MTN Group Backs Nigeria’s Drive to Build African Language Datasets for AI Development

MTN Group has pledged its support for Nigeria’s efforts to develop datasets of African languages, a move widely seen as crucial to powering large language models (LLMs) that can serve the continent’s 1.5 billion people.

The announcement came during “The Y’ello Chair Vodcast: Your Link to the African Continent,” where Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, urged stronger collaboration between government, academia, and the private sector to advance research into Africa’s linguistic diversity.

Tijani specifically challenged MTN Group—present in 16 markets, 15 of them in Africa—to mobilize resources for the initiative.

“We like these kinds of partnerships. Challenge accepted,”
— Ralph Mupita, President & CEO, MTN Group

The vodcast, hosted by Angela Wamola of the GSMA mobile industry association, was filmed on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Avoiding a Digital Divide

Mupita emphasized that Africa must avoid becoming a “digital underclass” by ensuring representation in AI development. He noted that technology adoption should enhance human dignity by promoting digital inclusion, economic opportunity, and social equity.

“The outcomes we want are that people are digitally included, economically included and that they have dignity. Poverty can bring indignity, but embracing technology should take that away,” he said.

Industry observers believe MTN’s support could accelerate the creation of homegrown AI solutions tailored to Africa’s realities, positioning the continent as a global contributor in artificial intelligence rather than just a consumer.

Backstory: N-ATLAS Project

The discussion builds on Nigeria’s recent launch of the Nigerian Atlas for Languages & AI at Scale (N-ATLAS), an open-source multilingual LLM developed in partnership with Awarri Technologies.

• N-ATLAS is designed to digitize and preserve Nigeria’s 500+ languages, providing datasets that can drive AI-powered solutions in education, health, commerce, and governance.
• The framework is scalable across Africa, where over 2,000 languages remain underrepresented in global AI models.
• By mapping linguistic diversity, N-ATLAS aims to strengthen Africa’s digital sovereignty and place African voices at the heart of the global AI revolution.

Minister Tijani described N-ATLAS as “more than a language model”, calling it a national commitment to unity, inclusion, and global contribution.