The Federal Government has launched the ATLAS Network, a continent-wide artificial intelligence initiative designed to accelerate the development of African large language models and strengthen the representation of the continent’s languages, cultures and knowledge systems in emerging AI technologies.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, unveiled the initiative on Thursday during the opening of the 7th Ordinary Session of the African Telecommunications Union Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Abuja. Vice President Kashim Shettima attended the event as the Special Guest of Honour.
The ATLAS Network expands Nigeria’s Nigerian Atlas for Languages and AI at Scale (N-ATLAS) into a broader African collaboration that will bring together governments, academic institutions, researchers, innovators and technology partners to develop AI models tailored to the continent’s unique linguistic and cultural diversity. Brandspur Brand News gathered that member states have been invited to participate in the initiative as a platform for advancing Africa’s artificial intelligence capabilities.
Tijani said Africa remains significantly underrepresented in global AI systems despite being home to nearly one-third of the world’s languages, with fewer than two per cent currently receiving meaningful support in modern artificial intelligence models. He stressed the need for stronger regional cooperation and greater investment in digital innovation to ensure the continent plays an active role in shaping global technology standards.
The minister also urged African countries to present a united position as international discussions continue on digital governance, telecommunications and artificial intelligence, emphasising that decisions made today will have lasting implications for the continent’s economies and future technological development.
Representing Vice President Shettima, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, said Africa must become more influential in global technology policymaking, noting that many international digital policies have historically been developed without sufficient African participation. He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working through the African Telecommunications Union and the International Telecommunication Union to strengthen the continent’s voice.
African Telecommunications Union Secretary-General John Omo described the conference as an important milestone for Africa’s digital future, adding that stronger collaboration among member states would be critical to achieving the Union’s long-term objectives and ensuring sustainable growth across the continent’s telecommunications sector.
Delegates from across Africa are expected to use the conference to elect new leadership for the African Telecommunications Union and adopt policy decisions that will shape the continent’s telecommunications and digital economy agenda over the next four years.
The launch of the ATLAS Network builds on Nigeria’s introduction of N-ATLAS in 2025, an open-source multilingual and multimodal large language model developed to preserve Nigeria’s linguistic heritage and provide datasets capable of supporting inclusive artificial intelligence solutions.
