The GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association), with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has announced the first grantees for its Innovation Fund for Impactful AI, signaling a major push to apply Artificial Intelligence to urgent development challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Why it matters
While AI adoption is booming globally, its transformative potential remains largely untapped for the world’s most vulnerable populations. This fund is specifically targeting enterprises that combine AI with mobile technologies to bridge gaps in critical sectors like education, health, and financial access.
The Grantees
The first cohort features four enterprises across Africa and Asia, all focused on making AI accessible via ubiquitous mobile devices, including feature phones.
- Kola Market Inc. (Ghana): Using a mobile-first, AI-driven platform (accessible via WhatsApp, SMS, and voice) to optimize sales and inventory for small businesses (MSMEs) and provide tailored off-balance-sheet financing.
- Metaschool AI (Ghana): An AI-powered learning platform delivering personalized, curriculum-aligned tutoring. It is scaling access via USSD/SMS to serve rural students who only have basic feature phones, helping to close the educational gap.
- Wiseyak (Nepal): Developing a multilingual conversational AI solution with speech-to-text and voice-to-voice capabilities in English, Nepali, and Maithili, aiming to connect low-literacy, non-English/Nepali speakers with essential services (banking, insurance, government).
- WonderTree (Pakistan): Leveraging AI and Augmented Reality (AR) to gamify physical therapy and special education exercises for children with special needs, making specialized care affordable, convenient, and accessible via a mobile application.
Zoom Out
The funding round saw massive interest, underscoring the demand for localized AI solutions:
- 625 applications were received from 40 countries across Africa, the Pacific, South, and Southeast Asia.
- A key trend among the grantees is a deliberate focus on feature phone compatibility and local languages, recognizing that smartphone-only solutions exclude massive segments of the target population.
What’s Next
GSMA will provide the grantees with 18 months of comprehensive support designed to accelerate their growth, including:
- Tailored venture building and hands-on business model guidance.
- Facilitation of strategic partnerships with mobile operators and the public sector.
- Increased visibility and exposure through GSMA’s global events and publications.
The remainder of the funded cohort will be announced in due course.
Learn more about other African tech startups on Labari Insights, our data repository for tech in Africa: insights.techlabari.com
