By Jean-Pierre A.
The East African Community (EAC) and the Government of Germany have launched the second edition of the EAC Artificial Intelligence Challenge, dubbed AI4EAC, expanding opportunities for young people, researchers and entrepreneurs across the region to gain AI skills and develop practical solutions to East Africa’s challenges.
The second edition aims to reach 20,000 East Africans through AI skilling across all EAC Partner States, with students, researchers and entrepreneurs gaining opportunities to develop practical solutions for regional development.
The Alliance welcomed Equity Group Holdings and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as new strategic partners, strengthening collaboration in AI research, digital skills development and innovation across the region.
The Challenge comes with USD 50,000 in prize funding to support winning teams developing AI-powered solutions to regional challenges.
Among the new Challenge tracks, the programme will introduce a dedicated Ebola Response Challenge, inviting researchers, students and innovators to develop AI models that support disease outbreak detection, preparedness and response. The challenge reflects the Alliance’s continued focus on harnessing AI to strengthen public health systems and improve regional resilience against emerging health threats.
The second edition of the Challenge was officially launched following a high-level AI Roundtable at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, bringing together representatives from the EAC Secretariat, the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO), Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Embassy, development partners, academia and the private sector, including Equity Group Holdings, Bayer, Cassava Technologies and Zindi.
Speaking on behalf of the EAC Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Hon. Aguer Ariik Malueth, said the initiative demonstrates the EAC’s commitment to preparing its citizens for the opportunities created by Artificial Intelligence.“Our priority is to ensure East Africans have the skills, knowledge and partnerships to harness AI to create jobs, improve public services and develop solutions to our region’s challenges. Through the EAC AI Alliance, we are investing in our greatest asset, our people, while building a regional innovation ecosystem that positions East Africa to compete in the global digital economy,” he said.
On his part, the Head of Division East and Central Africa at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Joachim Schmitt, said Germany’s support for the EAC AI Alliance underscores the need for a coordinated regional approach to advancing artificial intelligence in East Africa.
“Since 2019, Africa has attracted USD 1.25 billion in AI investment, but 80 percent has gone to just four countries. Africa also has less than one percent of the world’s data-centre capacity while it is home to 18% of the world’s population. East Africa reflects the same imbalance, with some countries far ahead while others are just starting. No single country can close this gap alone. Through the EAC AI Alliance, Germany is supporting a regional approach that builds practical AI skills, applied research and AI policy shaped by the needs of the people of East Africa,” he said.
On her part, Equity Group’s Director of Innovation and Technology, Ms Winnie Mangeni, said the partnership on the finance track will encourage students, researchers and innovators to develop practical and inclusive AI solutions for the region’s financial sector.
“We want participants to work on real-world challenges, benefit from the experience and develop solutions that can progress beyond the competition,” she said
The inaugural AI4EAC Innovation Challenge, held in 2025 and delivered by Zindi in partnership with IUCEA, EASTECO, GIZ, UNESCO Campus Africa and JICA, engaged 3,891 participants from 57 universities across Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Through a six-month programme of courses, webinars and hands-on training, participants developed AI solutions addressing challenges in health, agriculture, finance and education, while top performers secured internship opportunities with leading organisations.
The EAC AI Alliance, commissioned by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in partnership with EASTECO and IUCEA, continues to expand its network of institutional and private sector partners.
The new partnerships will support the Alliance’s mission to modernise university teaching and research, bridge regional digital skills gaps and advance a harmonised, gender-responsive regional AI policy framework across the eight EAC Partner States.
