Google to provide Sh5 billion in funding to Kenyan startups
Google has unveiled a comprehensive AI support package worth $37 million, aimed at advancing AI research, education, and infrastructure across Africa. The initiative includes funding for various projects, with a focus on food security, language inclusion, digital skills development, and local research capacity building.
Food Security and Agriculture
A significant portion of the funding, amounting to $25 million, has been allocated to the AI Collaborative for Food Security. This multi-partner initiative unites researchers and nonprofits to develop AI-driven tools for early hunger forecasting, crop resilience, and tailored guidance for smallholder farmers. The goal is to build more adaptive, equitable, and climate-resilient food systems across Africa [1][2][3][4].
AI Education and Digital Skills
The funding will also support AI literacy, cybersecurity, and online safety training across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana. This includes 100,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships for higher education students in Ghana, covering AI essentials, prompting, and IT skills [1][2][4].
Masakhane Research Foundation
The Masakhane Research Foundation, an open research collective advancing AI for over 40 African languages, will receive $3 million in funding. This support will aid in the development of datasets, machine translation models, and speech technologies to make digital content accessible in native languages, promoting linguistic inclusion [1][2][4].
Research Grants and AI-Driven Startups
Research grants of $1 million each have been awarded to the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) at the University of Pretoria and the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute (MIND) in Johannesburg. These grants bolster local AI research capacity and training for graduate and postdoctoral students in South Africa [3][4].
A catalytic funding platform has been launched to support more than 100 AI-driven startups across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and education. This platform combines philanthropic capital, venture investment, technical mentorship, and Google’s expertise to help early-stage ventures scale responsible AI solutions addressing real-world African challenges [1][2].
AI Community Center in Ghana
Google has also opened an AI community center in Accra, Ghana, serving as a hub for AI training, collaboration, and experimentation. This reflects their broader commitment to building African AI talent and technological ecosystems [3].
Google's new initiative underscores a commitment to long-term investment, local partnerships, and platforms that help researchers and entrepreneurs build solutions that matter. The AI support package aims to strengthen AI research, support African languages, improve food systems, expand digital skills, and build research capacity across the continent.
[1] TechCrunch. (2022). Google announces $37 million in funding for AI initiatives across Africa. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/17/google-announces-37-million-in-funding-for-ai-initiatives-across-africa/
[2] Ventures Africa. (2022). Google Announces $37 Million in Funding for AI Initiatives Across Africa. [online] Available at: https://venturesafrica.com/google-announces-37-million-in-funding-for-ai-initiatives-across-africa/
[3] Quartz Africa. (2022). Google launches AI community center in Accra, Ghana. [online] Available at: https://qz.com/africa/2103542/google-launches-ai-community-center-in-accra-ghana/
[4] The Africa Report. (2022). Google invests $37m in AI initiatives across Africa. [online] Available at: https://www.theafricareport.com/24154/google-invests-37m-in-ai-initiatives-across-africa/
- The AI Collaborative for Food Security, which will receive $25 million from Google's AI support package, aims to develop AI-driven tools for early hunger forecasting, crop resilience, and tailored guidance for smallholder farmers, focusing on building more adaptive, equitable, and climate-resilient food systems across Africa.
- In line with Google's new initiative, the Masakhane Research Foundation, an open research collective advancing AI for over 40 African languages, will receive $3 million in funding, aiding in the development of datasets, machine translation models, and speech technologies to make digital content accessible in native languages, promoting linguistic inclusion.
