This week, at the DAMA Technology Park in Bologna, seven partnerships were signed between African innovators in the field of artificial intelligence and Italian and European industrial companies. The signing of the agreements forms part of the AI Hub for Sustainable Development, a project supported by the G7 and part of the Mattei Plan for Africa.
These agreements represent a concrete step towards strengthening cooperation between Africa and Europe in the fields of agriculture, health, language technologies, education and artificial intelligence infrastructure, with the aim of supporting the growth of solutions developed in Africa through quest for excellence, advanced computing capabilities and industrial collaboration.
The formalisation of the partnerships came at the end of two days of meetings and working sessions which brought together African start-ups, businesses, research centres and European institutional stakeholders in Bologna, in a discussion focused on market opportunities and the conditions necessary for the widespread adoption of AI, based on adequate infrastructure, energy sustainability, security and long-term agreements.
The event, entitled “Right-Sizing AI Infrastructure to Scale Innovations for Sustainable Development”, was organised by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, the Bi-Rex Competence Centre, the Metropolitan City and the Municipality of Bologna, CINECA and the AI Hub for Sustainable Development.
Agriculture, health, linguistic AI and education
Among the partnerships signed are the collaboration between DeepLeaf and the Edmund Mach Foundation, aimed at the scientific validation of artificial intelligence models applied to the detection of crop diseases and agricultural monitoring, and the three agreements concluded by IRIS Africa: with the Africa Compute Fund, to expand access to AI infrastructure; with Chestify AI Labs, to support the diffusion of AI solutions for healthcare; and with Crane AI Labs, to strengthen local language technologies, voice applications and more inclusive digital access.
Further agreements concerned the issue of access to devices and education. Twist, a portfolio company of Quadrivio Group’s Industry 4.0 fund, has expressed interest in supporting the deployment of refurbished devices for offline voice AI applications in low-connectivity environments, in conjunction with Crane AI Labs and the Africa Compute Fund. Apodissi/Afrigene and Armstrong EdTech have also formalised a partnership dedicated to AI-enabled education, multilingual learning, and access to STEM subjects, with a focus on African, Arab, and European markets.
The Bologna event also provided an opportunity to discuss the topic of infrastructure for sustainable and responsible artificial intelligence. In addition to commercial partnerships, participants shared a declaration of intent on energy-conscious AI infrastructure, networking Italian institutions and African partners on topics such as energy efficiency of workloads, modular data centre architectures, advanced cooling systems, and data governance in African deployment contexts.
The initiative is part of the broader commitment of the ‘Sistema Italia’, in collaboration with African and international partners, to promote the development of artificial intelligence in Africa based on local skills, access to advanced computing, sustainable infrastructure, and equal partnerships. The results of the Compute & Talent Acceleration Programme, which were included in the Compute Unlocked: Voices from Africa’s AI Infrastructure Frontier brief, also fall in this direction. This brief documents the growth journey of African start-ups and innovators supported through access to computational resources, the cloud, and international collaboration networks.
The action also continues with dedicated programmes. Among these is the Cyber4Africa Programme, which aims to strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities of African start-ups developing AI-based solutions, promoting the adoption of security-by-design principles in the development of innovative technologies. The trilateral Italy-India-Kenya partnership on Voice AI Pathways also fits into this framework, aimed at promoting the diffusion of voice solutions in local languages, even in contexts characterised by limited connectivity.
More information and insights:
Compute Unlocked: Voices from Africa’s AI Infrastructure Frontier | pdf
AI Hub for Sustainable Development
India, Italy, and Kenya Partner to Drive Sovereign AI Adoption Across Africa
