The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $30 million to develop an AI platform in Africa.
The AI platform will equip African researchers and scientists with technological and operational support, helping them turn innovative ideas into scalable health solutions. The announcement by the foundation was made during the annual Grand Challenges meeting in Dakar, Senegal.

The investment is part of a larger call by the Gates Foundation for countries to increase their annual spending on global health and development research by an additional $3 billion to address the funding gaps for neglected diseases. Bill Gates stresses the need for additional R&D funding, stating that new health technologies have the potential to save millions of lives.

The platform will include a data repository as well as technical development and regulatory policy expertise. The foundation hopes that this program will make AI tools more available to African researchers in health and development, thus leading to local innovation and solution implementation.

Why does it matter?

The Gates Foundation has already invested in AI. In August, it granted $5 million towards nearly 50 AI proposals, mostly coming from LMICs. The AI-based tools are designed to operate safely, ethically, and fairly. This new initiative is also an attempt to democratize AI’s benefits, ensuring that they are suitable, affordable, and available to everyone, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).