Google on Thursday announced a $37 million initiative to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development across Africa, with funding and support targeting local research, agriculture, health, education, and language preservation.
The U.S. tech giant unveiled the commitment during the launch of a new AI Community Centre in Accra, Ghana, which will serve as a hub for training, collaboration, and experimentation, including programmes focused on AI literacy.
“Africa is home to some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today,” said James Manyika, Google’s Senior Vice President for Technology and Society.
Among the key initiatives is the AI Collaborative for Food Security, which connects researchers and non-profits to create tools that can enhance early hunger detection, crop resilience, and agricultural decision-making—particularly for smallholder farmers. The project aims to strengthen Africa’s food systems against rising climate and economic shocks.
Google is also launching a financing platform to support AI-powered startups in agriculture, healthcare, and education. Through its philanthropic arm, Google.org, the company pledged $7 million to expand AI education efforts in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.
In addition, Google announced $3 million in funding for Masakhane, a pan-African tech collective developing AI tools for over 40 African languages—part of a broader push to make AI more accessible and locally relevant.
Two South African institutions—the African Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute—will each receive $1 million research grants to support regional innovation.
Ghana’s Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Sam George, urged citizens to leverage AI for local problem-solving, including flood control, waste management, and traffic regulation.
Google has previously supported AI-driven maternal health technologies in Ghana and Nigeria, developed wildfire alert systems in East Africa, and led language model initiatives in Accra and Nairobi.
AFP
