Nearly 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack reliable electricity access, and internet data can cost up to 10 percent of a monthly income — two structural barriers that are preventing the region from participating meaningfully in the global AI revolution. While governments and tech firms announce AI strategies and partnerships with companies like Google and Microsoft, experts warn that without stable power grids and affordable connectivity, such ambitions amount to little more than rhetoric. The disparity matters because African nations, which stand to gain enormously from AI applications in agriculture, healthcare, and education, are among the least equipped to access them.