Cassava Technologies and Vambo AI have partnered strategically to develop large language models (LLMs) explicitly tailored to African languages and contexts. This collaboration, formalised on June 13, aims to create AI tools that reflect Africa’s linguistic and cultural diversity, marking a milestone in the continent’s AI ecosystem.
Building Africa’s own AI-language models
The partnership leverages Cassava’s AI Factory, equipped with NVIDIA GPU-based supercomputers, to accelerate the training and deployment of a new generation of African-trained language models called the Jua Series. These open-source models will enable developers, researchers, and businesses to build AI applications that understand and serve African languages and cultural nuances.
Chido Dzinotyiwei, CEO of Vambo AI, highlighted the significance of the collaboration: “This is more than a partnership, it’s a continental milestone. Together with Cassava Technologies, we are setting the standard for what it means to build AI that truly reflects and serves Africa. We’re not just building tools; we’re building the future.”
Ahmed El Beheiry, CEO of Cassava Intelligence, added, “Cassava is pleased to partner with Vambo AI, an African startup making an incredible contribution to the continent’s AI ecosystem. Our advanced compute power and AI capabilities, combined with Vambo AI’s goal of enabling the first Africa-native large language model series, reflect both organisations’ commitment to Africa’s digital advancement.”
The Jua Series will be released under a permissive open-source license, promoting transparency and collaboration within the African AI community. This approach is expected to lower barriers to innovation, especially in underrepresented languages and regions, and empower local developers to create culturally relevant AI solutions.
Driving AI Innovation across African Industries
The new language models have the potential to transform various sectors, including education, healthcare, government, fintech, and the creative industries, by providing AI systems that are contextually aware and linguistically inclusive. By focusing on African data and realities, the partnership addresses concerns that dominant AI models trained on Western data often overlook African languages and cultures.
This initiative follows the momentum from the April 2025 Global AI Summit on Africa, reinforcing a shared vision for a locally driven, globally competitive AI ecosystem. Cassava and Vambo AI’s collaboration reflects a growing consensus that African technologies will play a crucial role in the continent’s digital and economic transformation.
Industry experts believe this partnership could boost Africa’s participation in the global AI economy, support local innovation hubs, and unlock new opportunities for businesses and governments to deploy AI solutions tailored to their unique needs.
Cassava Technologies has been building a full-stack African AI ecosystem, previously partnering with Zindi to deliver AI solutions and GPU-as-a-Service across Africa. This latest collaboration with Vambo AI advances that vision by focusing on the core technology of language models that speak to African languages and contexts.
As the African AI landscape evolves, this partnership will empower developers and institutions to create inclusive and culturally intelligent AI applications that reflect the continent’s diversity and drive innovation on African terms.
