Artificial intelligence at the service of Chad: where to start?

On 23 and 24 September 2026, N’Djamena hosted the Internet Governance Forum in Chad (IGF Chad), held under the theme "Artificial intelligence in the service of Chadian development". More than 150 participants, principally students and young developers, took part in its panels, workshops and training sessions. For the executive secretary of IGF Chad, the challenge is no longer just following the technological revolution, but determining the conditions for its application for the benefit of citizens, the economy and the country's digital security.

One very practical question remains: where to start? Here is where Chad currently stands, followed by benchmarks for every level: beginner, intermediate or advanced.

The Essentials

Chad is stepping up its initiatives: participation in July in the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance, a national forum in September, and the TchadIA scientific days in December.

For you, AI is first and foremost an assistant for writing, summarising, translating or analysing, provided that you check what it produces.

Golden rule: never entrust personal or confidential data to a mainstream AI tool.

What is moving in Chad

At the September forum, five panels focused on data protection and the legal framework in the age of AI, infrastructure and connectivity, the adaptation of the educational system, AI in public health, and the local start-up ecosystem. The second day, at Wenak Labs, was dedicated to workshops on concrete cases: internet access, health, commerce, payments and digital trust tools.

The subject is also being played out internationally. In July 2026, a delegation led by the Minister of Telecommunications, the Digital Economy and Digitalisation took part in Geneva in the first Global Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence Governance. The stated ambition: to make Chad a country where AI is "developed, deployed and used in an ethical, frugal, balanced and sovereign manner, in the service of social inclusion and economic resilience".

On the research side, the National Centre for Development Research (CNRD) is organising the second edition of TchadIA from 28 to 30 December 2026 in N’Djamena, which are scientific days dedicated to artificial intelligence.

Generative AI in a nutshell

So-called "generative" AI assistants produce text, images or sound from a simple instruction, written or dictated in French. They do not "know" anything in the human sense: they calculate the most plausible answer. They can therefore make mistakes with a great deal of confidence. Hence a simple rule: the AI proposes, you verify and you decide.

Most of these tools exist in free versions, on phones as well as on computers, and some can be voice-controlled.

Where to start, depending on your level

Beginner level: discovering AI without risk

Start with simple tasks: rephrasing a message, preparing a cover letter, summarising a long document, translating a text, listing questions to ask during an appointment.
Provide context: who you are, who the text is for, the desired tone and length. For example: "I run a phone shop in N'Djamena. Write a short, polite WhatsApp message to let my customers know that the shop will be closed on Monday."
Always check figures, names, dates, legal references and any medical or legal advice: AI can invent answers that look true.
Never share your passwords, codes, ID numbers, health data or your employer's confidential information.
Stay vigilant: a voice or a video can be fabricated. Before sending money, always verify by another means.

Intermediate level: saving time at work

Identify two or three repetitive tasks: meeting minutes, answers to FAQs, first drafts of reports, product sheets, social media posts, translations.
Set ground rules on a single page: authorised tools, data never to be entered, mandatory proofreading before sending anything.
Choose professional plans to work on your organisation's documents, and check in their terms and conditions whether your data can be used to train the tool.
Train your teams on their own tasks: a few hours of practice on real cases is better than a long theory.
Measure the results (time saved, quality, satisfaction) and keep only what works.

Advanced level: designing solutions

Start with a business problem, not the technology: a French-language assistant to answer your customers, automatic extraction of information from documents, inventory or consumption forecasting...
Get your data in order first: without clean, structured and documented data, there is no reliable AI.
Think "frugal": compact models, often open source, can run on modest servers, even without a connection. Lower costs, less network dependency and greater control over your data.
Manage the risks: personal data protection (law no. 007/PR/2015), bias, security (malicious prompt injection, data leaks), traceability. Keep a human in the loop for decisions that matter.
Test in your users' language: the quality of responses varies between French, Arabic and national languages.
Researchers and students: TchadIA is accepting paper submissions until 25 November 2026.

Key takeaways

AI does not replace your know-how: it multiplies it, provided you stay in control. Start small, check everything, protect your data and train your teams.

To train your teams or design an assistant tailored to your business, discover our Data & Artificial Intelligence and Corporate Training services.

Sources : ATPE, AI takes centre stage at the Internet Governance Forum (September 2026) ; Tchadinfos, Chad takes part in the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva (6 July 2026) ; TchadIA 2026, CNRD.