17/05/2026
: From AI consumers to AI creators!
__ The AI Skills & Compute Africa [AISCA] Foundation launches in Kigali
Cassava’s first “AI Factory”, and the first in Africa, is now fully operational, and we have already begun to sell to some of the largest organisations on the African continent, including mobile operators, large banks, and even governments.
It should be a very proud moment for me, but I have felt something very important was missing:
# "How can we also help those who don’t have skills in AI but want to learn?"
# "How can we help startups enter this space which is so important for the future of Africa?"
# "How can we help African universities train computer and engineering students to specialise in AI and also develop solutions for Africa using AI?”
# "How can we support Africa's innovators to enter this space to ensure we are truly participating in the AI revolution?"
Compute is the foundation of Africa’s digital sovereignty; this infrastructure enables African AI researchers and innovators to train models on African data, in African languages, and under African law.
This led me to help launch the AISCA Foundation, which I hope other philanthropists and partners will support. You can visit its website and learn about it yourself: https://aiscafrica.org
AISCA's seeks to address the existing gaps across 4 pillars:
# Compute: Sovereign compute on African soil through strategic partnership with Cassava Technologies, AISCA's founding technology partner.
# Curated data: African datasets in African languages and in key sectors including agriculture, health, finance, education, and the creative economy.
# Capacity: Tiered AI skills pathways designed to enable 1 million youth to enter real, dignified work.
# Community: Universities, ventures, and partners convening to anchor African talent within AISCA Houses and Studios.
What does this mean for Africa's youth?
African AI and can apply to AISCA for grants to access Cassava's supercomputers, provided they submit substantive proposals outlining their intended work.
Instead of being given money, the selected grantees will be awarded access to “AI Tokens” to run their workloads.
__There needs to be a clear downstream impact so AI truly becomes an inclusive tool.
This is not just theory; AISCA has already shortlisted an inaugural cohort of 10 grantees [researchers/innovators]!
This is one way we are working to strengthen the AI ecosystem in Africa for you as African entrepreneurs, innovators, researchers, and all eligible African who need access to infrastructure.
To be or only consumers? That is the question. You know my answer. Africa now has access to the tools it needs to write its own AI future.
Image caption: AISCA launch. Kigali, Rwanda, 14 May 2026.
