Nigeria Launches ATLAS Umoja for African Language AI

The Federal Government of Nigeria, alongside its partners, unveiled ATLAS Umoja, a pan-African artificial intelligence platform aimed at developing large language models that understand African languages, cultures, and knowledge systems. This initiative was announced on Thursday in Abuja during the seventh Ordinary Session of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the African Telecommunications Union at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, stated that the initiative addresses the limited representation of African languages in modern AI systems, with fewer than two percent of these languages currently supported. The N-ATLAS project, Nigeria's first government-backed open-source large language model, was launched at the United Nations General Assembly in 2025.

The ATLAS Network aims to unite governments, researchers, and technology companies to develop relevant language models for Africa. Tijani emphasized the importance of reflecting African languages and cultures in AI systems, calling for cooperation among ATU member states.