In a landmark partnership announced during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment holding company ADQ have committed $40 million to harness artificial intelligence for educational transformation across sub-Saharan Africa. The four-year initiative, unveiled during a visit by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to the UAE, represents a concerted effort to address Africa’s critical learning deficit, where currently nine out of ten children lack basic literacy and numeracy skills by age ten.
The collaboration will deploy two complementary mechanisms: the existing AI-for-Education global initiative, which develops practical AI-enabled learning models and provides governmental expertise, and the newly established EdTech and AI Fund. This multi-investor vehicle, scheduled for launch next year, will be the first dedicated fund specifically focused on national-level expansion of evidence-based interventions that enhance foundational learning. ADQ has pledged up to $20 million in matching funds to anchor the partnership.
The timing of this investment is particularly significant as demographic projections indicate Africa will be home to one-third of the world’s youth population by 2050. Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and CEO of ADQ, emphasized the strategic importance of digital infrastructure, stating that ‘the systems that support learning, data, and intelligent technologies are becoming equally important to national development’ alongside traditional physical assets.
This initiative builds upon the Gates Foundation’s recent $240 million expansion of its Global Education Programme, which aims to support 15 million children across sub-Saharan Africa and India through evidence-based, cost-efficient solutions. The UAE brings to the partnership its demonstrated leadership in technological innovation and deployment capabilities, positioning the emirates as a key enabler of educational transformation in the Global South.
Bill Gates acknowledged the UAE’s pioneering role, noting that ‘the UAE has shown leadership in using innovation to expand opportunity, and together we’ll build on that momentum to help children develop the foundational skills that shape their futures.’ The partnership represents a significant convergence of philanthropic vision and strategic investment aimed at creating sustainable, technology-driven educational ecosystems.