Enterprise Ecosystems

GSMA partners with UNDP to boost Africa’s AI ecosystem

GSMA partners with UNDP to boost Africa’s AI ecosystem

The GSMA signed a strategic partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Friday that aims to strengthen and accelerate Africa’s AI ecosystem, including deployment of African-language AI.

Under the partnership, the two organisations will collaborate to mobilize talent and expertise in their respective networks, including the UNDP-supported University Innovation Pods (UniPods) network, AI labs, universities and other ecosystem partners, to accelerate the development, deployment and scaling of AI solutions across Africa.

The UNDP and GSMA will collaborate via the UNDP timbuktoo initiative to improve access to compute infrastructure for priority AI pilots and connect African talent to real-world AI applications. The partnership will also support the deployment of locally developed AI solutions and identify pathways for long-term sustainability and scale.

The ultimate goal of the partnership is to connect local talent with opportunities to develop and deploy solutions that respond to Africa’s priorities, including AI in African languages, helping ensure more people and businesses can benefit from the continent’s digital transformation, said Angela Wamola, GSMA’s head of Africa.

“Africa’s AI future must be shaped by its own talent and reflect the languages and needs of its communities. The mobile industry has an important role to play in helping locally developed solutions reach the people and businesses that can benefit from them,” she said in a joint statement. “By bringing together the GSMA’s industry networks and UNDP’s innovation platforms, this partnership will help African innovators move from promising pilots towards sustainable services that support inclusive digital and economic growth.”

“Africa has the talent and creativity to shape the future of artificial intelligence. Through this partnership, we will help connect innovators to the infrastructure, skills and opportunities needed to develop and scale AI solutions that address Africa’s priorities and create opportunities for young people across the continent,” said Aissata De, officer-in-charge and regional director for Africa at the UNDP.

The collaboration with UNDP aligns with the GSMA’s pan-African initiative, ATLAS Umoja AI, launched with government and industry partners in July to strengthen collaboration on African language AI.



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