Accra / Nairobi / Lagos – July 2025

Tech giant Google has pledged $37 million in funding to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development across Africa, with a focus on ethical innovation, local talent cultivation, and applications in agriculture, healthcare, and education.

Announced during the Africa AI Forum 2025 held in Accra, Ghana, the investment will support research centers, university partnerships, AI startups, and policy frameworks in more than a dozen countries.

“Africa is not just a market—we see it as a laboratory of innovation,” said James Manyika, Google’s SVP of Technology and Society. “We want to help build AI solutions grounded in local needs and knowledge systems.”

The funding includes: – $10M for Google Research Africa labs in Ghana and Kenya – $12M in grants to African-led AI startups working on climate, language, and medicine – $8M to expand TensorFlow developer training and scholarships – $7M for AI policy and ethics programs in partnership with African universities

Experts believe this move could help bridge Africa’s AI readiness gap, giving local developers access to cloud infrastructure, data resources, and mentorship that are often scarce.

However, some activists caution against “AI imperialism”, urging African governments to build strong local regulatory frameworks to protect against data misuse and algorithmic bias.

“We welcome investment, but Africans must remain in control of our digital future,” said Dr. Nneka Okeke, a data rights advocate.

Google’s announcement follows similar tech pledges by Microsoft, IBM, and OpenAI, all racing to support—and shape—Africa’s rapidly expanding AI frontier.

With a youthful population and growing digital economy, the continent is poised to become a key player in the global AI ecosystem.