By Business Insider Reporter
As East Africa’s digital transformation accelerates, a new and largely invisible frontier has emerged – artificial intelligence trained in local languages, particularly Kiswahili.
With over 100 million speakers across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and parts of Mozambique and the DRC, Swahili has become the region’s linguistic bridge. Now, it’s also a battlefield in the race to shape the digital future of East Africa.
For Tanzania, where Kiswahili is the national language and a powerful tool of identity and cohesion, the implications of this AI race are profound.
The rise of Kiswahili-compatible artificial intelligence could define how Tanzanians interact with digital services, access information, and participate in the global digital economy.
But it also poses new challenges – of sovereignty, surveillance, and self-determination.
From marginalisation to opportunity
Historically, major AI platforms have neglected African languages, leaving Kiswahili speakers on the margins of the internet.
This is changing. Big Tech firms like Google (PaLM 2), Meta, and Chinese giants like Huawei are now integrating Kiswahili into their language models. This represents a turning point – but also a risk.
While these advancements promise to make online services more inclusive, they also raise concerns about external control over Tanzania’s digital ecosystem.
The AI systems trained outside the continent often reflect foreign biases, cultural assumptions, and governance norms – many of which may not align with Tanzania’s context or values.
AI and power in a digital world
AI is no longer just about technology. It has become a strategic asset, shaping how citizens interact with governments, banks, schools, hospitals, and even elections. In this sense, language models trained in Swahili are not neutral tools – they are instruments of power.
Without careful regulation and local participation, Tanzanians risk becoming consumers – not creators – of AI systems that determine how knowledge is accessed and how decisions are made.
As data becomes the new currency, Kiswahili-speaking populations could become a rich source of extractive data for foreign powers.
“Digital colonialism is real. We need to own our data, our infrastructure, and our algorithms,” said a data governance expert based in Dar es Salaam.
China’s model in Tanzania
Tanzania has already become a testing ground for China’s Digital Silk Road, with companies like Huawei developing AI-powered surveillance under the banner of “smart city” development.
Critics argue this is less about innovation and more about exporting China’s model of cyber control, which could undermine democratic values and civil liberties.
If such systems are also equipped with Kiswahili-language AI, they may become even more effective tools for monitoring dissent and controlling information in a language the majority can understand and use.
Local innovation struggles for support
Tanzania has no shortage of tech talent. Initiatives like University of Dar es Salaam’s AI research centre, grassroots language-tech groups, and regional collectives like Masakhane are already working to build African-led, open-source AI models in Swahili and other local languages.
But they remain underfunded and under-resourced, often relying on foreign grants that influence research priorities. Without sovereign investment in AI infrastructure, Tanzania risks falling deeper into digital dependency.
“Our AI must solve Tanzanian problems – from agriculture to education – and it must be built with our languages and values,” said Ms. Asha Mtumwa, a tech entrepreneur in Arusha.
