Tech giant Google reveals $37 million in accumulative financing and introduces a brand-new AI Community Center in Accra, aiming to bolster AI development across Africa.
In a significant move towards advancing artificial intelligence (AI) on the African continent, Google has announced a $37 million funding initiative aimed at accelerating AI development. The initiative, unveiled in July 2025, focuses on food security, local language technology, talent development, startups, and infrastructure.
A key component of this initiative is the AI Collaborative for Food Security, which will receive $25 million in funding. This program will support African researchers and nonprofits in building AI tools that improve hunger detection, crop resilience, and decision-making for smallholder farmers. By leveraging AI for early warning systems and tailored agricultural guidance, the initiative aims to protect millions from the impacts of climate and economic shocks.
Another significant recipient of funding is the Masakhane Research Foundation, which will receive $3 million. The open research collective focuses on advancing natural language processing (NLP) tools for over 40 African languages. The funding will aid in developing datasets, translation, and speech recognition systems, thereby enhancing digital access across Africa’s linguistic diversity.
Google's commitment to African innovation also extends to supporting over 100 early-stage AI startups. These startups, working in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and more, will receive venture capital access, mentorship, technical support, and tools to scale their solutions responsibly.
The funding initiative also includes the launch of Africa's first AI Community Centre in Accra, Ghana. This hub for AI experimentation, training, collaboration, and cultural engagement will offer programs spanning AI literacy, technology, social impact, and arts, targeting developers, students, and creators to build local AI talent and innovation.
Google views this investment as a long-term commitment to supporting African innovation and empowering Africans to lead AI’s future on the continent. James Manyika, Senior Vice President for Research, Labs, and Technology & Society at Google, stated that Africa is home to some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today.
In addition to the AI Community Centre, the funding includes $7 million for AI education in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, supporting nonprofits and universities in developing localized AI curricula and online safety training. Two $1M grants will go to AfriDSAI (University of Pretoria) for applied AI research and training, and the Wits MIND Institute (South Africa) to support MSc and PhD students in foundational AI research.
Google's broader AI footprint in Africa includes maternal health tools in Ghana and Nigeria, wildfire alerts in East Africa, and regional language models developed by teams in Accra and Nairobi. The company believes in building with local communities and institutions to support solutions that are rooted in Africa’s realities and built for global impact.
Yossi Matias, Vice President of Engineering and Research at Google, believes in the talent, creativity, and ingenuity across the continent. This new wave of support from Google reflects this belief, as the company is 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.
Investing in Africa's technological future, Google has earmarked $25 million for the AI Collaborative for Food Security, aiming to develop AI tools for food security, crop resilience, and decision-making for smallholder farmers. In the realm of artificial-intelligence language processing, the Masakhane Research Foundation, with $3 million in funding, focuses on advancing NLP tools for over 40 African languages.
