Microsoft Research Lab – Africa, Nairobi
Building globally equitable AI models and tools
At Microsoft Research Africa, Nairobi, we are driven by a mission to understand, build, and deploy innovative cloud and AI technologies for Africa and the world. Our work is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach that combines our diverse skill set and practices with community-based, human-centred methods to design AI to make work more seamless and enable people to grow their skills and knowledge. As AI unlocks new possibilities for billions, we are focused on ensuring that the models and tools we build are globally equitable, inclusive, and meaningful for the communities they serve. In doing so, we both advance AI and ensure it can work for everyone, everywhere.
Our Focus Areas
Advancing Robust Multimodal Foundation Models for Africa
Building and evaluating culturally-aware AI models for global deployment
Developing methods for human-centred and LLM-based benchmarking and evaluation
Driving community-led development of AI systems across the African ecosystem
Explore some of our cutting-edge projects
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Project Gecko
A cross-lab initiative building equitable, trusted multilingual Copilots for population-scale use, starting with speech-first agricultural assistants for smallholder farmers in East Africa and South Asia
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African Health Stories
Leveraging generative AI to create interactive visual, oral and text stories to guide people living with Type II Diabetes on lifestyle changes
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Dukawalla
A voice first AI data assistant that enables Small & Medium Businesses (SMBs) to collate their business information, and glean rich insights