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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Technology

FG, partners unveil platform for African-language AI

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Nigeria and its partners have launched ATLAS Umoja, a pan-African AI platform to develop large language models for African languages and cultures.
  • The initiative aims to address the underrepresentation of African languages in current AI systems, where fewer than two percent are meaningfully supported.
  • ATLAS Umoja, an expansion of Nigeria's N-ATLAS project, seeks to foster continental cooperation among governments, researchers, and companies to create AI solutions by and for Africa.

Nigeria, in collaboration with its partners, has unveiled ATLAS Umoja, a significant pan-African artificial intelligence platform designed to foster the development of large language models (LLMs) that understand the diverse languages, cultures, and knowledge systems of the continent. The initiative, announced in Abuja, represents an expansion of Nigeria's N-ATLAS project, an open-source LLM developed by the AI and robotics company Awarri.

Artificial intelligence represents one of the greatest opportunities for Africa’s transformation. Yet today, fewer than two per cent of Africa’s languages are meaningfully supported by modern AI systems, despite our continent being home to nearly one-third of the world’s languages.

— Bosun TijaniMinister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, explaining the rationale behind the ATLAS Umoja initiative.

The platform's launch coincided with the opening of the seventh Ordinary Session of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the African Telecommunications Union. Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, highlighted the critical need for ATLAS Umoja, stating that fewer than two percent of African languages are meaningfully supported by modern AI systems, despite Africa being home to nearly one-third of the world's languages. He described AI as a major opportunity for Africa's transformation.

Today, I am pleased to announce that, together with partners across Africa, we are taking the next step by expanding this initiative into a continental framework, the ATLAS Network.

— Bosun TijaniMinister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, announcing the expansion of the N-ATLAS project into a continental framework.

ATLAS Umoja is envisioned as a continental framework, expanding Nigeria's initial N-ATLAS project which was launched at the UN General Assembly in 2025. The platform aims to unite governments, researchers, universities, innovators, and technology companies across Africa. Its core ambition is to accelerate the creation of locally relevant LLMs, ensuring that African languages, cultures, and indigenous knowledge are integrated into AI systems that will increasingly influence economies, education, healthcare, public services, and communication. Tijani urged all ATU member states to join the platform, emphasizing Africa's chance to shape the future of AI from its own perspective.

Our ambition is for the ATLAS Network to become a platform that accelerates the development of locally relevant large language models in Africa, by Africa and for Africa.

— Bosun TijaniMinister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, outlining the goals of the ATLAS Network.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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