Microsoft.com has launched the LINGUA Africa Open Call, a new initiative aimed at strengthening the development of inclusive artificial intelligence solutions for African languages and underserved communities across the continent.
The programme, unveiled in partnership with the Gates Foundation, Masakhane African Languages Hub, and Google.org, seeks to close the widening AI language gap that continues to exclude thousands of African languages from modern digital systems.
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According to Microsoft, many African languages remain significantly underrepresented in AI datasets, models, and tools, limiting access to digital services in areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, and government services.
The company said the initiative is designed to support the creation of open language resources, AI models, translation tools, datasets, and sector-focused applications that can help communities interact with technology in their native languages.
Howard Lakougna, senior program officer at the Gates Foundation, said the initiative aims to remove barriers that have historically slowed AI innovation across Africa.
“LINGUA Africa seeks to encourage bold and innovative thinking by breaking down barriers that have long held back AI progress across the continent,” Lakougna stated.
The open call is inviting proposals from universities, nonprofits, startups, research institutes, cultural organisations, social enterprises, and collaborative consortia working in the public interest. Organisations outside Africa may also apply, provided they demonstrate meaningful partnerships with African institutions or communities.
Selected projects will receive funding support, Azure and Google Cloud compute credits, as well as technical collaboration opportunities from Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab and other ecosystem partners.
Microsoft outlined three key categories for support under the initiative:
· Data creation projects focused on building, documenting, validating, or translating African language datasets and resources;
· Model and tool development initiatives for AI models, benchmarks, and infrastructure;
· Sectoral applications deploying AI language technologies in real-world settings such as healthcare, education, agriculture, financial inclusion, and public services.
Funding support could range from up to $50,000 for data-focused projects to as much as $450,000 in cash for high-impact sectoral applications, alongside additional compute credits totally $1,050,000.
The initiative builds on Microsoft’s broader work around low-resource languages and follows the earlier LINGUA Europe programme, which supported AI resources for underrepresented European languages.
Africa is home to more than 2,000 languages, yet only a small fraction are represented in major AI systems and large language models.
Researchers have repeatedly warned that the lack of African language representation in AI could deepen digital inequality and limit participation in the emerging AI economy.
Recent research efforts across the continent have highlighted the growing need for African-led AI infrastructure and datasets.
In Nigeria, researchers continue to push for broader representation of minority languages beyond Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Nigerian Pidgin, which currently dominate most local AI language research.
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Microsoft said all supported projects under LINGUA Africa will be expected to contribute openly licensed resources that can be reused in research, open-source models, and practical applications.
Applications for the programme will close on June 15, 2026.
Interested applicants can access more information through Microsoft’s official website
