From DSFSI to AfriDSAI: A New Chapter Begins
A message from Prof. Vukosi Marivate
Over the past few years, our community at the Data Science for Social Impact (DSFSI) research group has worked tirelessly to create a space for meaningful, African-led, socially grounded AI and Data Science research. Today, I’m honoured to share the next chapter (2 years in the making) in this journey:
🎉 The African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) is now officially launched at the University of Pretoria and we begin a bold new phase of research and ecosystem building across the continent.
AfriDSAI has been catalysed by a $1 million USD gift from Google.org, who believe in our shared vision for an Africa where innovation in AI and Data Science shapes a better future.
📰 Read more here:
Google Blog: Supporting the Future of AI Research in Africa and Globally
DSFSI: A Living Mission
Since its inception, DSFSI has been guided by the mission:
"Data-driven collaborative innovation to empower society to tackle challenges and preserve our languages."
Under this banner, DSFSI has grown into one of the most active research groups advancing African NLP — producing new datasets, building tools for low-resource languages, mentoring the next generation of researchers, and leading global conversations on responsible, grounded AI.
Let me be clear: DSFSI isn’t going anywhere. It will continue to pursue its mission, push new frontiers, and nurture critical conversations about data, technology, and African society.
Why AfriDSAI? A Wider Scope, A Continental Vision
AfriDSAI is not a replacement for DSFSI. It is a natural evolution — a response to the growing demand for broader, deeper, and more institutionalised work across African AI and Data Science.
Where DSFSI focuses on language and social impact, AfriDSAI expands our scope to include health, agriculture, climate, governance, and other vital domains — always rooted in transdisciplinary, Africa-grounded research.
The recent visit of Prof. Judy Gichoya, a leader in medical AI and responsible innovation, reminded us how critical it is to build these interdisciplinary bridges. AfriDSAI is designed to support and scale such collaborations.
A Community Effort
This moment was made possible by many hands and minds. To all DSFSI students, staff, postdocs, alumni, and collaborators - Thank You! Your belief in this work helped bring this institute to life.
We are very thankful for the support of the Future Professors Program and the African Research Funding Accelerator team who helped refine our ideas and get them ready to meet the world.
Gratitude also goes to our professional staff and academic colleagues who supported the heavy lifting over the past months.
We are deeply thankful to Google + Google University Relations, who have supported DSFSI for several years with compute resources and grants, this gift is the next evolution of that partnership.
And we’re thrilled that AfriDSAI’s announcement coincides with the launch of the Masakhane African Languages AI Hub, the next phase of Masakhane Research Foundation — a movement DSFSI has proudly supported since its early days.
What’s Next?
We’re finalising our first AfriDSAI Fellowship Programme call: supporting student, postdoc, and staff participation in pan-African research projects. Watch this space.
📬 Subscribe for updates: DSUP Newsletter
🌐 Visit AfriDSAI: https://www.up.ac.za/afridsai
🤝 Want to partner or support us? Reach out — let’s build together - afridsai.info@up.ac.za
This moment is about growth.
From DSFSI’s strong roots, AfriDSAI branches out to imagine and build the future of African AI — together, and on our own terms.
– Prof. Vukosi Marivate
Director, AfriDSAI
Leader, Data Science for Social Impact Research Group