Imagine a future where Africa's brightest minds aren't just dreaming about AI—they're building it right on their own soil, closing the massive gap that's left the continent playing catch-up in a tech revolution worth trillions. That's the bold promise behind a groundbreaking partnership between Cassava Technologies and The Rockefeller Foundation, set to supercharge AI access for nonprofits across Africa.
From Cape Town, South Africa, on November 18, 2025, comes this exciting news: Cassava Technologies—often just called Cassava—and The Rockefeller Foundation are teaming up to unlock AI's game-changing power for positive impact throughout Africa. If you're new to this, think of AI as smart computer systems that can learn, analyze data, and make decisions, much like a super-efficient assistant tailored to solve real-world problems. Cassava, fresh off announcing Africa's very first AI factory fueled by cutting-edge NVIDIA tech, is now opening up its computing power to a select group of Rockefeller grantees. These organizations are making waves in countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe.
This move isn't just about tech—it's about propelling Africa into the heart of the booming $1.2 trillion AI economy, as highlighted in recent UN Economic Commission for Africa insights (check out their story here: https://www.uneca.org/stories/%E2%80%9Cafrica-must-drive-its-own-destiny-in-a-fast-changing-world%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%93-claver-gatete). By doing so, the partnership will ramp up efficiency and spark fresh ideas in African groups dedicated to enhancing daily lives and economic opportunities continent-wide. For context, computing power, or 'compute capacity,' refers to the raw processing muscle needed to train and run AI models—think of it as the engine that powers self-driving cars or voice assistants, but here it's geared toward African-specific solutions.
'AI offers Africa a golden chance to fuel economic growth and open doors for young people seeking better prospects,' shares Hardy Pemhiwa, President and Group CEO of Cassava Technologies. 'To seize this, we must pour resources into equipping AI creators across the continent with the tools and platforms to tackle our distinct challenges. Our NVIDIA-powered AI factory will empower startups, businesses, government bodies, and schools to craft AI tools using homegrown data, languages, models, and even voices—fostering solutions that truly include everyone. We're thrilled to join forces with the Rockefeller Foundation to deliver on-the-ground computing resources to nurture Africa's vibrant AI community.'
And this is the part most people miss: Despite Africa hosting nearly 20% of the world's population, it controls less than 1% of the planet's data centers (source: https://www.datacentermap.com/africa/). That's a stark imbalance, especially as Africa's AI sector—valued at around $5.17 billion today—is poised for explosive growth in the coming years. Without local computing resources, ambitious AI projects could stall, forcing reliance on distant, expensive overseas servers. But here's where it gets controversial: Some critics argue that funneling tech investments like this might overlook grassroots needs in favor of flashy infrastructure—do you think local compute is the real key, or should priorities shift elsewhere?
Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, echoes this enthusiasm: 'In capable hands, AI can revolutionize communities by promoting better health, smarter farming, and superior education for kids. If Africa nails AI implementation, it could generate jobs, expand opportunities, and let people chase their aspirations. Teaming up with Cassava aligns with our core principle that cutting-edge science and tech should benefit all humanity, not merely the privileged. This means equipping African trailblazers with essential tools to mold the continent's tomorrow.'
Through this alliance, Cassava and The Rockefeller Foundation are guaranteeing that African-driven breakthroughs in farming, medical care, and schooling get the AI boost they need to deliver real results. To give you a clearer picture, let's dive into some of the initial beneficiaries and how this computing access will transform their work, with everyday examples to illustrate the impact.
First up is Digital Green, an innovative outfit using AI in Ethiopia and Kenya to guide small-scale farmers toward smarter practices. Their tool, Farmer.Chat, acts like a pocket advisor, offering timely, region-specific tips on crops and weather—imagine getting instant advice on pest control via your phone, without waiting for an expert to visit your remote field.
'Farmer.Chat, Digital Green’s AI assistant, is reimagining how smallholder farmers access knowledge — delivering trusted, localized guidance at nearly 100x lower cost than traditional extension. With GPUs now available on the African continent, we can unlock breakthroughs in speech-to-text, local language translation, image recognition, and retrieval-augmented generation — dramatically reducing costs and expanding reach. This new capacity makes it possible to bring climate-smart, real-time advice to millions of farmers, while continuously improving accuracy, safety, and support for Africa’s diverse languages and agricultural ecologies. Our vision is simple but bold: to put the power of AI directly in the hands of every farmer, helping them grow more resilient, prosperous, and connected to the future.' — Rikin Gandhi, CEO, Digital Green
Next, Jacaranda Health is revolutionizing maternal and child care in Kenya by integrating tech to elevate service quality. Picture AI chatbots that provide pregnancy tips in Swahili or Kikuyu, alerting moms to warning signs before it's too late—potentially saving lives in areas with limited doctors.
'Jacaranda Health is deploying AI-powered tools that connect millions of mothers and babies with life-saving care in real-time. Access to advanced compute resources on the continent will accelerate our development of culturally-attuned, multilingual AI models while slashing costs — enabling us to reach millions of women with critical health information in their native languages. This infrastructure will prevent maternal deaths, empower informed healthcare decisions, and build Africa’s capacity to solve its own health challenges with homegrown AI innovation.' — Cynthia Kahumbura, Co-Executive Director, Jacaranda Health.
Then there's Rising Academies, a forward-thinking enterprise in West Africa enhancing education for over 250,000 students in Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. Their AI tools, like adaptive learning apps, personalize lessons—think of a math tutor that adjusts difficulty on the fly, making school fun even in under-resourced villages.
'In just one academic year, we’ve seen how AI can reshape learning in Rwanda’s classrooms. More than 13,000 students gained access to structured literacy and numeracy content, teachers cut grading time by 60% through LearnLens, and 85% of learners told us they enjoy using Rori to strengthen their math skills. One student in rural Rwanda told us that technology is no longer just for city children, but for those of us in rural areas as well. Our vision is clear: to make effective, inclusive, and locally relevant learning support available to every child — helping them thrive today and shape the future of our country.' — Fidele Hagenimana, Head of Rwanda Programs, Rising Academies.
This year alone, Cassava rolled out its GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) offering—for beginners, GPUs are specialized chips that handle the heavy lifting for AI tasks, like graphics cards on steroids—and it's all secured in their state-of-the-art data centers, backed by NVIDIA's robust AI setup. They're expanding these facilities across East, West, and North Africa, underscoring their dedication to ethical AI rollout, creative advancements, and boosting overall productivity on the continent. This particular partnership spotlights Cassava's drive to make GPUaaS available to social impact groups everywhere.
'Cassava’s collaborations with key stakeholders are critically important to the development of Africa’s AI ecosystem to ensure that Africans are not just consumers of AI, but builders of it. This partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation highlights Cassava’s intent to lay the foundations for an ecosystem that is inclusive, sustainable, and globally competitive,' concluded Hardy.
But let's stir the pot a bit: While this initiative sounds empowering, could it inadvertently widen divides if only select NGOs benefit first? Or is targeted support the smartest way to scale up? What are your thoughts—share in the comments if you agree this could redefine Africa's tech story, or if you see potential pitfalls.
About Cassava Technologies
Cassava Technologies stands as a trailblazing global tech powerhouse with deep African roots, delivering a seamless, end-to-end suite of digital solutions and infrastructure to drive widespread digital evolution. Based in the UK, the company operates extensively in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the US. Via its key divisions—Cassava AI, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Liquid C2, Africa Data Centres, and Sasai Fintech—it serves customers in 94 nations with innovative products and services. All this fuels their goal to emerge as a top-tier worldwide tech firm proudly shaped by African heritage. Learn more at https://www.cassavatechnologies.com/ (https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cassavatechnologies.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7CAngela.Chandy%40liquid.tech%7C9fd845abb6b940a00c0a08dcb2f33475%7C687926120f0e46cbb16afcb82fd80cb1%7C0%7C0%7C638582004838141411%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=GL0hzovjZaOzY6kWdiMTIPG5Rc1lDbxw7Cmmc3dohS8%3D&reserved=0).
About The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation pioneers philanthropic efforts through dynamic collaborations at the cutting edge of science, technology, and ingenuity, helping people, families, and communities to prosper. We take bold risks to elevate human welfare. Our current focus? Championing human potential and combating the climate emergency by overhauling systems in agriculture, healthcare, energy, and finance—including our public charity arm, RF Catalytic Capital (RFCC). Stay in the loop by subscribing to our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe (https://rockefellerfoundation.us8.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=13b1929f69c721ee55b181c3e&id=6138ee88b7), and connect with us on X @RockefellerFdn (https://twitter.com/RockefellerFdn?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) or LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rockefeller-foundation).
