The Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI welcomes 5 new organizations having impact in SSA

Today, Google is announcing the 20 organizations joining the newest Google.org Accelerator: Generative AI cohort, including 5 which have impact across Sub Saharan Africa. These organizations, which will use generative AI to address significant societal problems including crisis response, antimicrobial resistance and children's mental health, were selected through an open call for nonprofits, social enterprises, civic entities and universities. Each one will receive a share of $30 million along with six months of technical training, pro bono support from Google’s AI experts and access to Google Cloud credits.

Google.org launched the Generative AI Accelerator in 2024 to bring the benefits of AI to the social sector by providing nonprofits with funding and technical expertise, and featured organizations with impact in Africa like EIDU, Tabiya and Jacaranda Health. The opportunity is clear: in a recent Google.org survey, nearly two-thirds of nonprofits using AI tools reported feeling more confident in serving their organization’s mission when they use AI, yet only one in five say that at least half their organization uses generative AI. Now, seven months after graduating, members of our first cohort like Tabiya are seeing the benefits. Tabiya has reached more than 8,000 jobseekers in half the time and at a quarter of the cost thanks to Compass: an open-source conversational agent built using Gemini.

Today, we’re excited to announce that 5 of the 20 selected organizations have impact across Sub Saharan Africa:

• [Kenya] Signvrse is creating real-time, offline sign language avatars to overcome communication challenges and interpreter shortages for millions of deaf individuals across Africa.
• [Kenya] Aga Khan University addresses Kenya's severe doctor shortage by providing doctors with real-time, evidence-based clinical guidance in English and Swahili, enhancing diagnostic accuracy, treatment decisions, and adherence to local guidelines.
• [Nigeria & Ethiopia] 3iS is strengthening crisis response capabilities by enabling real-time insights that increase risk management skills, drive anticipatory action, and support efficient resource allocation for hundreds of thousands of people across Nigeria and Ethiopia.
• [Zambia & South Africa] CETA Global, alongside partners in Zambia and South Africa, is addressing critical care shortages by equipping thousands of mental health providers globally with standardized, evidence-based, and cost-effective training through a simulation platform for realistic role-play and personalized feedback.
• [Nigeria] In partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Darsel is improving math learning rates for over 15,000 Grade 9 students in Nigeria through a gen AI-powered tutor that delivered 5M personalized answers to student questions.

Learn about the new cohort at g.co/Accelerator/GenAI, and read more about other Google accelerator programs.