Nigerian technology company Goloka Analytics has partnered with Meta to supply linguistic data in five indigenous languages as part of the global tech giant’s efforts to develop more inclusive multilingual artificial intelligence systems.
The initiative, under Meta’s Local Language Partnership Programme, will see Goloka Analytics collect and contribute data in Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Fulfulde, and Urhobo – languages spoken by millions across Nigeria. The data will be used to train AI tools such as speech recognition and machine translation models.
An offshoot of data intelligence firm Dataphyte, Goloka Analytics is known for its use of hyperlocal data and geospatial tools to generate insights for development and innovation. The partnership with Meta, company officials say, reinforces Goloka’s mission to democratize data and promote fair digital representation for underserved communities.
“By applying our hyperlocal data collection model, we intend to provide high-quality linguistic datasets that help build more accurate and inclusive technologies,” said Joshua Olufemi, founder of Goloka Analytics.
“This effort aligns with our commitment to democratising data and supporting the use of indigenous languages in digital spaces. We are focused on collecting data that reflects local realities and promotes fair representation for communities that have long been underrepresented in digital technologies.”
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The partnership aims to address a long-standing gap in AI development—language bias. Most AI systems are trained predominantly on data from a few global languages, leaving many local languages underrepresented and their speakers excluded from the benefits of modern technologies.
“This is not just about building AI systems about people, but with people,” Olufemi added.
According to Goloka, the language data will be ethically sourced with input from local communities, academic institutions, and language experts. The company is already collaborating with universities and technologists across Nigeria to ensure the quality and authenticity of the datasets.
Oluseyi Olufemi, Country Lead at Dataphyte, said the project fits into the “three Ls” framework guiding both Goloka and Dataphyte’s work—language, learning, and localisation.
The initiative also signals a growing role for African companies in shaping the future of global AI, particularly in ensuring that technologies reflect the linguistic and cultural realities of diverse populations.
As the project progresses, Goloka and Dataphyte are calling on stakeholders from the public, private, and civic sectors to collaborate in building inclusive AI systems rooted in local knowledge and realities.
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