New hubs and partnerships launched at G20 summit
The UK has unveiled a package of new initiatives to support safe and inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) development across Africa, as world leaders gathered in Cape Town for the G20 ‘AI for Africa Initiative’.
Announced by the British High Commission in Pretoria and the Consulate-General in Cape Town, the projects aim to accelerate development outcomes, strengthen democratic resilience and ensure that AI technologies are deployed responsibly in African contexts.
Evidence alliance for social impact
At the centre of the announcement is the creation of the AI Evidence Alliance for Social Impact, a £2.75 million programme developed in partnership with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the philanthropic science organisation Community Jameel.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is contributing £1 million, with implementation being led by respected research institutions including the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and IDInsight. Google.org is also investing $7.5 million into related work to ensure rigorous testing of AI applications.
The alliance will fund evaluations to understand which AI tools deliver measurable benefits in real-world settings, while also strengthening local research leadership and technical capacity.
It will provide guidance for policymakers and practitioners on how AI can be used to improve lives, and bring together key stakeholders to set future priorities.
Officials stressed that the goal is to ensure AI investments in low- and middle-income countries are evidence-based, inclusive and aligned with local needs.
New African hub for AI safety
Alongside this initiative, the UK confirmed the launch of a new African Hub for AI Safety, Security and Peace at the University of Cape Town.
Supported through the UK-Canada AI for Development programme, this will be the twelfth global multidisciplinary AI laboratory and the second of its kind in South Africa.
Its mission is to examine the security and governance risks of AI, train African researchers and policymakers to detect and mitigate harms, and ensure that African voices are fully represented in global AI rule-making.
The hub will publish open-access research, develop risk detection tools in African languages and run training for students and officials, making it a cornerstone of the continent’s AI governance ecosystem.
UK and global voices
Speaking in Cape Town, AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said the projects demonstrated the UK’s commitment to making AI safe, inclusive and globally beneficial.
“AI has the power to fuel growth, build trust and transform lives and every country should share in that,” he said. “By working with countries like South Africa, we’re making AI safer, fairer and more inclusive and helping communities shape the future on their terms.”
Maggie Gorman Velez, Vice-President at IDRC, welcomed the UK’s leadership, stressing that contextually grounded research was critical to scaling safe and inclusive AI innovations.
George Richards, Director of Community Jameel, added that the new alliance would generate the evidence needed to identify which AI solutions work effectively and safely, while Alex Diaz of Google noted that testing and evaluation were essential if AI was to reach its potential for social good.
