Uniting with local partners to combat inequality through inclusive, responsible AI made by and for communities in the Global South.

Strengthening Local Ecosystems
Centering Global South ownership and leadership in supporting multidisciplinary skills, representative data and sustainable compute as digital public goods.
Responsible Governance
Fostering AI systems that are equitable, trustworthy, inclusive, safe, and sustainable.
Inclusive Innovation
Supporting creation of AI-powered solutions to development problems, while addressing forms of exclusion in AI tools and ecosystems.
Sustainable Scaling
Crowding in partners, expertise and financing to scale up the most impactful innovations.

Who We Are

Our Mission

The AI for Development (AI4D) Funders Collaborative is a global partnership dedicated to bridging the gaps in AI access and readiness in the Global South. Convened by development funders—including FCDO, IDRC, BMZ, and the Gates Foundation—the Collaborative aims to unite with partners around the world to center challenges in the Global South and combat technological and social inequality by supporting inclusive, responsible AI made by and for communities.

The Collaborative is led by development partners uniting to align resources and expertise in addressing challenges faced by AI innovators. Its core funding partners work together to coordinate programming around a shared set of thematic and sectoral challenges within the AI space.

Our Principles

  • Supporting Global South leadership.
  • Centering responsible AI principles.
  • Promoting gender equality and inclusion.
  • Fostering equitable opportunities.
  • Prioritizing local development and markets.
  • Uniting through global partnerships and international collective action.
We define responsible AI as responsible and trustworthy AI systems that are designed to be ethical, inclusive, safe and sustainable to defend against risks of deepening inequality and exclusion.

By 2030, we envision a world where

  • Locally made and locally led AI innovations will scale across the Global South, enabling people to thrive through equitable skills, local data, and sustainable compute as digital public goods.
  • Countries across the Global South will have resilient and responsible AI governance, adapting to technological changes while exerting global influence in promoting inclusive and safe AI design for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Current Funding Commitment
$100M USD+

This is a flexible platform with opportunity to expand membership and link to existing donor or company initiatives.

Immediate focus: tightening coordination across initiatives and investments, as well as finalizing opportunities to launch 1–2 major co-funded initiatives by early 2025.

Currently, the collaborative includes representatives from the following bodies/organizations:

  • Logo for Gates Foundation
  • Logo for German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
  • Logo for International Development Research Centre
  • Logo for UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

Why Now?

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) offers opportunities to address global challenges and accelerate innovation for social good, from revolutionizing healthcare and education to advancing climate resilience and promoting gender inclusion.

However, AI also presents significant risks and could exacerbate inequality without fair access to the essential resources for responsible AI development. Innovators in the Global South face major barriers—such as lack of investment in skills, research, and innovation, inconsistent access to computing power, and limited locally relevant data—that restrict their ability to develop and scale transformative solutions. If these gaps are left unaddressed, they risk deepening structural inequalities and stalling the growth of local expertise.

Many countries face significant barriers to unlocking the full potential of AI. These include:

  • Limited access to reliable and affordable compute infrastructure.
  • Missing or biased local AI datasets which are not tailored to local and community needs, plus a lack of open-source AI datasets and AI models suited for unfettered local innovation and local business models.
  • Talent shortages exacerbated by inadequate training opportunities plus educational systems and innovation systems not sufficiently incorporating AI.
  • Policy frameworks that struggle to keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI technology or fail to address the specific needs and contexts of local communities or implement safeguards and risk assessments needed for responsible and trustworthy AI.
A chart showing Experts' expectations regarding timing of major positive impact of Al by area
Source: UN Governing AI for Humanity, 2024

What We Do

The Collaborative invests in key enablers for responsible AI. Our work spans:

  • Infrastructure: Expanding access to sustainable compute resources and local data as digital public goods.
  • Governance: Supporting resilient, locally relevant policy frameworks for AI.
  • Skills & Talent: Building AI capacity through local initiatives and community-driven needs.
  • Applications: Scaling proven and impactful AI solutions to address development priorities, including healthcare, education, agriculture, climate resilience, and more.

By collaborating more efficiently and coordinating investments, the AI for Development Funders Collaborative is working to lower costs, ensure equity, and catalyze responsible AI designed by and for communities.

In practice, we do this by:

  • Structured collaboration
    Aligning to a shared strategy about where to engage, working as “more than the sum of our parts”
  • Information sharing
    Exchanging opportunities and insights regularly
  • Evidence synthesis
    Consolidating research to guide funding decisions
  • Deconflicting
    Resolving overlaps in funding and activities
  • Co-funding
    Funding complementary project components, multiple investments in the same project
  • Joint funding
    Pooling resources for larger-scale impact

The Collaborative has a range of action-oriented ‘sprints’ where interested members and external partners work together to coordinate or to design new collaborative initiatives. This list currently includes: local languages, compute, gender and inclusion, evaluation and agriculture.

Get Involved

We invite global development funders, private sector leaders, researchers, and civil society organizations to join us in shaping a more equitable AI future.

Here’s how you can contribute:

  • Become a Member: For funders, align your investments with the Collaborative’s mission to amplify our collective impact.
  • Partner on Initiatives: Help us co-design programs that leverage AI for development outcomes and support AI ecosystems around the world.
  • Share Expertise: Collaborate on research and evidence-building to inform policy and practice.

To learn more about our mission, initiatives, or how you can engage, reach out to us.

Membership

Initiatives supported by the Collaborative are co-led by subsets of members and external partners.

Each group has a specific set of criteria, which are used to ensure appropriate categorization. Regardless of membership designation, all members maintain alignment with the collaborative’s mission and membership principles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact

We welcome inquiries, collaborations, and conversations. Reach out to us for more information about our work, partnerships, and initiatives.