Google, in collaboration with a consortium of leading African research institutions, has announced the launch of WAXAL, a large-scale, openly accessible speech dataset aimed at accelerating research and fostering the development of inclusive artificial intelligence technologies across Africa.
The dataset is designed to bridge a longstanding digital gap affecting more than 100 million people by providing foundational speech data for 21 Sub-Saharan African languages, including Hausa, Yoruba, Luganda, and Acholi.
Despite the widespread adoption of voice-enabled technologies globally, the lack of high-quality speech data has limited their development for most of Africa’s more than 2,000 languages, effectively excluding millions of users from accessing digital tools in their native languages.
Developed over three years with funding from Google, the WAXAL dataset comprises 1,250 hours of transcribed, natural speech, alongside more than 20 hours of high-quality studio recordings intended for building advanced synthetic voice systems.
Speaking on the initiative, Head of Google Research Africa, Aisha Walcott-Bryant, said the project is focused on empowering African communities through technology.
“The ultimate impact of WAXAL is the empowerment of people in Africa,” Walcott-Bryant said. “This dataset provides a critical foundation for students, researchers, and entrepreneurs to build technology on their own terms and in their own languages, reaching over 100 million people. We look forward to seeing African innovators develop solutions ranging from educational tools to voice-enabled services that create real economic opportunities.”
A key feature of the project is its community-led approach. African academic and community organisations, including Makerere University in Uganda, the University of Ghana, and Digital Umuganda in Rwanda, led the data collection process with technical guidance from Google. The partner institutions retain full ownership of the data, establishing a model for equitable, partnership-driven AI development.
The dataset supports the following languages: Acholi, Akan, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dholuo, Ewe, Fante, Fulani (Fula), Hausa, Igbo, Ikposo (Kposo), Kikuyu, Lingala, Luganda, Malagasy, Masaaba, Nyankole, Rukiga, Shona, Soga (Lusoga), Swahili, and Yoruba.
Commenting on the project, Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende, Senior Lecturer at Makerere University’s School of Computing and Information Technology, said the dataset is already strengthening local research capacity in Uganda.
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“For AI to have a real impact in Africa, it must speak our languages and understand our contexts,” she said. “WAXAL gives our researchers the high-quality data needed to build speech technologies that reflect our communities, while supporting new student- and faculty-led projects.”
Similarly, Associate Professor at the University of Ghana, Prof. Isaac Wiafe, said the initiative has empowered institutions to build their own language resources and train a new generation of AI researchers.
“Over 7,000 volunteers participated because they wanted their voices and languages represented in the digital future,” Wiafe said. “That collective effort has already sparked innovation in health, education, and agriculture, proving that when data exists, opportunities expand.”
The WAXAL dataset is now publicly available. More details can be found on the Google Africa blog.
