AfriAILab Showcases Responsible AI Innovation During Ministerial Visit

AfriAILab Showcases Responsible AI Innovation During Ministerial Visit

Published on July 23, 2025

On Monday, 21st July 2025, the African Artificial Intelligence Lab (AfriAI Lab) at the University of Dodoma welcomed Hon. Randeep Sarai, Canada’s Secretary for International Development. The visit highlighted the Lab’s growing role in supporting responsible, locally relevant AI research and innovation in Tanzania and across Anglophone Africa.


Established under the first phase of the AI for Development (AI4D) program as the Anglophone Multidisciplinary Lab, the AfriAI Lab plays a key role in strengthening the continent’s responsible AI ecosystem. It supports innovators and students, provides hands-on training, and contributes to inclusive, rights-based,AI policymaking. The lab also offers a collaborative space for capacity building and exploratory research.

As the use of AI expands across sectors such as health, agriculture, and education, the Lab aims to ensure that its growth is inclusive, rights-based, sustainable, and informed by local needs. Its work helps address key challenges related to infrastructure, technical expertise, and the responsible development and deployment of AI technologies.

The AfriAI Lab is one of the multidisciplinary labs established in Sub-Saharan Africa through the AI4D program, a joint CAD 100M / GBP 60M initiative by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Together, these labs form the largest network of responsible AI researchers and innovators in the Global South. Each lab works to strengthen local capacity, conduct applied research, and contribute to ethical, inclusive AI development.

The full network includes:

  • Ethiopia: Resonance Lab, Addis Ababa University
  • Ghana: Responsible AI Lab II (RAIL), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
  • Kenya: Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence: Multidisciplinary AI Lab, Dedan Kimathi University
  • Mali: RobotsMali AI4D Lab
  • Nigeria: AI for Sustainable Development Goals (AI4SDG) Lab, University of Lagos
  • Rwanda: Transformative AI Research and Innovation (TAIRI) Lab, University of Rwanda
  • Senegal: AI Living Labs, Université Numérique Cheikh Hamidou Kane & Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD)
  • South Africa: AI4D Languages Lab, University of Pretoria
  • Tanzania: African Artificial Intelligence Lab, University of Dodoma
  • Uganda: AI for Development Research Lab, Makerere University

This growing network is part of AI4D’s broader vision: to support the development of AI ecosystems across the Global South that are safe, inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable. From policy development to practical innovations, these labs ensure that AI works for, and is shaped by the people and contexts it aims to serve.

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