Unveiled on Thursday in Accra, Ghana, the initiative includes the launch of a new AI community center designed to foster innovation and collaboration on the continent. James Manyika, Google’s Senior Vice President, described Africa as home to “some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today.”

The initiative features the AI Collaborative for Food Security, which will link researchers and non-profits to develop tools that enhance early hunger detection, crop resilience, and support decision-making among smallholder farmers. These efforts come as African food systems face mounting threats from climate change and economic volatility.

In Nigeria and other parts of Africa, AI is already being deployed by agri-tech startups for soil and livestock monitoring, showcasing the continent’s growing engagement with smart farming technologies.

Beyond agriculture, Google plans to roll out a financing platform for AI startups in health and education. Its philanthropic division has also committed $7 million to expand AI education in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.

In addition, the company will provide $3 million in support to Masakhane, a grassroots tech initiative working on AI tools for more than 40 African languages. Two South African institutions— the African Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute— will each receive $1 million research grants.

Ghana’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technology, Sam George, called on citizens to embrace AI in solving pressing national issues such as traffic congestion, waste management, and flooding.

Google’s announcement builds on previous initiatives, including maternal health technologies in Nigeria and Ghana, wildfire alerts in East Africa, and AI-powered language model development in Accra and Nairobi.

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Building on the success of the Google Hustle Academy, which has already trained more than 15,000 SMEs since 2022, this expanded programme tackles Africa’s persistent digital skills gap that hampers business growth.

UpSkill Universe CEO Gori Yahaya said the initiative would help entrepreneurs adapt to shifting customer behaviours and new technologies. The training will be delivered via HP LIFE, the HP Foundation’s free global skills platform, with modules available in eight languages and accessible offline.

Both partners emphasised the programme’s focus on practical, action-based learning to deliver tangible growth for businesses. They have also pledged that at least half of the participants will be women entrepreneurs, helping close gender gaps in Africa’s business ecosystem.

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The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), now in its 20th year, is the United Nations’ main platform for digital cooperation and policy dialogue. This year’s edition has brought together more than 150 countries to review progress since the first WSIS in 2005 and to outline priorities ahead of a UN General Assembly review later this year.

At the event, hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Swiss government, 19 projects were announced as winners of the WSIS Prizes, which honour practical initiatives that use technology to tackle real-world challenges.

Nigeria was recognised in the Access to Information and Knowledge category for its Digital Awareness Programme, run by the Nigerian Communications Commission. According to the organisers, the initiative has helped bridge the digital divide in underserved communities by providing training and tools to expand digital literacy.

South Africa won in the Enabling Environment category for its Digitech programme, a government-backed effort to promote local technology developers and digital products. Officials say the platform has supported startups and encouraged homegrown solutions, boosting the visibility of South African tech companies.

Zimbabwe’s Usawa Institute received the Media category award for its Girls Speak Out project, which trains girls in coding and digital storytelling. The grassroots initiative aims to give young women in marginalised communities better access to technology and opportunities in the digital economy.

Tanzania was named a winner in the E-Health category for its New Era in Zanzibar’s Healthcare project, an initiative led by PharmAccess. By introducing digital unique IDs for patients, the programme aims to improve access, transparency, and efficiency in health service delivery. Speaking at the event, Dr. Heri Marwa of PharmAccess Tanzania said the project is helping to modernise healthcare systems on the islands.

Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the awards demonstrate how practical, community-based solutions can help countries meet their development goals through technology. Since the first WSIS in 2005, global internet usage has grown from one billion to more than 5.5 billion people, but experts say gaps in connectivity and digital skills remain.

The WSIS+20 forum will run through July 11, with delegates expected to agree on proposals for accelerating digital transformation in the years ahead. Organisers say Africa’s growing presence at the summit reflects the continent’s progress in driving local tech solutions and tackling digital inequality.

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When most people think of global tech hubs, places like Silicon Valley, New York, Toronto, London, Bangalore, and Seoul often spring to mind. Very few people think of any African nation as a tech hub. However, things are starting to change in a big way on the continent, especially for AI start-ups.

Nigeria and South Africa are currently leading the way as key tech hubs, along with Kenya and Morocco. They are known in some circles as ‘the big four.’

According to reports, these four countries alone win 92% of the entire African continent’s foreign and domestic investments, which is fuelling growth and making these countries attractive destinations for tech start-ups.

Let’s now dive straight in and take a closer look at the driving force that’s helping to assert these African nations as key hubs for technological innovation and development.

What are the driving forces behind Africa’s technological revolution?

There are many reasons why a handful of African nations, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Ghana, and Tanzania, are establishing themselves as ideal destinations for tech companies, most of which are focused on artificial intelligence.

Some of the main contributing factors that have helped turn these nations into tech hubs are the following:

Many tech start-up companies are choosing one of these African nations as their base of operations

There are now more talented and skilled workers and tech experts who are helping to take the tech industry in these countries to new heights

Constantly evolving artificial intelligence technology is the main focus of most companies in each of these new African tech hubs

Scientific advancement and access to better resources has also been a driving force

Sizeable populations and large GDPs in these countries also help to attract and increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tech sector

Newly introduced innovation-positive regulations have reduced both socio-economic and political restraints that were hampering progress

Tech start-ups can benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement

The constantly evolving ecosystem and mature regulatory frameworks have helped create hospitable tech hub environments and are helping to foster innovation

Some of the iGaming industry’s most notable operators and numerous top-tier software providers operating in this digital entertainment sector also now have a heavy presence in South Africa and several other African nations.

For example, anyone aged 18 or above can now browse online slots on 10bet South Africa – a legally permitted iGaming website that’s fully licensed and regulated by the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator.

This trusted brand has become one of the nation’s most popular websites and is now the official principal partner of South Africa’s Lamontville Golden Arrows soccer team and the official betting partner of Bafana Bafana (the South African men’s national football team).

Besides the ‘big four’ countries, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Morocco, several other African nations are also expected to follow in their footsteps over the coming years and establish themselves as new tech hubs on the continent.

What are the most successful AI start-ups in Africa to watch in 2025?

Nigeria is home to more AI companies than its three biggest rivals, but the list of start-up companies specialising in this field also continues to grow in Kenya, South Africa, and Morocco.

The most inspiring AI start-up companies that seem to be making the biggest waves and will be worth keeping a close eye on in 2025 include DataProphet, Clevva, Aerobotics PTY LTD, AFfluence, Ubenwa Health, and Codenatics.

That’s not forgetting Conversion Science, Curacel, Amini, Blockchain Founders Fund, AI Automated Solutions, Xineoh Technologies Inc., WideBot, SIVOXI, Dileny Tech, and Umdoko Internet, to name just a few.

According to recent reports, South Africa has more AI start-up companies, with 20 new talents emerging. Kenya came in close second with 15, followed by Nigeria with 14, Egypt with 10, and Morocco with 8.

The other thing worth mentioning is that Lagos, Nairobi, and Johannesburg all recently ranked within the top 50 AI cities in Africa.

Final thoughts

The African continent, particularly the big four leading the tech revolution, has the right to be extremely proud of establishing itself as a key hub of technology and innovation.

They have a skilled workforce filled with young, talented, and intelligent minds. Now that they have the right tools and financial backing, anything is possible on a continent that is not traditionally thought of as a global leader in technology.

If the four key tech hubs in Africa can continue on this upward trajectory of nurturing innovation in the AI industry and other key tech sectors, it will be interesting to see how the continent will develop over the coming years, and which other African nations will emerge as tech hubs to rival the big four.

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TECHDIGEST– A milestone towards digital inclusion has been achieved as Vodacom announces another first in South Africa, with the launch of a real-time Specific Needs and National Relay Service (NRS), which expands its offerings for Deaf, hearing- and speech-impaired customers. This further strengthens the techco’s support for persons with disabilities and its commitment to building an inclusive digital society.

“For almost two decades, Vodacom has championed the communication needs of persons with disabilities by providing access to products and services that address their challenges and help to improve their lives. The Specific Needs and NRS Centre offers an inclusive technology solution that advances our goal of empowering all South Africans and ensuring no one is left behind in the digitalization journey. The launch of this system is another example of how Vodacom is delivering on its purpose to connect for a better future” says Takalani Netshitenzhe, Executive Director of External Affairs for Vodacom South Africa.

READ ALSO: PPPs: An Effective Strategy for Increasing Digital Skills and Infrastructure

The NRS enables Deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired persons to contact hearing people such as family, friends and organizations, in real-time and on their own without asking a friend or someone else to make the call which impedes their independence. Registered Vodacom prepaid and postpaid customers who are Deaf and use South African Sign Language (SASL), hearing-impaired or have speech difficulties can place a call to any hearing person via specially trained Relay Officers (RO). The ROs are the central link on the call and facilitate communication between the NRS user and the called party.

Some examples of these calls include making a booking at a restaurant or an appointment with a medical doctor. More critically, the NRS provides SASL users the option to request emergency services, such as police, ambulance, traffic, sea rescue, and fire services.

The NRS enables Deaf, hearing, and speech-impaired customers to choose the type of relay service that meets the needs of their specific disability. This includes voice relay, text relay, live chat, captioned telephony relay as well as video relay. The NRS is free of charge for customers using a Vodacom SIM. As part of the NRS, Vodacom is also offering a Video Relay Service, which enables Deaf SASL customers to use video technology to communicate with hearing persons. A video call connects Deaf customers to ROs, who are South African Sign Language Interpreters (SASLIs).

For example, the SASL user connects to the SASLI on video, the SASLI re-speaks the Deaf user’s message to a hearing person using a phone while simultaneously signing the conversation to the user.

Besides the NRS, customers with various disabilities such as visual, hearing or physical impairments can access the Specific Needs Call Centre to resolve Vodacom service-related queries.

In 2004, Vodacom pioneered a Specific Needs initiative to make cellular communications accessible to all South Africans, especially people with disabilities. Since then, the company has provided a wide range of products and services that help to overcome communication barriers for those with specific needs. These include devices designed for those who have visual impairments, text based ER24 emergency services for Deaf and hard of hearing customers, and a dedicated contact center for customers with disabilities.

“Not providing accessible call center services denies human rights to persons with disabilities and promotes social exclusion as they have limited ways of communicating to organizations and hearing people. With SASL proposed as the country’s 12th official language, it is imperative that more is done to bridge the real-time communications gap that currently exists,” says Desiree Hayes, Managing Executive at Vodacom South Africa.

To access the NRS, Vodacom customers can choose voice relay by calling 082 12580, or text relay by sending an SMS to 12580 or email to 12580@vodacom.co.za.

SOURCE: ITEDGENEWS

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TECH DIGEST- Google has announced the establishment of its first cloud region in South Africa, catching up to other leading providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, which made inroads into the continent a few years ago. Google has stated that it is constructing Dedicated Cloud Interconnect locations in Nairobi (Kenya), Lagos (Nigeria), and South Africa (Cape town and Johannesburg) in order to deliver full-scale cloud capabilities to its clients and partners in Africa.

Google plans to tap its private subsea cable, Equiano, which connects Africa and Europe to power the sites. Equiano has been under development since 2019 and has so far made four landings — in Togo, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Africa. With the recent preview launches of regions in Malaysia, Thailand, and New Zealand, South Africa has now joined Google’s global network of 35 cloud regions and 106 zones. Users can deploy cloud resources from particular geographic locations using Google Cloud regions, and they can also use a number of services like cloud storage, computation power, and key management system.

READALSO: Lagos State suspends N150,000 audit fees for tech hubs

“We are excited to announce the first Google Cloud region in Africa. The new region will allow for the localization of applications and services. It will make it really easier for our customers and partners to quickly deploy solutions for their businesses, whereby they’re able to leverage our computer artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities, and data analytics to make smarter business decisions as they go forward,” said Google Cloud Africa director, Niral Patel.

He added that the new region and interconnect sites will take its cloud computing services closer to its clients, allowing its customers to choose where to consume the products from. “What we’re doing here is giving customers and partners a choice on where they’d like to store their data and where they’d like to consume cloud services, especially in the context of data sovereignty. This allows customers to then store the data in the country should they choose to do so… I guess for me the most important element is that it gives customers the element of choice,” Patel said.

The ability for users to choose where they store their data is increasingly critical as countries like Kenya implement privacy and data laws, which require companies to store their data within borders and process it through servers hosted locally.

The decision to set up a region in South Africa was informed by the demand for cloud services and the market’s potential. Still, the company is looking to launch in more markets within the continent as demand for its products soars. Its early adopters include large enterprise companies, and e-commerce firms like South Africa’s Take a lot and Kenya’s Twiga.

“We continue to evaluate market demands as we work with our customers to see them transform and grow in these markets. We continuously make these assessments, and it is on that basis, that we continue to invest,” Patel said. According to research by AlphaBeta Economics, commissioned by Google Cloud, the South Africa cloud region will contribute over $2.1 billion to South Africa’s GDP and support the creation of more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.

With the introduction of Google, South Africa is now home to four of the continent’s top cloud storage providers.

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Ethio Telecom hopes the move will give it an edge over upcoming competition – a consortium of international telecom providers entering the country’s lucrative market for the first time.

The move gives residents in selected places in Addis Ababa the chance to get 5G mobile networks on their mobile phones with data speed 20 times faster than their current 4G networks.

Ethio Telecom plans to introduce some 150 5G sites in and outside the capital in the coming year.

However, the expansion of the network is dependent on “the readiness of the players in the ecosystem”, including the availability of 5G enabled devices and smartphones, the company said in a statement.

Chinese telecom giant Huwawei is supplying the necessary equipment for the services.

Ethiopia is not the first country to roll out 5G.

Globally, at least 81 countries—outside Africa—have 5G available in certain regions. In Africa, at least 18 countries are testing out 5G or have plans to launch it, and 6 countries—South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Seychelles—have launched 5G. Ethiopia will be the seventh.

And Nigeria may be 8th. After running tests, both MTN and Mafab—having recently acquired their operating licenses—announced that 5G rollout in Nigeria will kick off in August 2022.

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TECHDIGEST- Giant tech company, Google says it plans to invest $1billion over 5 years to support Africa’s digital transformation.

The investment focuses on enabling fast, affordable internet access for more Africans; building helpful products; supporting entrepreneurship and small business; and helping nonprofits to improve lives across Africa.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, announced the planned $1bn investment today at Google’s first-ever Google for Africa event, held virtually and live-streamed across Africa, including Nigeria.

Under the $1billion investment plan, Google is building global infrastructure to help bring faster internet to more people and lower connectivity costs. The subsea cable Equiano will run through South Africa, Namibia, Nigeria, and St Helena and connect the continent with Europe.

Through a Black Founders Fund, Google will invest in Black-led startups in Africa by providing cash awards and hands-on support. This is in addition to Google’s existing support through the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, which has helped more than 80 African startups with equity-free finance, working space, and access to expert advisors over the last three years.

Google also announced the launch of an Africa Investment Fund. Through this fund, the company will invest $50M in startups and provide them with access to Google’s employees, network, and technologies to help them build meaningful products for their communities.

In collaboration with the non-profit organisation Kiva, Google is providing $10M in low-interest loans to help small businesses and entrepreneurs in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa get through the economic hardship created by COVID-19.

In addition, Google is expanding its commitment to support nonprofits working to improve lives across Africa, with $40M to help more partners who are responding to challenges they see first-hand in their communities – innovators like the Airqo team at Makerere University, who use AI and sensors to monitor poor air quality, a leading cause of premature death.

It is also providing $3M in new grant funding to expand this pioneering work from Kampala across 10 cities in 5 countries on the continent.

In 2017, Google launched its Grow with Google initiative with a commitment to training 10 million young Africans and small businesses in digital skills. To date, Google has trained over 6 million people across 25 African countries, with over 60 percent of participants experiencing growth in their career and/or business as a result.

Google has also supported more than 50 nonprofits across Africa with over $16million of investment and enabled hundreds of millions of Africans to access internet services for the first time through Android.

Pichai said: “We’ve made huge strides together over the past decade — but there’s more work to do to make the internet accessible, affordable, and useful for every African.

“Today I’m excited to reaffirm our commitment to the continent through an investment of $1B over five years to support Africa’s digital transformation to cover a range of initiatives from improved connectivity to investment in startups.”

Nitin Gajria, Managing Director for Google in Africa added: “I am so inspired by the innovative African tech startup scene. In the last year, we have seen more investment rounds into tech startups than ever before.

“I am of the firm belief that no one is better placed to solve Africa’s biggest problems than Africa’s young developers and startup founders. We look forward to deepening our partnership with, and support for, Africa’s innovators and entrepreneurs.”

Also speaking, South Africa’s Minister of Small Business Development, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, said: “I am happy to note that Google has been active in supporting small to medium enterprises, dedicating even more resources to this sector, since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the last 12 months, Google has helped close to 500,000 African businesses get online and reach new customers.”

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