Nigerian Startup Develops AI App To Support Native Tongues

EqualyzAI, a pioneering African-centric AI start-up, has developed an AI app that supports native tongues.

EqualyzAI aimed to build AI solutions that solve real-world problems in emerging markets. By leveraging hyperlocal multimodal datasets, created in collaboration with native language speakers, EqualyzAI is developing localised models for agentic AI innovations.

The company hopes to make AI truly understand African contexts and speak its languages, ensuring AI innovations are accessible, inclusive, and impactful for the communities that need them most. Through its unique approach of collaborating with native language speakers, the company is building agentic AI solutions capable of understanding, processing, and generating responses in many African languages.

Founded by award-winning experts, Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi and Dr. Ife Adebara, EqualyzAI is committed to ensuring African languages, cultures, and contexts remain central to the global AI evolution.

Adekanmbi, at the unveiling event, over the weekend, in Lagos, to commemorate International Mother Language Day, said the company’s mission is to ensure that AI speaks Nigerian local languages, understands contexts in text, speech, images, and videos, and solves Nigerians’ unique challenges.

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“Our mission is to ensure that AI speaks our languages, understands our contexts in text, speeches, images and videos, and solves our unique challenges. This is not just about technology; it’s about empowerment and inclusion. At EqualyzAI, we are bridging this gap by creating AI solutions trained on African realities, ensuring that no one is left behind,” Adekanmbi averred.

Adebara further emphasised the importance of localized AI solutions, stating: “Language is a gateway to knowledge, opportunity, and identity. By building AI that understands and speaks African languages, we are preserving our cultural heritage and creating tools that can transform lives. Africa is home to over 2,000 languages, yet most AI models struggle to understand even a fraction of them. Our goal is to change this by developing AI that speaks and understands Africa’s languages, unlocking new opportunities for education, business, and social impact.”

At the event, EqualyzAI demonstrated its cutting-edge AI solutions designed to address critical challenges in Africa while promoting linguistic diversity. Key innovations include: DataCollect, a platform designed to collect hyperlocal datasets needed to build AI solutions that speak many African languages, ensuring inclusivity and representation; AfroSLM 1.0, a Small Language Model (SLM) optimised to improve financial literacy in Yoruba and Hausa, empowering users with accessible financial education in their native languages and uLearn, an LLM-powered tool for teachers to generate lesson plans, notes, and quizzes in English and local languages, revolutionising education delivery across Africa.

Additionally, EqualyzAI shared its recent white paper, titled “How Small Language Models (SLMs) Are Revolutionizing Localized AI Innovations for Social Good in Africa.” The paper explores the transformative potential of SLMs in addressing Africa’s unique challenges and advancing AI accessibility.

EqualyzAI is not just building AI models—it is fostering a movement to democratize AI and make its possibilities accessible to all Africans. By investing in hyperlocal AI innovations, the company aims to create solutions that empower communities, drive economic growth, and preserve Africa’s linguistic heritage.