Photo; pexels-ron-lach-9783353
Africa, Latin America, and other low- and middle-income regions are set to benefit from a new wave of context-specific artificial intelligence solutions through the launch of Wadhwani AI Global, an impact-first organization dedicated to advancing AI for social good.
The organization works with governments, multilaterals, private sectors, and local partners to embed AI into health systems, educational platforms, and agricultural processes, delivering practical improvements in communities that have historically faced limited access to critical services.
The initiative builds on the Wadhwani family’s experience in India, where co-founders Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani committed $25 million to fund AI solutions that have now reached over 150 million people.
Key achievements include an AI-powered oral reading fluency tool that has assessed more than six million children through 11 million assessments in schools across Gujarat and Rajasthan, helping to improve early childhood reading comprehension.
Other solutions include AI-driven tuberculosis screening and clinical decision support systems that empower health workers to conduct hundreds of thousands of consultations daily.
“AI has demonstrated its transformative power in many parts of the world, so our challenge now is ensuring those benefits reach communities where they can change lives most profoundly,” said Romesh and Sunil Wadhwani.
“We’re building an institution that partners with governments and innovators to make AI a tool of genuine opportunity.”
Context-Specific AI for Health, Education, and Agriculture
For Africa, where many countries face shortages of trained medical personnel, gaps in educational access, and agricultural systems vulnerable to climate shocks, Wadhwani AI Global’s approach could be particularly relevant.
The organization emphasizes context-specific AI solutions designed for local realities rather than imported “one-size-fits-all” technologies.
The organization plans to implement its strategy through three core capabilities: advisory services, technology development, and capacity building.
Advisory services aim to guide national AI strategies, aligning them with development priorities such as public health, education, and food security.
Technology development focuses on creating adaptable AI solutions that address specific local challenges, while capacity building seeks to strengthen local institutions and talent to ensure inclusive, sustainable adoption of AI tools.
“The real challenge isn’t just creating AI models – it’s ensuring they address urgent needs in healthcare, early childhood education, food systems, and more, actually reaching the people who need them,” said Nakul Jain, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.
“We’re here to close that gap through advisory expertise, technology innovation, and building ecosystems that last.”
Partnership and Sustainable Impact Across Africa
The leadership team of the expansion will have a strong mix of expertise in AI technology, strategy, and scaling impact-driven solutions.
Wadhwani added that sustainability is a central focus:
“We’re not here to create one-time pilots that fade away. We work with partners to embed AI into real systems and infrastructure people rely on, delivering solutions that endure and grow over time.”
For the global south philanthropists, development organizations, and government agencies, Wadhwani AI Global represents a potential partner in addressing longstanding structural challenges.
Health systems, for instance, can benefit from AI-powered screening and decision-support tools, helping frontline workers reach remote communities and improve diagnostic accuracy.
Similarly, AI solutions in education can enable large-scale assessment and personalized learning interventions, while agriculture-focused AI could enhance crop yields and resource efficiency in regions vulnerable to climate variability.
The launch of Wadhwani AI Global also reflects a broader trend in development philanthropy: placing the Global South at the center of AI for social good.
Rather than being an afterthought in global AI conversations, countries in Africa are increasingly positioned as both beneficiaries and active participants in shaping technology that addresses local challenges.
By combining advisory services, technological innovation, and talent development, the organization seeks to ensure that AI is not just a tool for efficiency but a lever for equitable, scalable social impact.
Wadhwani AI India, which operates under the Lord’s Education and Health Society (LEHS), will continue its operations independently as an autonomous society.
Meanwhile, Wadhwani AI Global will serve as the bridge to expand the family’s AI solutions and expertise to Africa and other regions in need.
As African governments and philanthropic actors continue to explore technology-driven solutions to persistent development challenges, the entry of Wadhwani AI Global presents opportunities for partnership, investment, and knowledge exchange, with the potential to transform health, education, and agriculture outcomes for millions of people.
