",
        "published": "2026-08-23T12:00:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}