Language is more than a tool for communication, it is a vessel of heritage, a keeper of memory, and a preserver of history. Across Africa, thousands of indigenous languages carry within them centuries of oral traditions, identity, knowledge systems, and cultural values. Yet, they’re currently being endangered by growing modernisation, globalisation, and educational marginalisation.
For Africa, preserving these linguistic treasures has become both an urgent mission and a technological opportunity. In response to that, a new wave of innovative startups is rising to bridge the gap between tradition and technology.
Through their African language-focused solutions, these companies are architecting digital ecosystems that celebrate Africa’s rich linguistic heritage while making these languages accessible to both native speakers and the global community. They’re helping Africans to reconnect with their roots and amplify the global presence of their languages.
The Digital Language Renaissance
Indigenous African languages face a multifaceted challenge; they mostly exist primarily in oral traditions, lacking comprehensive academic resources or standardised learning materials. Meanwhile, younger generations, particularly in urban areas, often prioritise global languages for economic opportunities, creating a generational disconnect from their linguistic roots. Traditional educational systems have struggled to address this gap, making the role of technology-enabled solutions increasingly vital.
What makes this movement particularly compelling is its holistic approach. These startups aren’t just enabling Africans to interact better with their indigenous languages, they’re preserving entire cultural ecosystems. They’re digitising oral histories, creating multilingual AI systems, and building platforms where African narratives can be shared authentically by African communities themselves.
In essence, their solutions align with the theme of this year’s Africa Day, “Revisiting Our History, Shaping Our Future”
The companies profiled below are at the forefront of this movement, each bringing unique approaches to the shared mission of preserving Africa’s history through its languages. Their work is ensuring that future generations will have digital pathways to their linguistic heritage, while also creating new opportunities for cross-cultural understanding and connection.
EqualyzAI
Founded: 2024
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
EqualyzAI makes a case for the benefits of cutting-edge AI for the democratisation of access to African languages. This Lagos-based startup is developing small language models and enterprise AI agents specifically designed for native African speakers. Their approach goes beyond simple translation, focusing on creating generative AI solutions that understand cultural context and linguistic nuances.
The company’s product portfolio revolves around an LLM-powered interactive learning platform. What sets EqualyzAI apart is its commitment to ethical data collection for AI training, ensuring that the development of its language models respects community ownership and cultural sensitivity.
Despite being unfunded, EqualyzAI is positioning itself in a competitive landscape that includes already established players, thus demonstrating the ambitious scope of their vision for democratising AI innovation across Africa.
Batazia
Founded: 2021
Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Operating from the Netherlands with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, Batazia has carved out a unique niche in the cultural preservation space. The company functions as a B2C marketplace and e-commerce platform, providing literature, learning, and career training content specifically in local African languages.
Batazia’s approach recognises that language preservation requires accessible, practical resources that serve real educational and professional needs. By combining media, education, and e-commerce capabilities, they’re creating sustainable pathways for people to access content in their native languages while building economic opportunities around cultural preservation.
CDIAL
Founded: 2021
Locations: Lagos, Nigeria and Los Angeles, USA
CDIAL represents one of the most technically ambitious approaches to African language preservation. The organisation specialises in developing AI for enterprises while focusing specifically on language models for low-resourced languages in the current AI landscape.
Their flagship product, Indigenius Mobile, is a conversational AI platform enabling multilingual communication across over 180 African languages. Additional offerings include a multilingual smart keyboard and a comprehensive dictionary that translates modern terminology into native languages. For enterprise clients, they provide API solutions for translation and speech recognition.
The organisation’s impact has been recognised through significant awards, including a $50,000 prize at Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition competition in 2023, the Innovative and Technology Award from the Nigerian Federal Government in 2024, and selection for Google’s Cohort 8 Africa accelerator program.
Digital Heritage Preservationists (DHP) Platform
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
DHP takes a comprehensive approach to cultural preservation that extends beyond language to encompass entire cultural ecosystems. The platform leverages technology to archive historical artefacts, oral traditions, and cultural practices, to make them globally accessible while preserving their cultural integrity.
DHP’s platform features include a digital repository for African cultural heritage assets, a marketplace for digital cultural heritage materials, and an innovative e-learning platform with gamified courses on heritage preservation. Their work pioneers field standards in digital heritage preservation, with particular emphasis on African cultural assets.
The organisation’s mission centres on protecting and promoting cultural diversity while encouraging collaboration across communities and institutions working in heritage preservation.
EveryDay Africa
What began as an Instagram account has evolved into a global movement challenging stereotypical representations of African life. EveryDay Africa, created by photographer Peter DiCampo and writer Austin Merrill, showcases daily life across the continent through the work of a collective of several photographers.
The project’s impact extends far beyond social media, it has inspired over 100 similar “Everyday” projects worldwide and actively engages in educational initiatives. Their work helps students and educators get a more nuanced insight into media representations while providing tools and platforms for people to tell their own stories authentically.
While not exactly a startup company or having an organisational structure EveryDay Africa demonstrates how visual storytelling can preserve and share cultural narratives, complementing language-focused preservation efforts with powerful imagery that captures the diversity and complexity of contemporary African life.
Izesan!
Founded: 2019
Location: Nigeria
Izesan is an edtech company focused on democratising African language education. The startup operates a language-learning app specifically tailored for African cultures. Founded by Anthony Otaigbe, the company’s mission centres on safeguarding and elevating African languages while empowering people to connect with their heritage and culture.
The company’s platform offers an impressive catalogue of over 300 courses covering more than 20 African languages, including major languages like Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, as well as less-popular languages like Ibibio, Esan, and Tiv. This breadth demonstrates the company’s commitment to preserving linguistic diversity rather than focusing solely on the most widely spoken languages.
Izesan’s credibility has been enhanced through partnerships with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education and the National Institute for Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), providing official endorsement for their work in digitizing Nigerian languages.
Lingawa
Founded: 2022
Locations: New York City (HQ), with presence in London and Lagos
Lingawa has emerged as one of the fastest growing startups in the African language learning space, having secured significant support from notable investors including Mastercard Foundation, Zrosk Investment Management, and WEAV Capital. The New York-based company focuses specifically on making Yoruba and Igbo learning fun and accessible.
The company’s mission explicitly connects language learning with cultural pride and economic empowerment, recognising that linguistic skills can translate into tangible economic opportunities. Operating in a competitive landscape, Lingawa has distinguished itself through its focus on user experience and cultural authenticity.
The international presence of the founding team, spanning New York, London, and Lagos, reflects the global nature of the African diaspora and the worldwide demand for African language learning resources.
Vambo AI
Founded: 2023
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Vambo AI operates one of the most comprehensive multilingual AI platforms in the African language space, supporting 44 African languages alongside 20 global languages. Founded in 2023 in Johannesburg, the platform offers a full suite of AI-powered language services designed to foster inclusion and accessibility.
The platform’s four core features—Translate, Transcribe, Write, and Search—provide seamless language processing capabilities that serve both individual users and enterprise clients. The Write feature includes generative tools for creating emails, essays, and social media posts, while the Search function offers multilingual search capabilities that can break down language barriers in information access.
The company’s comprehensive approach to multilingual AI positions it as a potential platform solution for other organisations working in African language preservation, offering the technical infrastructure needed to scale language technologies across the continent.
African and Proud
Location: Lagos
Founded: 2021
While not technically a company, African & Proud is a pan-African culture and diversity-focused company. The startup is responsible for Culture Connect Africa, a collaborative initiative designed with a mission that extends far beyond traditional language learning. The initiative focuses on enriching Wikimedia’s content about African culture, addressing significant knowledge gaps in how African history, art, cuisine, and media are represented in digital spaces.
Their projects include AfroCuisine, which celebrates African culinary traditions; WikiFestival, designed to engage communities in sharing their cultural heritage; and African Film & Cinema, promoting the continent’s rich cinematic legacy. The organisation’s unique approach ensures that African narratives are authentically shared by African communities themselves, while actively encouraging the creation of more African-language content.
The organisation also serves immigrants and refugees, providing language services, mentoring, and education to foster cultural fluency between newcomers and their communities.
A New Chapter in Cultural Preservation
As we look toward the future, these startups represent more than business opportunities, they represent a new chapter in how we think about cultural preservation in the digital age. They’re proving that technology can be a force for cultural preservation rather than erosion, and that there’s both social and economic value in celebrating linguistic diversity.
Overall, this is not just about preserving the past, it’s about building a future where Africa’s linguistic diversity is celebrated, preserved, and leveraged as a source of strength in an increasingly connected world.
