LINGUA Africa opens call for inclusive AI language projects

Microsoft AI for Good Lab, the Gates Foundation, Masakhane African Languages Hub, and Google.org are offering funding, cloud credits, and technical support for projects focused on underrepresented African languages.

LINGUA Africa is accepting applications for projects building language resources, tools, and real-world AI use cases for underrepresented African languages.

Microsoft AI for Good Lab, the Gates Foundation, the Masakhane African Languages Hub, and Google.org have opened applications for LINGUA Africa, a funding and technical support initiative for projects building language resources, models, tools, and real-world AI applications for underrepresented African languages.

Applications are open until June 15, 2026, for nonprofits, universities, research institutes, social enterprises, cultural organizations, startups, and consortia working in the public interest.

Organizations based in Africa and outside Africa can apply, but applicants based elsewhere must show meaningful partnership with Africa-based institutions, communities, or implementers.

Selected projects will be eligible for funding support, Azure compute credits, Google Cloud Platform credits, in-kind technical collaboration from Microsoft AI for Good Lab, and wider collaboration through the LINGUA Africa ecosystem.

The open call is focused on projects that connect open language resources to real-world use cases and community outcomes, including education, healthcare, agriculture and food security, financial inclusion, and government or civic services.

Funding and compute available across three grant categories

LINGUA Africa is accepting proposals across three categories: data creation, model or tool development, and sectoral applications.

Data creation projects can focus on building, curating, documenting, translating, validating, or licensing datasets and language resources. The suggested support for this category is up to $50,000 in cash and up to $50,000 in compute credits.

Model or tool development projects can focus on creating or adapting models, benchmarks, tooling, or technical infrastructure for African languages. The suggested support is up to $100,000 in cash and up to $100,000 in compute credits.

Sectoral applications can focus on deploying or piloting language technologies in real-world settings with a pathway to measurable social or economic impact. The suggested support is up to $250,000 in cash and up to $400,000 in compute credits.

The funding ranges are guidance rather than fixed limits, and exceptional requests may be considered with strong justification.

Open resources tied to real-world use

LINGUA Africa builds on LINGUA Europe, which supported open datasets and evaluation resources for underrepresented European languages.

The Africa-focused version is giving priority to projects with strong community engagement, cross-institutional collaboration, and a credible path to impact. Supported projects will be expected to contribute openly licensed resources, with documentation and governance that allow reuse in research, open models, and practical applications.

Howard Lakougna, Senior Program Officer at the Gates Foundation, says: "LINGUA Africa seeks to encourage bold and innovative thinking by breaking down barriers that have long held back AI progress across the continent—vital access to data, computational power, and technical assistance. With these resources unlocked, I am truly excited to witness the transformative innovations that will emerge from this initiative."

Chenai Chair, Director of Masakhane African Languages Hub, says: "The future of AI must be shaped by the people it serves. This opportunity provides much needed resourcing in the form of funding and compute to enable African led AI solutions with a lasting impact on enabling access to relevant tools for day to day needs."

Education, healthcare, agriculture, and public services in focus

The initiative is designed to address the gap created when African languages are not well represented in datasets, models, and AI tools.

Microsoft AI for Good Lab said thousands of languages across Africa remain underrepresented in modern AI systems, creating barriers to digital access in education, healthcare information, public services, financial inclusion, and other areas increasingly shaped by technology.

Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director, AI for Good Lab, says: "AI only delivers value when people can actually use it, and language is the bridge. For example, in agriculture, farmers increasingly rely on digital advisory services for crop management and market information. If that guidance isn’t available in a language they understand, it fails to translate into action. This applies across sectors, from healthcare to education. LINGUA Africa is an important step toward grounding innovation in real-world impact by supporting community-led efforts and enabling people to act on critical information in their own languages."

The application deadline is June 15, 2026. Selected projects will receive support through a mix of funding, Azure and Google Cloud Platform credits, technical collaboration, and access to the wider LINGUA Africa network.