The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the GSMA have announced a strategic partnership to strengthen Africa’s artificial intelligence ecosystem and accelerate the development and deployment of African-led AI solutions, including AI in African languages.
The partnership combines the GSMA’s mobile industry expertise and networks with UNDP’s development programmes and innovation platforms to connect African talent with opportunities to build solutions addressing local priorities.
Through the UNDP timbuktoo initiative, the organisations will work to improve access to compute infrastructure for priority AI pilots, connect innovators with real-world applications and support the deployment of locally developed AI solutions.
The collaboration also builds on the GSMA’s ATLAS Umoja AI initiative, launched in July 2026, which brings together language data and expertise from across Africa to support AI services that reflect local needs and help address language barriers to digital inclusion.
The partnership will mobilise talent across universities, AI Labs, University Innovation Pods and other ecosystem partners, supporting the development, deployment and scaling of AI solutions across Africa.
