AI./PHOTO ; Pexel
Cassava Technologies (Cassava) and The Rockefeller Foundation have announced a new initiative to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for social impact across Africa.
Cassava, which previously revealed plans to build Africa’s first AI factory powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure, will provide compute capacity to several of The Rockefeller Foundation’s grantees working in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.
The collaboration aims to position Africa to fully participate in the US$1.2 trillion projected global AI economy, while also boosting productivity and innovation at organizations, improving lives and livelihoods across the continent.
“AI presents Africa with one of the best opportunities to drive economic development and access to economic opportunity for the continent’s youth. This requires investment in ensuring that AI developers across Africa have the resources and platforms to create solutions to Africa’s unique challenges,” said Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO of Cassava Technologies.
The AI factory will enable startups, enterprises, public sector organizations, and educational institutions to focus on developing AI applications using local datasets, languages, models, and voices to create inclusive solutions.
Although nearly one in five people worldwide lives in Africa, the continent currently accounts for less than 1% of global data center capacity.
Africa’s AI market, currently estimated at $5.17 billion, is expected to grow exponentially over the next decade, making locally accessible computing capacity essential to realizing the continent’s AI ambitions.
“AI can be transformative in the right hands, contributing to healthier communities, more productive farmers, and better education for children. If we get AI right in Africa, we can help Africans create jobs, advance opportunity, and pursue their dreams,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation.
Through this collaboration, Cassava and The Rockefeller Foundation are ensuring that African-led innovations in agriculture, healthcare, and education have the computing resources needed to improve outcomes.
Initial organizations set to benefit include:
Digital Green, using AI in Ethiopia and Kenya to empower smallholder farmers with localized, real-time agricultural advice that increases productivity, resilience, and growth.
Its AI assistant, Farmer. Chat delivers trusted guidance at nearly 100x lower cost than traditional extension services.
“This new capacity makes it possible to bring climate-smart, real-time advice to millions of farmers, while continuously improving accuracy, safety, and support for Africa’s diverse languages and agricultural ecologies,” said Rikin Gandhi, CEO of Digital Green.
Jacaranda Health, deploying AI-powered tools in Kenya to connect millions of mothers and babies with life-saving care.
Access to advanced compute resources will accelerate the development of culturally-attuned, multilingual AI models, reduce costs, and enable outreach at scale.
“This infrastructure will prevent maternal deaths, empower informed healthcare decisions, and build Africa’s capacity to solve its own health challenges with homegrown AI innovation,” said Cynthia Kahumbura, Co-Executive Director, Jacaranda Health.
Rising Academies, a West African company supporting more than 250,000 students in Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.
Its digital platform, Rori, strengthens literacy and numeracy, reduces teacher grading time by 60%, and enhances student engagement.
“One student in rural Rwanda told us that technology is no longer just for city children, but for those of us in rural areas as well. Our vision is clear: to make effective, inclusive, and locally relevant learning support available to every child, helping them thrive today and shape the future of our country,” said Fidele Hagenimana, Head of Rwanda Programs, Rising Academies.
This year, Cassava launched GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), housed in secure data centers powered by NVIDIA AI infrastructure.
The company is expanding infrastructure across East, West, and North Africa, reinforcing its commitment to responsible AI adoption, innovation, and productivity growth.
“Cassava’s collaborations with key stakeholders are critically important to the development of Africa’s AI ecosystem to ensure that Africans are not just consumers of AI, but builders of it. This partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation highlights Cassava’s intent to lay the foundations for an ecosystem that is inclusive, sustainable, and globally competitive,” concluded Hardy Pemhiwa.
About Cassava Technologies:
Cassava Technologies is a global technology leader of African heritage providing a vertically integrated ecosystem of digital services and infrastructure, enabling digital transformation. Headquartered in the UK, Cassava has a presence across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the United States of America.
About The Rockefeller Foundation:
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish.
Today, it is focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance, including engaging through our public charity, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC).
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