Masakhane Hub Announces Funding to Boost AI for 50 African Languages
Masakhane Hub launches funding to support AI datasets for 50 African languages and improve digital inclusion across the continent.
The Masakhane African Languages Hub has launched a major funding call to support new AI datasets for 50 African languages. The initiative aims to correct the deep under representation of African languages in artificial intelligence. Africa has more than 2,000 languages, yet none of the top 34 languages used online are African. This gap risks excluding over one billion people from new technology.
The project is backed by Google.org, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, IDRC and the Gates Foundation. The Hub is inviting researchers, linguists, startups and community groups to help build precise and culturally grounded datasets. The goal is to guarantee future AI systems show the continent’s linguistic diversity.
The call focuses on three areas. The first is automatic speech recognition. This requires large voice datasets for 18 African languages. Gender balance and authentic local accents are important requirements. The second area is benchmarking in real life settings. This will test how AI tools function outside controlled laboratories. The third is developing multimodal datasets that include images, text and speech for 40 languages. These will support future translation and education tools.
Successful applicants will get funding, institutional support and visibility. The Hub states that this work is part of a broader effort to reach one billion Africans by 2029 using AI tools designed for local needs. It also aims to support marginalised groups including rural communities, women and the elderly. The Hub’s director, Chenai Chair, says the initiative is about fairness, accuracy and cultural respect in AI development.
The new call builds on a 2025 pilot that attracted 93 applicants from 22 countries. Four projects were selected last year and are now entering final contracting stages. The Hub hopes the 2026 round will expand African‑led innovation across sectors like education, healthcare and agriculture. Applications are open to non‑profits, social enterprises and research institutions based in Africa.
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