Google today unveiled a US $37 million investment package to accelerate artificial intelligence research, education, infrastructure, and entrepreneurship across Africa.
At the centre of the rollout is a newly opened AI Community Centre in Accra. The facility will serve as a regional hub for researchers, students, developers, artists, and civil society organisations. It will host workshops, community events, research exchanges, and collaborative projects aimed at tackling locally significant challenges such as food security, language access, and health care.
As part of the initiative, Google.org is pledging US $25 million toward the AI Collaborative for Food Security. The programme supports non‑profits and researchers in building AI tools for early hunger prediction, crop resilience, and smallholder farm support.
A further US $3 million is being directed to the Masakhane African Languages AI Hub. That funding will accelerate development of datasets, translation systems, and voice technologies covering over 40 African languages, helping reduce digital exclusion .
Two South African academic institutions the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Pretoria, and the Wits MIND Institute in Johannesburg will each receive US $1 million to support graduate and post‑doctoral AI research capacity .
To build skills and prepare future talent, Google is also providing 100,000 fully funded Google Career Certificate scholarships in Ghana. Additionally, US $7 million will support AI education, cybersecurity, and digital literacy programmes in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa .
A catalytic fund is being set up to support over 100 early-stage African startups developing AI-driven solutions in agriculture, health, education, and climate resilience. The initiative combines philanthropic capital, venture support, and technical mentorship .
Google’s senior vice president for research, James Manyika, described the move as a recognition of Africa’s creativity and importance in the AI landscape. Google says it is committed to building with African communities and believes innovation emerging from the continent will have global impact .
This latest commitment builds on Google’s earlier efforts in areas such as maternal health dashboards in Ghana and Nigeria, wildfire alerts in East Africa, and language model development in Accra and Nairobi.
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