Good morning, and welcome to this week’s issue of Africa AI News – Weekly News Digest.
Pretty full news week — with plenty of finance action where startups are getting some new cash, but more importantly we’re seeing AI businesses (or at least businesses burnished with some AI-tude) entering the formal capital markets.
Our lead is Optasia, founded out of Dubai but looking to South Africa’s bourse to list for a public offering valued at $75-million, looking to add another $300-million in private funding. Optasia is not a name familiar to most in the AI space, although it has been around for over ten years, quietly building out its microfinance platform for banks and mobile operators across Africa, with a B2B model that has kept it out the public eye.
With finance and fintech being the epicentre of AI applications, we’re likely to see more of these types of IPOs. Fintech has eclipsed the previous AI-hotness, AI customer service chatbots, now intensely loathed by consumers everywhere. Takealot, take note.
AfricaAINews.com also takes a look at some new AI applications in workplace safety, particularly in mining, construction and manufacturing where actual humans are in close proximity to many large, sharp and heavy things that want to kill them. In this guest article, Gary Ng from viAct looks at automated AI monitoring in the African context.
On with this week’s issue!
/Roger
Funding
Optasia to list on Jo’burg bourse to raise $76M
#SouthAfrica #funding #fintech — Dubai-based Optasia is preparing a Johannesburg Stock Exchange listing and $76 million (R1.3 billion) IPO to scale its AI-led financial inclusion platform, with a further private placement to raise another $300M. The company processes more than 32 million transactions daily and serves millions of underbanked individuals globally through partnerships with financial institutions and mobile operators. (Engineering News)
Arabic AI pioneer Intella lands $12.5m boost
#Egypt #applications #funding — Egyptian AI innovator Intella has raised $12.5 million in Series A funding to expand its Arabic speech solutions. Founded in 2021, the startup’s proprietary models reach 95.73% transcription accuracy, serving finance, telecoms and government clients across MENA. (Tech in Africa)
Hubs, Labs & CoEs
Söderhub and FORAS AI to build Egypt AI Park
#Egypt #innovation #funding — Swedish tech consultnacy firm Söderhub has signed an MoU with FORAS AI to establish an AI Park in Egypt next year. Announced at the Techne Alexandria 2025 Summit, the partnership aims to link startups, academia and investors from Egypt and Sweden. (TechAfrica News)
StarOil Ghana unveils AI Smart Lab and community projects
#Ghana #education #CSR — StarOil Ghana has announced major community development projects, commissioning its first AI Smart Lab in Bleamezado, Volta Region, to train youth in digital and AI technologies, with similar facilities planned across Ghana. (MyJoyOnline)
Education
Google offers free Gemini Pro tools to African students
#Africa #education #applications — Google is providing university students in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe with free 12-month access to its AI Pro Plan, including Gemini 2.5 Pro, NotebookLM, Veo 3 and 2 TB of storage. (Google Blog, Middle East AI News)
UM6P launches Smart Factory Academy in Casablanca
#Morocco #education #Industry40 – Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) has opened the Smart Factory Academy, a permanent training and technology hub backed by Deutsche Messe. The Casablanca-based centre will advance Industry 4.0 skills, promote cross-company learning and support Africa’s industrial transformation. (Morocco World News)
Zambia plans AI-focused polytechnics with AfDB aid
#Zambia #education #funding — Zambia’s Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati has called on the African Development Bank to back the creation of AI-driven polytechnics and the University of Zambia’s Innovation Village. The move aims to expand on the $29.4 million Skills and Training Enhancement Project launched in 2013. (iafrica.com)
Huawei to open R&D centre in Angola by 2027
#Angola #innovation #education — Huawei will establish a research and development centre in Angola by 2027 to promote digital inclusion and advance sectors such as education, health and connectivity. The Chinese telecom firm aims to train 7,000 local talents through university partnerships focusing on AI and emerging technologies, though it has yet to disclose investment details. (Ecofin Agency)
Kenya launches AI training for public servants
#Kenya #education #governance — The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, in partnership with UNDP Kenya, Microsoft and the Kenya School of Government, has opened enrolment for nationwide AI Skilling Training. Conducted at the Africa Centre of (Digital) Competence in Nairobi. (ICT.go.ke)
Egypt expands AI training for women entrepreneurs
#Egypt #education #policy — Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has expanded its Artificial Intelligence for Digital Marketing and E-Commerce program to train women entrepreneurs and students in AI skills. Building on the Qodwa-Tech initiative—which has trained over 32,000 women since 2019—the scheme aims to boost women’s digital participation. (Ecofin Agency)
Applications
Juridia unveils AI tool to simplify Moroccan law
#Morocco #applications #law – Rabat-based startup Juridia has launched an AI-powered platform trained on national legal texts and case law in Morocco. The system provides legal answers, drafts contracts and analyses compliance, offering multilingual support and tiered subscriptions to enhance transparency and accessibility. (We Are Tech Africa)
Egypt issues IoT licences to global automakers
#Egypt #mobility – Egypt’s telecom regulator has licensed seven international automakers to deliver Internet of Things (IoT) services for smart vehicles, including GM’s OnStar, MG, BMW, Volvo, BAIC, Audi, Škoda, Porsche and Skania. Always-on connectivity is precursor to smart and semi-autonomous vehicles. (Tech Africa News)
AI predicts child malnutrition in Kenya six months early
#Kenya #applications #health — Researchers have developed a machine learning model that can forecast acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to six months in advance. Using health ministry data and satellite imagery to track indicators such as crop health and diarrhoea rates, the AI system outperforms existing prediction tools, allowing for earlier interventions and better resource allocation. (The Conversation)
SA tax authority rolls out smarter AI Assistant
#SouthAfrica #applications #tax — The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has launched an upgraded version of its Lwazi AI Assistant, now available on its website and mobile app. The enhanced system delivers round-the-clock tax assistance, including access to statements, assessments, and refund updates, while improving accessibility for visually impaired users. (SARS)
Automated, diligent, smart AI monitoring in workplace safety
#Africa #applications #safety — Countries in Africa are by far the most dangerous for those working in construction, mining and manufacturing, where poor oversight and under-investment in safety systems makes workplaces perilous, reports AI safety firm viAct. 44% of the world’s mining work fatalities are in Africa, compared to next worst 24% in South America. AI can help by giving safety officers more eyes, more often. (AfricaAINews.com)
Data centres
Uganda to host first AI data centre
#Uganda #datacentres– Synectics Technologies and Schneider Electric are building an AI data centre in Uganda, a $1.2 billion project powered by 100 MW of renewables. The three-year Build-Operate-Transfer scheme will train local engineers through an AI Centre of Excellence, aiming to curb reliance on foreign servers. (Nile Post)
Policy
Nigeria urged to lead Africa’s AI democracy defence
#Nigeria #policy #governance — Nigerian presidential adviser Ademola Oshodi warns that artificial intelligence poses a mounting threat to democracy by fuelling disinformation and empowering autocracies. With 18 African elections due between 2025 and 2026, he argues Nigeria should lead an African response, supported by its new National AI Policy Framework on ethical technology use. (Africa-Press)
[ This newsletter was human belted and AI braced ]