Gates Foundation to fund AI scaling hubs in Africa

The Gates Foundation has signed a three-year, $7.5 million partnership to scale artificial intelligence innovations in Rwanda, on the sidelines of the Global AI Summit on Africa. The summit, convened by the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Rwandan Ministry of ICT & Innovation in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, was held last week in Kigali. Trevor Mundel, president of global health at the Gates Foundation, and Paula Ingabire, Rwanda’s minister of ICT and innovation, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the Rwanda Artificial Intelligence Scaling Hub. The hub will be hosted by the Rwanda Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or C4IR Rwanda, and will serve as a central platform to identify, develop, and scale high-impact AI solutions that address critical national and regional challenges. It will also be open to participation from other countries in the region. C4IR Rwanda was established in 2020 following an agreement between Rwanda and the World Economic Forum. It is one of 24 such centers globally, aimed at driving “technological innovation for sustainable, inclusive progress.” Speaking during the signing of the MOU, Ingabire said that the partnership builds on ideas that have already been tested and proven effective, enabling them to scale not only in Rwanda but across the continent. The hub is designed to be a platform to scale AI solutions — starting with three sectors: health care, agriculture, and education, she said. The Gates Foundation, according to Mundel, plans to sign three other partnerships across the continent in the next few months to establish hubs in Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal with the aim of breaking down barriers “to scale and help move promising AI innovation to impact.” At the summit, lack of funding for scaling AI innovations was identified as one of the challenges that entrepreneurs and innovators in the continent face. The funding for the AI scaling hubs will help innovators scale their innovations to solve social challenges. The funding comes at a time when investments in AI and AI infrastructure are seen as crucial yet insufficient for the continent's development in the sector. While some funding exists, it remains limited. In November for instance, Google invested $5.8 million to support AI and cybersecurity training initiatives in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. While the funding is welcome, studies have shown that the funding channeled to African AI development is disproportionate and inadequate for the over 2,400 AI innovations in the continent. In comparison, in the second quarter of 2024, for instance, the continent attracted $4 million as compared to $23.2 billion raised by global AI startups. At the conclusion of the summit, almost all the countries on the continent signed a declaration on artificial intelligence, which aims to leverage AI for innovation; position Africa as a global leader in AI adoption; and foster sustainable and responsible use, design, and development of AI. Among other commitments to improve AI infrastructure, institutional cooperation, marketing, and data cooperation, the declaration also commits that the continent will invest in AI. “A $60 billion Africa AI Fund will be established, leveraging public, private, and philanthropic capital, to create a safe, inclusive, and competitive African AI economy through foundational and catalytic investment,” the declaration stated.