The GSMA, in partnership with leading African telecom operators and technology companies, has launched a continent-wide initiative to develop inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) language models built around African languages, cultures, and data.

Announced jointly with Airtel, Ethio Telecom, MTN, Orange, Vodacom, Axian Telecom, Cassava Technologies, and several research and AI institutions, the collaboration aims to strengthen Africa’s AI ecosystem by addressing structural gaps in data availability, computing infrastructure, skilled talent, and policy alignment.

Under the shared vision “AI Language Models in Africa, By Africa, For Africa,” the partners seek to ensure African voices are adequately represented in the global digital landscape. The initiative comes amid concerns that most large language models (LLMs) are trained on a narrow set of global languages, limiting their accessibility and relevance to the continent’s linguistic diversity.

According to the GSMA’s AI for Africa report, more than 2,000 languages are spoken across Africa, yet only a fraction are represented in digital or AI systems. The organisation warns that the absence of African languages from AI training data risks deepening existing digital and economic divides.

The new collaboration follows a GSMA-led feasibility study that found African-developed language models to be both technically viable and economically sustainable. However, the study stressed that coordinated investment and collective leadership are critical for success.

To achieve this, the partnership will establish working groups focused on four strategic areas — data, compute, talent, and policy — to accelerate progress and ensure measurable outcomes. The GSMA and its partners plan to showcase results at future industry forums to maintain transparency and accountability.

By developing AI systems rooted in African languages and local datasets, the initiative aims to empower businesses, governments, and creative sectors to design AI-driven tools suited to the continent’s realities — from education and healthcare to customer service and public administration.

The GSMA called on additional ecosystem partners, including startups, universities, and investors, to join the effort, describing it as a defining step toward Africa’s digital sovereignty and equitable participation in the global AI economy.