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The government has announced plans to roll out artificial intelligence (AI) tools designed for major Ghanaian languages as part of efforts to expand access to quality education and digital services.
Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, made the announcement following his participation in the ongoing Generative AI Summit in the United Kingdom, where Ghana engaged global technology partners on the future of education and digital innovation.
According to the minister, the initiative emerged from high-level discussions with officials of Google on leveraging AI to improve learning outcomes in Ghana and across Africa.
“Yesterday, I had a fruitful engagement with the Vice President of Google in the ongoing Generative AI Summit in the United Kingdom, where ideas were shared to improve quality education in Ghana and Africa as a whole,” he stated.
Mr. Iddrisu explained that the collaboration aligns with Google’s broader investment in Africa’s digital ecosystem, aimed at strengthening research, innovation and skills development on the continent.
As part of the partnership, Google is working with the University of Ghana and the GDI Hub to develop speech recognition systems and AI-powered tools tailored to Ghanaian languages. These include Twi, Ewe and Dagbani, with a focus on improving accessibility.
“Google is working closely with the University of Ghana and GDI Hub to advance speech recognition and AI tools for Ghanaian languages, including Twi, Ewe and Dagbani, with a strong focus on non-standard speech to improve accessibility in education and digital services,” the minister said.
He added that government has pushed for the inclusion of Hausa, a language widely spoken across Ghana and West Africa, to broaden regional participation and impact.
“During our engagement, I emphasised the importance of including Hausa, a language spoken widely across Ghana and West Africa,” he explained.
According to him, integrating Hausa into the project will deepen regional inclusion and further strengthen Ghana’s position as an emerging AI innovation hub on the African continent.
Mr. Iddrisu also disclosed that Google has assured government that its education-focused AI tools will be deployed in Ghana at no cost to users.
“I received firm assurance from Google’s Director of Operations for Africa and the Gemini lead that Google’s education tools will be deployed in Ghana on a zero-rated basis,” he said.
The Education Minister concluded that the initiative reflects Ghana’s ambition to take a leading role in Africa’s digital future. “Ghana is not just participating in the AI revolution, we are helping to shape it for Africa,” he added.
