About Journal

Aims & Scope

The African Journal of AI for Development (AFJAD) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international multidisciplinary journal dedicated to advancing research, innovation, and the responsible application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for sustainable development across Africa.

AFJAD provides a platform for researchers, technologists, policymakers, educators, and development practitioners to share original research, case studies, and critical reviews on how AI technologies can address Africa's developmental challenges and opportunities. The journal welcomes theoretical, empirical, and applied contributions across (but not limited to) the following areas:

AI applications in healthcare, agriculture, education, and energy
Machine learning and data science for development outcomes
AI governance, ethics, and policy in African contexts
Digital infrastructure and AI readiness
Socioeconomic impacts of AI adoption
Responsible and inclusive AI design

AFJAD publishes original research articles, review articles, case studies, and short communications. All submissions undergo double-blind peer review (see Peer Review Process below).

Peer Review Process

AFJAD follows a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure academic integrity:

Initial Screening— Completeness, adherence to guidelines, and scope fit.
Double-Blind Peer Review— At least two independent reviewers evaluate originality, methodological soundness, relevance, and clarity.
Review Reports and Revisions— Authors receive constructive feedback and may be invited to revise and resubmit.
Final Decision— The Editor-in-Chief decides based on reviewers’ reports and the manuscript’s contribution.
Publication— Accepted manuscripts are published online in the next available issue.

Authors must ensure manuscripts do not contain identifying information for double-blind review. Upon acceptance, authors complete a Journal Publishing Agreement.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

AFJAD is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. The journal expects:

Authors to submit original, unpublished work and to disclose any conflicts of interest or funding sources
Authors to accurately represent their research and avoid data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism
Reviewers to provide objective, timely, and confidential evaluations, and to disclose any conflicts of interest
Editors to make unbiased decisions based solely on academic merit, independent of authors' nationality, institution, gender, or beliefs

Allegations of misconduct are investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines, and appropriate corrective action (correction, retraction, or notice) is taken when warranted.

Open Access Policy

AFJAD is a fully open-access journal. All published content is freely available to readers and institutions without subscription or paywall, immediately upon publication. Readers never pay to access, download, or reuse published articles; publication costs are instead met by an Article Processing Charge paid by authors upon acceptance (see 1.6). Articles are published under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence, allowing free reuse with proper attribution to the original authors and source.

Article Processing Charge (APC)

AFJEI is a fully open-access journal supported by an Article Processing Charge (APC) paid by authors (or their institution/funder) upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication. There is no charge for submission or peer review. The APC is only payable once a manuscript has been accepted.

Standard APC: NGN 35,000 / USD 40 per accepted article.

The APC covers editorial processing, peer review coordination, copyediting, typesetting, DOI registration, and permanent open-access hosting. Payment does not influence editorial decisions, all manuscripts are assessed on scholarly merit prior to any request for payment.

Plagiarism Screening Policy

All submitted manuscripts are screened for originality prior to being sent for peer review. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 10% are returned to the author for revision or rejected outright, depending on severity.

Author Guidelines (summary)

Language: English (professional editing recommended for non-native speakers).
Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
Length: 5,000–8,000 words (including abstract, references, tables, figures, and appendices).
Abstract: Structured abstract of ≤250 words covering purpose, methodology, findings, originality, and research implications.
Keywords: Up to 10.
References: Complete and accurate; must conform to the journal’s citation style.
Figures and Tables: Included in the manuscript.
Ethics: Appropriate ethics approval where required; all authors must consent; permissions obtained for third-party material.
Originality: Not previously published or under consideration elsewhere.

Submissions are made online via the journal’s system. Manuscripts that do not meet minimum quality standards may be desk-rejected.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with AFJAD retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication. Authors are free to share and disseminate their published work, provided the original publication in AFJAD is acknowledged.

1.10 Journal Contact

Editorial office email: support@afjad.org

Publisher: EmpiricalOpen Publishers Ltd