Meta, in partnership with Data Science Africa, has named five African winners of its 2025 Llama Impact Grant for Startups and Researchers, unveiling the cohort at the United Nations General Assembly’s Unstoppable Africa event in New York. The initiative launched in 2023 provides $20,000 in funding, technical mentorship and access to a network of policymakers and ecosystem partners for each selected project.
This year’s announcement drew particular attention to the growing sophistication of African entrepreneurship in artificial intelligence. From multilingual translation platforms to youth-focused health tools, the five winning teams demonstrate how locally designed technologies are being deployed to address some of the continent’s most pressing challenges.
A continent-wide embrace of AI
Meta said more than 800 applications from over 90 countries were submitted this year, underscoring the surging global appetite for accessible AI tools. Sub-Saharan Africa’s five winners were chosen for their ability to combine technical ingenuity with measurable social impact a sign, according to Meta, of the region’s “vibrant and growing AI ecosystem.”
Sherry Dzinerova, Director of AMET Public Policy, Programs, Campaigns and Product at Meta, commented:
“We received an incredible number of applications this year, reflecting the vibrant and growing AI ecosystem across Africa. These projects exemplify the spirit of innovation and impact that the ‘Llama Impact Grant for Startups and Researchers’ stands for. We are excited to support their journeys and look forward to seeing the positive change they will bring to their communities and beyond.”
Spotlight on winners
Vambo AI (South Africa) – Founded by Chido Dzinotyiwei, Vambo AI is developing the continent’s multilingual AI infrastructure. The platform supports translation, transcription, generation, and search across more than 60 African languages. By treating language as “critical infrastructure,” it aims to expand digital inclusion and fuel innovation at scale.
PropelMapper (South Africa) – Created by Reghardt Adriaan Pretorius and Mark Donne, PropelMapper uses Llama-powered tools to strengthen agricultural advisory services. It generates personalised farmer podcasts, converts debriefs into professional reports and employs satellite imagery to trigger intervention alerts. Its goal is to boost farmer productivity and enhance food security across rural communities.
Radease (Nigeria) – Led by Taiwo Oyewole, co-founder and CEO, Radease equips Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors with WhatsApp-based AI tools that deliver accurate health information to underserved populations. By improving trust and accessibility, the platform is helping address long-standing gaps in community-level healthcare.
TeenApp (Uganda) – Developed at Makerere University’s AI and Data Science Centre by researcher and lecturer Rahman Sanya, TeenApp provides responsible, AI-driven sexual and reproductive health education tailored for young people. By offering reliable, youth-friendly information, it seeks to bridge knowledge gaps and foster healthier communities.
Easy Read Africa (Rwanda) – Founded by Isaac Manzi, Easy Read Africa leverages AI to make complex documents more accessible for people with cognitive and learning difficulties. The solution transforms text into simplified language, visuals and natural voice narration, ensuring critical information from education to public health reaches wider audiences.
Meta’s open-source bet on Africa
Meta emphasised that its Llama family of AI models has been downloaded over one billion times globally, reflecting broad adoption of open-source AI. The most recent version, Llama 3.3, builds on that momentum by offering organisations free access to adapt and extend its capabilities.
For Meta, supporting African-led projects is both a technological bet and a strategic signal. By backing early-stage innovators with modest grants and mentorship, it is betting on the compounding impact of local solutions designed for local realities.
The five winners exemplify how African entrepreneurs are reshaping the narrative of artificial intelligence: not as imported technology, but as homegrown tools for development. Their ventures illustrate that AI, when anchored in local context, can expand opportunity, deepen inclusion and spark entirely new markets.
As African entrepreneurs continue to prove, innovation does not require vast resources; it requires relevance, resilience and the determination to solve problems that others overlook.
