Nigeria has launched its first large multilingual language model to spearhead AI development in Africa.

Communications Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani announced the National AI Strategy, backed with $3.5 million in seed funding.

The seed funding comprises $1.5 million in direct support and $2 million from 21st Century Technologies for the pilot program.

Partnerships have been formed with 21st Century Technologies, Galaxy Backbone, and NCAIR Nigeria to promote significant national AI initiatives.

International backing comes from UNDP, UNESCO, Meta, Google, and Microsoft, evidencing global support.

The United States has shown interest in collaborating with Nigeria on economic growth and the safe deployment of AI technologies.

Nigeria aims to enhance AI skills and establish itself as a leader in AI within the African continent.