Fewer than 12 percent of people in Sub-Saharan Africa meet the combined technical, economic, and linguistic conditions required to meaningfully use artificial intelligence tools, according to Togolese IT specialist and digital policy expert Folli Herbert Amouzougan. In an interview with Global Voices, Amouzougan argues that the region's foundational barrier is not a lack of algorithms or data, but the absence of reliable electricity — without which smartphones cannot be charged, routers cannot function, and internet connections cannot be sustained. He warns that national AI strategies announced by African governments and partnerships with global tech firms amount to "leaping into the unknown" so long as stable power grids covering at least 95 percent of a country's territory remain an unmet prerequisite.