The Masahan African Language Hub (Hub) has launched a major Request for Proposals (RFP) aimed at dismantling the “language barrier” that currently excludes over one billion Africans from the AI revolution.
The hub invites African researchers, start-ups and community organizations to develop high-quality, ethically sourced datasets in 50 African languages. This effort comes in response to the harsh reality that none of the top 34 languages used worldwide on the internet are African, and the continent’s more than 2,000 languages are virtually invisible to modern artificial intelligence.
The project is supported by a powerful coalition, including Google.org, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IDRC, and the UK’s FCDO, and aims to ensure that the next generation of AI is built on accurate, comprehensive, and culturally informed data.
The RFP is structured around three core areas designed to address specific bottlenecks in African language technology. Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR): Focuses on creating audio data in 18 African languages, with strict commitments to gender balance and authentic local context. “In the Wild” Benchmark: Funding research that pressure-tests how existing AI models actually perform in real-world, practical African environments, and Culturally Relevant Multimodal Dataset: Supports the creation of data that combines images, text, and audio in 40 languages to power advanced translation and education tools.
This project is more than just a technical exercise. It is a movement to preserve Africa’s linguistic heritage while unleashing economic growth. The ultimate goal is to provide one billion Africans with AI tools that speak their native language by 2029.
“This Call for Proposals is more than building a model, it is a movement towards a more just digital future,” said Chair Chenai, director of the Masahan African Language Hub. “This is an opportunity to center marginalized groups such as women, rural communities, and older adults, advance the wisdom of older people, and embody the spirit of Ubuntu.”
The hub is specifically looking for non-profit organizations, social enterprises and research institutions based in Africa. The process begins with an Expression of Interest (EOI).
The initiative follows a hugely successful pilot in 2025, which received nearly 100 applications from 22 countries, demonstrating that there is a huge demand for locally-led AI development across the continent.
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