Project description
Empowering African communities through inclusive generative AI
The EU-funded IRIS Africa project aims to bridge the technological divide by developing Generative AI solutions tailored to the African continent. By adapting existing European language models to local cultural and linguistic contexts, the project will target improvements in healthcare and agriculture. Key applications will include enhancing livestock insurance in Kenya and managing diabetes care in Ghana through digital tools. The project also seeks to boost economic growth and capacity building by supporting local start-ups and small businesses through knowledge exchange and private investment. Its goal is to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem that benefits marginalised communities. One last project's goal is to recollect all informations and experiences gathered during all these activities to draft policy briefs and one white paper that will guide policy making process on EU - Africa partnership
Objective
The IRIS Africa project aims to bridge the gap in Generative AI (GenAI) adoption across Africa, focusing on empowering rural populations, women, and youth through tailored AI solutions in agriculture and healthcare. By developing context-specific Large Language Models (LLMs) and risk-classification algorithms, IRIS will enhance local capacities in addressing challenges such as food insecurity and limited healthcare access, which are exacerbated by climate change and socio-economic barriers.
The project will leverage the existing EU-based LLM models MINERVA and BABELNET and adapt them to the African context through co-design with local communities, ensuring linguistic and cultural relevance. The use of these models and a risk classification algorithm will be tested through two key use cases: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) in Ghana and livestock insurance in Kenya, targeting areas with the highest need for scalable, AI-driven solutions. In collaboration with local universities, NGOs, International Research Center and SMEs, IRIS will ensure that these AI tools are not only technically sound but also accessible and trusted by the communities they aim to serve.
A key objective is to foster sustainable local innovation ecosystems, including the establishment of living labs and engagement of private investors and VC to support for African start-ups, by integrating technical support mechanisms and subcontracting of local SMEs. Through these activities, IRIS will promote knowledge transfer between Africa and Europe, facilitating long-term, self-sustaining AI capabilities. The project also aims to develop policy recommendations that will support the scaling of GenAI technologies, aligning with EU and African Union frameworks for sustainable development.
IRIS will contribute to the EU-Africa collaboration agenda, supporting Africa's digital transformation by ensuring that advanced AI solutions meet local needs, promote inclusion, and contribute to sustainable economic growth.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences political sciences political policies civil society civil society organisations nongovernmental organizations
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology tissue engineering artificial pancreas continuous glucose monitors
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals animal husbandry
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.4 - Digital, Industry and Space
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.4.3 - Emerging enabling technologies
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HORIZON.2.4.5 - Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2025-04
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
48121 Ravenna
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.