Liberia, March 26 -- "If data is the new oil, Africa must have its own refinery" that idea sits at the center of Surna Technologies, a young African startup building what it describes as sovereign AI infrastructure for governments and financial institutions across the continent.

Founded by Liberian Harvard graduate student Hellen S. Momoh, Surna has emerged as a finalist in the Harvard President's Innovation Challenge (PIC), one of the university's most competitive global startup competitions. But beyond the recognition, the company's work is already unfolding in real time.

Its flagship platform, MONARCH - the Monetary Analytics and Research Control Hub - is currently live inside the Central Bank of Liberia.

For decades, many central b...