Vambo AI retweeted
Most African LLMs are Western models with a sprinkle of Swahili.
Vambo AI just released MORENA: a 1.5B model trained from scratch for 12 African languages. Not a fine-tune. Open weights. Commercial use allowed.
It beats models from Google, Meta, Alibaba and Hugging Face on African language modelling and translation while being up to 8× smaller.
Training compute: about $40k of GPUs.
Shona, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Kinyarwanda, Setswana, Afrikaans, isiNdebele, Nigerian Pidgin.
This is the part people keep saying Africa “can’t do.”
Weights: huggingface.co/collections/v…
Announced by @thisisisheanesu
/ @VamboAI
$40,000 worth of GPUs
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗔: the largest African language model ever trained from scratch, at 1.5 billion parameters. Not a fine tune, this was trained from the ground up for Africa. 🌍
Trained on 12 African languages, it beats models from Google, Meta, Alibaba and HuggingFace on African language modelling and translation while being up to 8x smaller.
𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗔 doesn't belong to us. The weights are open and free to use commercially, so researchers can build on a base that doesn't treat African languages as an afterthought.
Weights in the comments.
Thanks to @UNDP, @AIHub4SD and CINECA for the GPUs and the support. None of this happens without them.
Vambo AI retweeted
@VamboAI got in!🌟
The amount of hard work and sacrifice that has happened between this picture from 2023 and this @GoogleStartups milestone deserves its own book.
Here’s to getting in! And after the 5th attempt because we keep trying until it works out🔥
I am so grateful.
Vambo AI retweeted
Here are some more innovators shaping Africa’s AI future at #AfricaAIVillage Expo – India AI Impact Summit.
From Nigeria
1. Udu Technologies – A trusted AI partner helping governments and enterprises turn their AI ambitions into reality.
2. mDoc – A digital healthcare pioneer connecting patients and providers through remote care and monitoring solutions.
3. @equalyz_ai – Democratizing AI for Africa’s diverse language communities by building inclusive AI tools tailored to local contexts.
From South Africa
1. @OptimusRobotics – Building next-generation robotics solutions powered by advanced AI technologies.
2. UmkhoAI AI – Driving African self-reliance through AI solutions that empower governments to better serve their people.
3. @VamboAI | Multilingual Intelligence – Enabling users to access powerful AI tools in their native African languages.
From Zimbabwe
1. Justtrade365 – An AI-powered platform simplifying trade by connecting businesses to market insights, compliance support, logistics, and finance solutions.
From Zambia
1. @agripredict – Using satellite data and AI to give farmers real-time advice on weather, soil, crops, and market prices — accessible even on basic mobile phones.
From healthcare to agriculture, robotics to trade, African innovators are building AI solutions designed for real-world impact across the continent.
#AIVillageInIndia #IndiaAIImpactSummit #SouthSouthCooperation #AIinAfrica #GlobalMajority #ResponsibleAI #DigitalInfrastructure
Vambo AI retweeted
A heartfelt thank you to our partners and sponsors for making #DEAL2026 possible! Your support drove our success. We look forward to future collaborations! Cheers! @USEmbZim, @techsolutely, @VamboAI, @HarareInstitute #CAI
#datawired #DEAL2026 #ThankYou #Partnership #Community
Vambo AI retweeted
400+ downloads in 48 hours 🎉
Fikira Dataset by @VamboAI is reaching researchers and developers building African language AI.
For those just hearing about it:
→ Reasoning data for 10 African languages
→ 50,000+ examples
→ Open source, free to use
🔗huggingface.co/datasets/vamb…
We are releasing something important with full transparency 🧵
Fikira Dataset by @VamboAI : a synthetic reasoning dataset for 10 African languages.
Version 1.0 is available now:
🔗 huggingface.co/datasets/vamb…
Here is why we are doing this and what we need from you:
Vambo AI retweeted
400 downloads in two days 🎉
The research community has spoken, I'm working on 2.0 and hope to get more languages, more examples, and human validators.
Feedback is always appreciated 🤠
We are releasing something important with full transparency 🧵
Fikira Dataset by @VamboAI : a synthetic reasoning dataset for 10 African languages.
Version 1.0 is available now:
🔗 huggingface.co/datasets/vamb…
Here is why we are doing this and what we need from you:
Vambo AI retweeted
Congrats. This is what Africa needs.
At @VamboAI we believe that AI should think in every language!
Fikira dataset is live in 10 languages 🚀
Amharic • ChiShona • Hausa • Igbo • Kinyarwanda • IsiXhosa • IsiZulu • Kiswahili • Tunisian Arabic • Yorùbá
Fikira is open source, available now and built to grow with the community.
This is how we build inclusion 🌍
🔗huggingface.co/datasets/vamb…
Vambo AI retweeted
In half a day a lot of researchers have already downloaded this.
If you need any resources that we can provide, they're all yours.
If you need any resources that we can't provide, I'll call, email and text everyone I know.
Listen...
African AI will only ever be built in Africa, let's do the work 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
We are releasing something important with full transparency 🧵
Fikira Dataset by @VamboAI : a synthetic reasoning dataset for 10 African languages.
Version 1.0 is available now:
🔗 huggingface.co/datasets/vamb…
Here is why we are doing this and what we need from you:
Vambo AI retweeted
"The Generative #AI revolution is happening and we have the opportunity to shape it from the ground up building tools that speak our languages and serve our communities"- Chido Dzinotyiwei Founder and CEO of @VamboAI #IdeasFestival2025
"Africa missed out on the Industrial Revolution and joined the Internet Revolution late — but with AI, we have the chance to lead this time." — Chido Dzinotyiwei, Founder and CEO of @VamboAI #IdeasFestival2025 #IF2025
Vambo AI retweeted
“The future of Al in Africa is not about replacing humans, it is about revealing our humanity in every language. We are the generation that will teach machines to understand our realities and to enable us to build and gain from the Fourth Industrial Revolution,”- Chido Dzinotyiwei @VamboAI Founder and CEO
Vambo AI retweeted
Vambo AI Leads South African Recognition in Meta’s Llama Impact Grant Awards southernafricantimes.com/vam…
Vambo AI retweeted
We are so grateful to @Meta @dsn_ai_network for this award!
Team @VamboAI is elated!
As a founder in a pioneer industry, you never stop fundraising and I’ll share more on this one day.
But to add such great organisations to our list of backers is a dream! 🌟
Thank you 🙏
META FUNDS SA START-UPS WITH R346,000
Meta has awarded its Llama Impact Grant to two South African startups, Vambo AI and PropelMapper, recognising their potential to drive inclusive innovation.
Each received R346,000, along with mentorship and networking opportunities.
Vambo AI is building multilingual tools to support over 60 African languages, while PropelMapper is using AI to boost agricultural productivity through podcasts, reports, and satellite alerts.
Meta says the winners reflect Africa’s vibrant tech landscape and the role of AI in addressing community challenges.
Full story - shorturl.at/66B1y
Pictured - Chido Dzinotyiwei, co-founder of Vambo AI
Vambo AI retweeted
-@Meta, in partnership with @dsn_ai_network today announced the winners of the Llama Impact Grant.
@VamboAI, @PropelMapper, @radeaseglobal, TeenApp and Easy Read Africa will each receive $20,000 in funding alongside mentorship.
technext24.com/2025/09/23/me…
Vambo AI retweeted
✨ Meet our speaker: Chido Dzinotyiwei , Founder & CEO of @VamboAI !
She’s bringing fresh insights on “The Future of AI in Africa: Bridging the Language Gap.”
📍 Troutbeck Resort, Nyanga
🗓️ 28–31 October 2025
🚀 Register here - forms.gle/xJtVr4Hsd3ZgMXbv5
#IdeasFestival2025 #IF2025
Vambo AI retweeted
Cassava’s been busy
They’ve teamed up with Vambo AI to build open-source African language models, think of them as homegrown ChatGPTs trained on our languages.
Let's explore whether we should be excited: techzim.co.zw/2025/06/cassav…
Vambo AI retweeted
Two years ago, one of the greatest entrepreneurs I've ever met literally DM'd me for some tech assistance and that project has grown legs! 🤯
We have partnered with billionaire Strive Masiywa's Cassava Tech to build next level AI solutions for Africa 🌍
💯💯💯 – at Johannesburg, South Africa
Vambo AI retweeted
From winning a hackathon at KIW to interning at @VamboAI what a ride! 🙌🏽
Grateful for @chidostartsup’s mentorship since day one and proud to be part of a team building Africa’s multilingual AI future. 🌍🤖
#VamboAI #KIW2024 #AIforAfrica #YouthInTech #NoDozz #InternshipJourney
Vambo AI retweeted
This #AfricaDay, we ask: How can Technology & AI fast-track Reparatory Justice for Africans & the Diaspora? 🎙️
Join @theannewanyoike & @LinahKitala from @VamboAI on #PawaMorningDriveShow 🕗 8–10AM xitter.cf/i/broadcasts/1yNGaLVrX…
Vambo AI retweeted
An announcement from today’s email on @VamboAI…
I’m one of those founders who loves cherishing every moment and celebrating every win 🥹
One of our interns has embraced the role of DevRel and today he shared his first email to our developer community
Now why and I sharing this + his test emails? (And mind you I took like 50 pictures of him pressing send 😅)
I’m sharing this because it’s a milestone in training and development. As founders, we have the responsibility of positioning our teams for more. For our DevRel, it’s not just an email but the beginning of his journey leading and serving a developer community for one of the continent’s most exciting language AI startups.
He’s got so much in store to share and announce. Can’t wait for you all to hear it from him! 🌟
