Senegal and Gates Foundation Launch AI Hub to Scale Local Technology

Senegal has launched an artificial intelligence hub with the Gates Foundation to help move locally developed AI technologies from research and pilot projects into practical applications in health, agriculture and education.

The Senegal AI Scaling Hub, based in Dakar, will bring together researchers, startups, businesses and students to develop AI solutions that address local needs. The initiative is intended to strengthen the country’s ability to develop and deploy its own technologies instead of relying mainly on imported systems.

The hub forms part of a wider partnership agreed in September 2025 between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Gates Foundation chair Bill Gates. The partnership is valued at more than US$10 million and includes three areas of cooperation.

Alongside the AI hub, the agreement covers the development of a secure, interoperable digital identity system and the establishment of a delivery unit to monitor priority digital projects across the public sector. The government and foundation have not disclosed a separate budget for the AI hub.

Senegal Pushes to Build Its Own Technology

The initiative supports Senegal’s New Technological Deal, the national digital strategy focused on technological sovereignty, local skills development and expansion of the digital economy.

Its eighth priority programme, Senegal Digital Factory, aims to increase the country’s capacity to develop and produce technology locally.

In October, the government signed a separate US$151 million partnership under the Digital Factory programme with the Global Investment and Business Council for Africa and Blue Cloud Softech. That agreement adds to Senegal’s wider efforts to attract investment and develop its domestic technology sector.

Local AI Research Provides a Starting Point

Senegal already has research capabilities that could support the development of locally relevant AI applications.

In an August submission to the International Telecommunication Union, the country highlighted SENEGAL-AI, a language model architecture developed by the LITA laboratory at Cheikh Anta Diop University’s École Supérieure Polytechnique. The model runs on the CINERI Taouey supercomputer.

However, developing AI applications for wider use will require skilled people, access to usable data and sufficient computing infrastructure.

The new hub is expected to connect research institutions with businesses and entrepreneurs capable of turning technical work into products and services. Its focus on health, agriculture and education gives the initiative three areas in which Senegal wants locally developed AI solutions to reach practical users.