LINGUA Open Call

LINGUA Open Call is a grant from Microsoft AI for Good Lab that funds projects building inclusive AI language resources for underrepresented African languages. Launched in partnership with the Gates Foundation, Google.

org, and the Masakhane African Languages Hub, LINGUA Africa supports data creation (up to $50K cash plus $50K compute credits), model and tool development (up to $100K cash plus $100K compute credits), and real-world sectoral applications (up to $250K cash plus $400K compute credits).

Eligible applicants include nonprofits, universities, research institutes, startups, and cultural organizations globally, provided projects meaningfully partner with Africa-based institutions. The application deadline is June 15, 2026.

LINGUA Africa Open Call for Inclusive AI Language Projects - Microsoft Research Human-computer interaction Human language technologies Data platforms and analytics Programming languages & software engineering Security, privacy & cryptography Medical, health & genomics Technology for emerging markets Events & academic conferences Microsoft Research podcast Microsoft Research newsletter Mixed Reality & AI - Cambridge Mixed Reality & AI - Zurich Empowering inclusive AI through open language resources LINGUA Africa Open Call for Inclusive AI Language Projects Across Africa, thousands of languages remain underrepresented in modern AI systems.

When languages are not well represented in datasets, models, and tools, communities face barriers to accessing education, healthcare information, public services, financial inclusion, and other opportunities increasingly shaped by digital technologies. To help address this gap, Microsoft AI for Good Lab, the Gates Foundation, the Masakhane African Languages Hub, and Google.

org are joining forces to launch LINGUA Africa, an open call designed to strengthen the language foundations needed for inclusive AI in Africa. “LINGUA Africa seeks to encourage bold and innovative thinking by breaking down barriers that have long held back AI progress across the continent—vital access to data, computational power, and technical assistance.

With these resources unlocked, I am truly excited to witness the transformative innovations that will emerge from this initiative. ” — Howard Lakougna, Senior Program Officer, Gates Foundation LINGUA Africa builds on lessons from LINGUA Europe, which supported open datasets and evaluation resources for underrepresented European languages.

For Africa, we are taking that approach a step further by prioritizing projects that connect open language resources to real-world use cases and community outcomes. This is in partnership with Masakhane African Languages hub, who have been stewarding the African NLP ecosystem grounded in community. “The future of AI must be shaped by the people it serves.

This opportunity provides much needed resourcing in the form of funding and compute to enable African led AI solutions with a lasting impact on enabling access to relevant tools for day to day needs.

” — Chenai Chair, Director of Masakhane African Languages Hub Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director, AI for Good Lab, highlighted the importance of language in translating innovation into real-world use: “ AI only delivers value when people can actually use it, and language is the bridge. For example, in agriculture, farmers increasingly rely on digital advisory services for crop management and market information.

If that guidance isn’t available in a language they understand, it fails to translate into action. This applies across sectors, from healthcare to education. LINGUA Africa is an important step toward grounding innovation in real-world impact by supporting community-led efforts and enabling people to act on critical information in their own languages .

” The open call will invite proposals from nonprofits, universities, research institutes, social enterprises, cultural organizations, startups, and consortia working in the public interest. We strongly encourage collaborative proposals that bring together complementary organizations and capabilities, particularly where partnerships can deepen community engagement, cross-domain expertise, and pathways to impact.

Applications are open to organizations both based in Africa and outside Africa, provided they demonstrate meaningful partnership with Africa-based institutions, communities, or implementers where relevant.

Selected projects will be eligible for funding support, Azure compute credits and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) credits, in-kind technical collaboration from Microsoft AI for Good Lab, and additional collaboration opportunities through the broader LINGUA Africa ecosystem.

We welcome proposals focused on the following: Data creation: projects primarily focused on building, curating, documenting, translating, validating, or licensing datasets and language resources. Suggested support: up to $50K in cash and up to $50K in compute credits. Model or tool development: projects primarily focused on creating or adapting models, benchmarks, tooling, or technical infrastructure for African languages.

Suggested support: up to $100K in cash and up to $100K in compute credits. Sectoral applications: projects focused on deploying or piloting language technologies in a real-world setting with a credible pathway to measurable social or economic impact across different sectors. Suggested support: up to $250K in cash and up to $400K in compute credits.

Proposals spanning multiple activities may still apply, but they should be submitted under the category that best reflects the primary objective and main use of requested funds. The ranges above are intended as guidance rather than rigid ceilings; exceptional requests may be considered with strong justification.

Priority will be given to projects that demonstrate strong community engagement, cross-institutional collaborations, and a credible path to impact in areas such as agriculture and food security, education, healthcare and public health, financial inclusion, and government or civic services.

We are especially interested in proposals that show not only what will be built, but who will benefit, how the resources will be used, and why the work matters for speakers of underrepresented African languages. All supported projects will be expected to contribute openly licensed resources, with documentation and governance that enable reuse in research, open models, and practical applications.

Our aim is to help ensure that African languages are not treated as an afterthought in the AI era, but as essential parts of a more inclusive digital future. Application Deadline: 15 June 2026 We are grateful to the researchers, practitioners, community leaders, and partner organizations already helping shape this initiative.

By investing upstream in data, evaluation, and applied language innovation, LINGUA Africa aims to expand data access, strengthen local capacity, and support African languages to drive impact on the ground. Copilot for organizations Explore Microsoft products Microsoft Teams for Education How to buy for your school Educator training and development Deals for students and parents Support for AI marketplace apps