Amara Hub

Our new report, “Systemic Barriers, Gendered Consequences: An Afro-feminist Analysis of Digital Public Infrastructure in Uganda, South Africa and Kenya,” highlights how issues of power, inequality, and digital control intersect with the design and implementation of DPI. Join us for this timely conversation 📅 Tuesday, 31st April 2026 🕒 4:00 PM EAT | 3:00 PM SAST | 2:00 PM WAT Register 👉🏾: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regist…

Congrats to our partners @SunbirdAI on launching the Sunflower Speech AI Ecosystem. Advancing real-time, locally relevant speech AI for Ugandan languages is exactly the kind of innovation needed to make AI more accessible and useful.

Our Climate and Care Initiative partners @Bquillamas20 and @sautisalama will be at the Commission on the Status of Women (#CSW70). Join our side event on Care and Climate: How Care Systems Shape Access to Justice in a Just Transition forms.office.com/e/gZ9UT3T1k6 @FundacionAVINA

We honor the women building livelihoods, preserving culture, leading change, and opening doors for the next generation. Your work matters. Your voice matters. Your vision matters. Happy International Women’s Day from all of us at Amara Hub. #InternationalWomensDay #IWD2026

Huge thanks to @jangalawifi @Lenovo for supporting Amara Hub with a #BixBox! More reliable connectivity = more learning, more innovation, more opportunity.

𝗨𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 Uganda speaks over 40 languages, and it’s time our technology did, too. We are proud to officially launch Sunbird Speech, a breakthrough in African-led AI designed to bridge the digital divide. Join us for The Sunbird Open Forum, a dual-purpose event where we will: *Officially launch our new Sunbird Speech models. *Provide updates on the Sunflower ecosystem. *Host a town hall-style Q&A for stakeholders to share feedback. Whether you are interested in our products, technical architecture, data ethics, or social impact, this is your space to engage directly with our team and help shape the future of AI in Africa. Event Details: Date: March 11, 2026 Time: 3:00 PM EAT Register here:zoom.us/webinar/regist… #SunflowerSpeech #AIForSocialGood #SunbirdAI #ForAfricasManyVoices #InclusiveAI #NLP

Is Uganda becoming a mere "tenant" in the global AI economy? 🇺🇬💻 Ian Katusiime(@GenKatusiime) explores how a shortage of local Tier III data centers forces the country to export raw data and import costly AI tools. True AI sovereignty needs local "gray brick" infrastructure. Read full article here: tinyurl.com/5j4ud3ht Ian Katusiime is a fellow in the #DPIJournalism Fellowship Program.

In hard-to-reach places, radio is often the first link, and the last one standing. On World Radio Day, we celebrate radio’s power to leave no one behind, keeping communities informed, connected, and heard.

The launch of the HASH STI dataset marks an important step for localized AI research and addressing SRH challenges in Uganda. A dataset grounded in a lived context: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?… #AI4SRH

Scovia Awili gathers shea nuts to make oil that feeds her family & earns income. Shea trees sustain livelihoods, protect land, and support biodiversity. Okere City champions their conservation to secure women’s livelihoods & the environment

Meet Holga Aceng, a learner at Okere City. With no access to banking & limited literacy, she was financially vulnerable. Through our Adult Literacy Program, they formed a VSLA, built financial skills & received start-up tools. Today, she saves, borrows & plans with confidence.

We asked, 'What if every student had the chance to shape AI — not just use it?' And you showed up. From classrooms in Kansas to Kosovo, the Hour of AI sparked something big. New ideas. Big questions. Bold experiments. Thank you for being part of it. #HourOfAI

How do we get crop advice to a farmer who speaks Acholi? We partnered with @AmaraHub to build a tool that does this: 1.Farmer sends WhatsApp voice note (Acholi) Sunbird African Language technology models transcribes & translates 2. Expert replies (English) Our language models translate back 3. Farmer gets answer (Acholi) AI built for real-world impact. #SunbirdAI #AgriTech #AI #NLP #Uganda #AIforSocialGood

'A development agenda built on incomplete evidence cannot produce just outcomes. To change the future, we must change what and who our data reflects.' Read more in 'Seen, Heard and Counted' our #DataFestAfrica2025 Pre-Event digest: @amarahub/seen-heard-and-counted-76316dd4d93b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@amarahub/seen… @PollicyOrg @cipesaug

New Article: As Artificial Intelligence(AI) rapidly reshapes Africa’s digital landscape, governance must keep pace. Oversight should be grounded in ethics, human rights, and our shared societal values. To get there, Africa needs participatory AI sandboxes where governments, innovators, and communities can test and shape AI systems together. This is how we build technology that serves people, not the other way round. 🔗:tinyurl.com/3h353xbz #InternetFreedomAfrica #DataFestAfrica25

"It is estimated that 32 of Africa’s 55 countries have enacted or embraced some form of regulation with the chief aim of protecting personal data."-AU DATA POLICY FRAMEWORK "A trustworthy data governance system must rest on strong legal foundations (like data protection laws) and uphold human rights and ethics." Edriine Wanyama- CIPESA. Full AUDPF :tinyurl.com/nh5vrmzy #DataGovernance #InternetFreedomAfrica

📹 In case you missed it, #DataFestAfrica2025 Day 1 in Kampala, Uganda, went something like this👇🏾 @innovationhubug @MoICT_Ug @AmaraImpact @datainnovators @OpenSociety @cipesaug @wougnet @StrathCIPIT @pdpoUG @defprotection @vodoarts @GIZAfricanUnion #DFA2025 #Data

What an incredible time we had at #DataFestAfrica2025! 🌎From women’s leadership to digital rights and policy, we joined changemakers reimagining a feminist digital future for Africa. Here are our top takeaways from the sessions 👇🏾 #DFA2025 #FeministTech

Day 2 at #DataFestAfrica2025 The MERL Tech + NLP session, explored how data & AI can drive ethical, people-centered change. Patricia Aine Mbabazi shared insights from our State of Internet Freedom Report, stressing the need for Africa to benchmark AI regulation on the EU AI Act (2024) for inclusive, responsible innovation. Full Report is here: tinyurl.com/4aj8rmk8