Morocco launches AI & digital college; Cerebrium's $8.5M raise
Africa AI News weekly digest...
Good morning, and welcome to this week’s issue of Africa AI News – Weekly News Digest.
Morocco has developed a sense of urgency around driving it’s tech-forward programmes ahead of the 2030 Football World Cup, which is co-hosted by Span, Portugal and Morocco.
This is a good plan, as World Cup events attract a vast amount of attention to host nations, which then use it as a springboard to drive investment and interest in their economies. With only five short years to go, Morocco is racing to have something globally relevant in the high tech and AI space.
There’s also some movement in startup funding, with money now moving into small pioneering tech firms that have a good story to tell.
On with this week’s issue!
/Roger
Education
Morocco launches AI & digital tech school
#Morocco #education — Morocco will open a new engineering school dedicated to AI and digital transformation as part of its Digital Morocco 2030 strategy. The goal: train 100,000 youths annually and boost digital sovereignty, innovation, and job creation in public services, health, industry, and beyond. (Ecofin Agency)
Kenyan AI hackathon draws 50 students to compete
#Africa #education — Fifty university students from across Africa joined the Africa AI Literacy Week Hackathon, building AI solutions for agriculture, fintech, healthcare and more. Sponsored by Huawei, Kenya’s Qhala and the Konza Technopolis incubator, the winning team created a platform to predict crop prices, aiming to stabilise markets and boost smallholder profits. (Africa Press)
NerdzFactory, DeepMind & Raspberry Pi bring AI to Nigerian students
#Nigeria #education — NerdzFactory has partnered with Google DeepMind and the Raspberry Pi Foundation to launch the Experience AI programme in Nigeria. It aims to train 3,150 teachers across five states and reach 157,000 students by 2026, delivering practical AI education aligned with UNESCO frameworks. (Techpoint Africa)
Ethiopian youth compete in global AI robotics contest
#Ethiopia #education — Six young Ethiopians represented their country at the World AI Robotics Competition in Geneva this week, part of the ITU’s AI for Good Summit, showcasing innovative AI and robotics solutions. They were selected in a process run by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the Seattle Academy. (AI for Good)
Funding
Cerebrium raises $8.5 million to scale serverless AI platform
#SouthAfrica #startup #funding — Cape Town AI infrastructure startup Cerebrium has secured $8.5 million in seed funding led by Gradient, Google’s AI venture fund. The platform enables high-performance, real-time AI apps like LLM fine-tuning and video models, and will now expand to meet surging enterprise demand. (Zawya)
Beltone Holding launches AI subsidiary Robin
#Egypt #finance — Beltone Holding has launched Robin, a new AI and data science subsidiary. Robin will deliver analytics, enterprise advisory, and executive upskilling, supporting Beltone’s ambition to lead AI innovation across Egypt and the MENA region. (Middle East AI News)
MindHYVE.ai expands its agentic AI across East Africa
#EastAfrica #infrastructure – MindHYVE.ai has signed a partnership at the AI for Good Global Summit to deploy Agentic AI across seven new countries, adding Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Burundi, DRC and Somalia, the eleventh in Africa. A California-based startup claims it has Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) cracked amongst many bold claims. (Newswire)
Orange Tunisia powers African tech with 7th startup cohort
#Tunisia #startups — Orange Tunisie’s Orange Fab acceleration program supports Tunisia’s tech ecosystem, onboarding five startups in its seventh cohort. With 40 startups accelerated and 68 commercial contracts secured, the program fosters growth in AI, HR tech, ad tech and data analytics. (Silicon Africa)
R&D
Ethiopia boosts AI institute budget by 42%
#Ethiopia #government – Ethiopia’s federal budget allocates 1.13 billion Birr ($15M) to the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, a 42% increase from last year. The boost reflects growing government commitment to advancing AI research and development nationally. (Shega - paywall)
Data Centres
Morocco to build 500MW green data centre in Dakhla
#Morocco #datacentres – Morocco will build a 500 megawatt data centre in Dakhla, Western Sahara, powered by renewable energy. The facility will support data sovereignty and is part of Morocco’s ongoing $1.22 billion digital modernisation strategy. (Reuters)
Applications
Siza AI launches Africa’s first email-based chatbot platform
#SouthAfrica #startup #LLMs — Durban-based developer Jeeten Bhoora has launched Siza AI, Africa’s first AI platform operated entirely via email (siza.email). Supporting local languages and requiring no apps or high-speed Internet, Siza offers free educational help and paid expert services, with partnerships forming to promote AI literacy in schools. (iAfrica)
‘Sam’ AI assistant launches for South African business travellers
#SouthAfrica #applications #travel — FCM Travel (Flight Center) has launched ‘Sam’, an AI assistant for business travellers in South Africa, offering real-time flight updates, policy compliance and personalised travel support across multiple platforms. It aims to reduce admin burdens and enhance agility for corporate travel management. (Hospitality Marketplace)
Mozambique to reform tax system, introduce AI tools
#Mozambique #fintech – Mozambique’s new fiscal plan aims to boost tax revenue to 25.7% of GDP by 2028 by cutting ineffective tax exemptions, taxing the informal economy, and deploying AI to improve tax administration, digital payments, and forensic audits. (Club of Mozambique)
Policy
Morocco targets AI leadership ahead of 2030 World Cup
#Morocco #digital – Morocco aims to become Africa’s AI leader by 2030, leveraging 23 data centres and a MAD 11-billion ($1.2M) Digital Morocco 2030 initiative. The plan includes infrastructure modernisation and talent development, supported by universities like Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. (Hespress)
UNDP partners with Ethiopia to boost AI innovation
#Ethiopia #development – The UNDP has joined the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute to accelerate AI solutions in agriculture, healthcare, and public services. The partnership includes establishing an AI innovation hub at EAII’s Startup Center to foster local capacity. (Tech Review Africa)
Morocco Signs MOU with international ethics NGO Current AI
#Morocco #AIethics — Morocco has joined Current AI as a founding member through a new MOU signed at its National AI Summit. Backed by international partners and $400M in funding, the initiative promotes open, ethical AI. (Morocco World News)
African MPs tackle AI, data at Lusaka summit
#Zambia #policy — Lawmakers from across Africa have convened in Lusaka for the first Africa Digital Parliamentary Summit. The three-day event focuses on AI, data governance, and digital health, featuring training for MPs and reviews of new GSMA-backed reports on digital health and smart manufacturing. (Independent News)
The AI Collective Launches First African Chapter in Ghana
#Ghana #education — Global grassroots group The AI Collective has launched its first African chapter in Ghana, aiming to democratise AI access and promote responsible innovation. The chapter’s inaugural event gathered 60+ public sector leaders to explore AI’s potential in governance and service delivery. (TechFocus24)
UNESCO assesses Tanzania’s AI readiness
#Tanzania #policy – UNESCO’s comprehensive AI Readiness Assessment, supported by Tanzania’s government and AI experts, evaluates the nation’s preparedness for AI adoption. The report, based on data from over 240 stakeholders across multiple regions, highlights opportunities and challenges to guide Tanzania’s AI strategy and capacity building. (UN Tanzania)
Kenya promotes ethical AI for inclusive payments
#Kenya #policy #fintech – Kenya’s government, through its National AI Strategy, is driving ethical AI adoption in payment systems to enhance service access for underserved populations. Officials highlight inclusive platforms like e-Citizen and plans to support digital inclusion via low-cost smartphones for rural users. (MyGov Kenya)
Morocco uses AI to boost workforce and SME growth
#Morocco #policy #economy — Morocco’s ministries have partnered to deploy AI-driven solutions for job integration, market analytics, and MSME support. The initiative aims to enhance employment access and digital resilience, advancing the country’s inclusive economic transformation strategy. (Tech Africa News)
Morocco steps up ethical AI development
#Morocco #governance – Morocco is advancing its national AI strategy with new agreements focused on education, digital sovereignty, and responsible AI. A central initiative sees the Ministry of Digital Transition partnering with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University to build local capacity and ethical AI governance. (Morocco World News)
[ This newsletter was human researched and AI summarised]