Google has unveiled a $37 million investment to bolster the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) across Africa.
The funding will support food security, digital education, AI tools in local languages, startup growth, and research infrastructure.
A large share of the money, $25 million, will go to a new AI Collaborative for Food Security, aimed at helping smallholder farmers better predict hunger risks, respond to climate change, and improve crop production. The programme brings together researchers and nonprofit groups to build AI tools that work for Africa’s farming systems.
To make digital tools more inclusive, Google is committing $3 million to the Masakhane Research Foundation, a pan-African collective working on AI tools in more than 40 African languages.
The goal is to help more people use the internet and digital services in their native languages by building voice tools, translation systems, and high-quality data.
Startups are also in focus, as Google is launching a funding programme that will support over 100 early-stage African startups using AI to solve real-life problems in agriculture, healthcare, and education. These startups will get funding, mentorship, and access to technical tools to help them grow responsibly.
As part of its infrastructure plan, Google is opening the first AI Community Centre in Africa, located in Accra, Ghana. The centre will offer free training, workshops, and community projects focused on AI literacy, culture, and social impact. It’s designed as an open space for students, developers, and creatives.
Google will also offer 100,000 scholarships in Ghana through its Career Certificate programme, with training in AI, cybersecurity, data analytics, and IT support. An additional $7 million is being invested to support AI education in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, funding schools, nonprofits, and digital safety projects.
Two African universities will receive $1 million each to support AI research and train MSc and PhD students. One grant goes to the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) at the University of Pretoria, and the other to the Wits MIND Institute in South Africa.
Google’s Senior Vice President, James Manyika, 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, Google’s vice president of Engineering and Research, 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.”
This latest investment expands on the previous efforts of Google in Africa, including AI tools for maternal health in Nigeria and Ghana, wildfire alerts in East Africa, and local language model development in Nairobi and Accra.
Africa is fast emerging as a centre for AI growth, with over 2,400 AI-focused startups and more than 20 national AI strategies either launched or in development.
