Jade Abbott is shaking up the AI game in Africa with her startup, Lelapa AI. This isn’t just another tech company—it’s a bold move to bridge communication gaps by building AI models that actually understand local languages. Forget the usual English-dominated chatbots; Lelapa is training its systems on African dialects, slang, and cultural nuances.
Abbott, a machine learning expert, saw a glaring problem: most AI tools are built for Western markets. They stumble over African languages, leaving millions of people locked out of the digital revolution. “We’re not just translating words,” she says. “We’re making AI that gets the context, the humor, even the sarcasm in local conversations.” That’s a big deal in a continent with over 2,000 languages.
Lelapa’s approach is refreshingly practical. Instead of relying on generic datasets, they’re gathering real conversations—texts, social media posts, even voice notes—to train their models. The goal? AI that can power everything from customer service bots to healthcare assistants, all speaking the language of the people using them.
This isn’t just about convenience. It’s about access. Imagine farmers getting weather updates in their native tongue or small businesses using AI to chat with customers without language barriers. Abbott’s team is already working with companies in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, proving there’s real demand for this tech.
Of course, challenges remain. Data is scarce for many African languages, and funding for AI startups on the continent is still a hurdle. But Abbott isn’t waiting around. She’s bootstrapping, partnering with local universities, and even crowdsourcing voice samples to build better models.
What’s exciting is how this could ripple beyond Africa. If Lelapa cracks the code on multilingual AI, it could set a blueprint for other regions with diverse languages. Abbott’s vision is clear: “AI should work for everyone, not just the English-speaking world.”
For now, Lelapa is still in its early days, but the potential is huge. If they pull this off, they won’t just be filling a gap—they’ll be rewriting the rules of who AI is built for. And in a world where tech often feels like it’s leaving people behind, that’s a story worth watching.
