Orange, a telecoms company, announced yesterday that it will collaborate with OpenAI and Meta to fine-tune AI Large Language models (LLMs) to understand regional languages in Africa that are not understood by any GenAI model.

This project, according to Orange, aims to develop custom AI models capable of allowing customers to communicate naturally in their local languages.

Beginning in the first part of 2025, the initiative will focus on adding regional languages, specifically Wolof and Pulaar, which are spoken by 16 million and six million people, respectively, in West Africa.

Orange said it intends to help drive AI innovation in regional languages including by collaborating on these new AI models with local start-ups and other technology companies, and by doing so, to mitigate the growing digital divide faced by people across Africa.

In a statement, the telco said these LLM open-source AI models will also be provided externally by Orange with a free license for non-commercial use such as for public health, public education, and many other services.

According to Orange the long-term goal is to work with many AI technology providers to enable future models to recognise all African languages spoken and written across Orange’s 18-country footprint in the region.