In the first Trust in AI roundtable which took place in Zurich in May 2025, stakeholders strongly converged on the need for proportional, context-specific regulation to support responsible innovation across emerging markets. Participants warned that applying “one-size-fits-all” global frameworks to SMEs and startups in the Global South risks entrenching exclusion, stifling entrepreneurship, and widening the digital divide.
Despite AI’s growing promise to unlock productivity, inclusion, and financial health, less than 20% of African countries currently have comprehensive AI strategies or legal frameworks in place (UNESCO, 2023). Many entrepreneurs, especially in the fintech, healthtech, and agri-tech sectors, are innovating with little regulatory clarity, facing both under-regulation (creating reputational and systemic risks) and over-regulation (creating compliance burdens they cannot absorb). The goal: rules that are light enough to encourage innovation but strong enough to prevent harm.
This roundtable will focus on operationalising the idea of “minimum viable regulation": a concept that strikes a balance between enabling innovation and mitigating harms, while remaining scalable, adaptable, and grounded in local needs. Rather than waiting for full legislative frameworks to emerge, governments and regulators can co-create tiered, use-case-based obligations, supported by regulatory sandboxes, simplified compliance tools, and PPP-led capacity building.
