Nigeria Leads Continental Drive to Build AI That Understands Africa's Languages

Nigeria is reinforcing its leadership in Africa's digital transformation with the launch of a new initiative aimed at ensuring the continent's languages and cultural heritage are reflected in the future of artificial intelligence.

The Federal Government on Thursday unveiled the ATLAS Network, a continental initiative designed to accelerate the development of locally relevant large language models across Africa. The platform will bring together governments, researchers, universities, innovators, and technology ecosystem partners to build AI systems rooted in Africa's linguistic diversity, cultures, and knowledge.

The initiative was launched by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, during the opening of the 7th Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CPL-26) in Abuja. 

The initiative addresses a major gap in global AI development. Although Africa is home to nearly one-third of the world's languages, fewer than 2% are meaningfully supported by modern artificial intelligence systems.

Building on Nigeria's Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS), the ATLAS Network expands a national programme into a continental collaboration aimed at strengthening Africa's AI capabilities.

Tijani called on African countries to join the initiative, stressing that greater regional cooperation is essential if the continent is to shape its own digital future.

"Africa must arrive prepared, united and credible. We must continue to invest in technical preparation, strengthen regional cooperation and speak with one voice where our interests align.

"Where global digital rules are being shaped, Africa must be ready to participate and help shape outcomes that affect our people, our economies and our future."

Representing Vice President Shettima, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, said Africa's priorities have for too long been underrepresented in global technology policymaking. He reaffirmed Nigeria's commitment to advancing the continent's interests through both the African Telecommunications Union and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

ATU Secretary-General John Omo described the conference as a pivotal moment for Africa's digital future, noting that stronger partnerships and sustained commitment from member states are essential to achieving the Union's mission.

Delegates from across Africa are expected to elect the Union's leadership for the next four-year cycle and adopt key policy and governance decisions that will shape the continent's telecommunications and digital economy.

The launch also builds on Nigeria's earlier AI efforts. In 2025, Tijani unveiled the Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS) during the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 80) in New York, describing it as proof that Africa is not merely catching up in artificial intelligence but is helping shape its future.

N-ATLAS is a multilingual, multimodal, open-source large language model (LLM) designed to map and digitise Nigeria's rich linguistic heritage while creating datasets for inclusive AI solutions.

With the ATLAS Network, Nigeria is extending that vision beyond its borders, helping position Africa to build AI technologies that understand its languages, reflect its cultures, and amplify its voice in the global digital economy.