Google to pump $37 million into AI initiatives in Africa

Google to pump $37 million into AI initiatives in Africa, launches AI Community Center in Accra to advance AI in Africa. Google has outlined a wave of AI support across Africa worth a total of $37 million, including funding for research, talent development, and infrastructure.

The funding package also comes with partnerships that aim to strengthen AI research, support African languages, improve food systems, expand digital skills, and build research capacity.

A statement from Google indicates that out of the total, $25 million from Google.org will go into AI Collaborative for Food Security, a multi-partner initiative that will bring together researchers, and non-profit organizations to co-develop AI tools for early hunger forecasting, crop resilience, and tailored guidance for smallholder farmers.

The goal of the Food Security initiative is to help make food systems across Africa more adaptive, equitable, and resilient in the face of increasing climate and economic shocks.

Google also announced $3 million in funding to the Masakhane Research Foundation, the open research collective advancing AI tools in over 40 African languages. The funding will support the development of high-quality datasets, machine translation models, and speech tools that make digital content more accessible to millions of Africans in their native languages.

To further empower innovation, Google is launching a catalytic funding initiative to support AI-driven startups tackling real-world challenges. This platform will combine philanthropic capital, venture investment, and Google’s technical expertise to help more than 100 early-stage ventures scale AI-based solutions in agriculture, healthcare, education, and other vital sectors. Startups will also receive mentorship, access to tools, and technical guidance to support responsible development.

AI Community Centre in Accra

As part of the support, Google has also launched an AI Community Center in Accra — a first-of-its-kind space for AI learning, experimentation, and collaboration in Africa, set to host training sessions, community events, and workshops focused on responsible AI development.

The Centre’s programming will span four pillars: AI literacy, community technology, social impact, and arts and culture — providing a platform for a diverse ecosystem of developers, students, and creators to engage with AI in ways that are grounded in African priorities.

100,000 Ghanaians to get AI and digital skills

As part of the recently launched Ghana government’s One Million Coders Program, Google alone is sponsoring 100,000 Ghanaians to gain training in AI and other digital skills. The  Google Career Certificate scholarships will target mainly students in higher learning institutions across Ghana. But the tech giant said even non-tertiary students in all parts of the country also stand to benefit.

These fully funded, self-paced programs will focus on AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, and other high-growth fields like IT Support, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity — enabling more learners to access job-ready training and build careers in AI and the digital economy.

Beyond Ghana, Google.org is also committing an additional $7 million to support AI education across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana. The funding will support academic institutions and nonprofits building localized AI curricula, online safety training, and cybersecurity programs.

Additionally, two new $1 million grants from Google.org aim to bolster AI research capacity across the continent. One grant goes to the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) at the University of Pretoria to support applied AI research and training. The other supports the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute in South Africa, which will fund MSc and PhD students to conduct foundational AI research and help shape Africa’s role in the global AI landscape.

Speaking about the announcements, James Manyika, Senior Vice President for Research, Labs, and Technology & Society at Google, said: “Africa is home to some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today. We are committed to supporting the next wave of innovation through long-term investment, local partnerships, and platforms that help researchers and entrepreneurs build solutions that matter.”

Yossi Matias, Vice President of Engineering and Research at Google, added: “This new wave of support reflects our belief in the talent, creativity, and ingenuity across the continent. By building with local communities and institutions, we’re supporting solutions that are rooted in Africa’s realities and built for global impact.”

These new initiatives build on Google’s ongoing work across the continent. Past efforts have included partnerships to support AI-powered maternal health dashboards in Ghana and Nigeria, wildfire alerts in East Africa, and regional language models developed by teams in Accra and Nairobi. They also reflect Google’s continued focus on shared infrastructure, open research, and inclusive innovation that ensures AI works for everyone.

Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam Nartey George lauded Google for their support for the One Million Coders Program and for locating the AI Community Centre in Accra.

He assured them of government full support in their efforts to rollout responsible and impactful AI tools in Accra, adding that government will surely approach them for more of such support going forward.