Artificial Intelligence for Development Africa (AI4D) Early Career Academics (ECAs) 2025

The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) has received a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to support the scholarship of women candidates in sub-Saharan Africa. The funding will support the training of PhD students in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) as well as the research work of Early Career Academics in AI & ML. The research work within this program must be in AI that addresses any of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The award of the scholarships shall strive to achieve uniform distribution of beneficiaries across Francophone, Anglophone and Lusophone sub-Saharan Africa. There will also be an effort to achieve fair distribution in terms of region. The supported studies MUST adhere to responsible AI.

• Table of Content
• About Artificial Intelligence for Development Africa (AI4D)
• AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)
• Aim and Benefits of AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)
• Requirements for AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs) Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Artificial Intelligence for Development Africa (AI4D)

The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is implementing the Artificial Intelligence for Development Africa (AI4D) Scholarship Project to foster and nurture talent in responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in African public universities. The 2-year project, funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UK’s FCDO, aims to meet the growing demand of demand for research and development in responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in the continent.... continue reading

AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)

Aim and Benefits of AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)

• Each successful ECA will receive a scholarship of up to US$ 41,500. This will cover:
• Research costs up to $ 25,000
• Research infrastructure up to $ 10,000.
• Travel costs up to $ 2,500.
• Tuition fees for 2 MSc students for two years up to $ 4,000 (@ $2,000 per stude nt)

Requirements for AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs) Qualification

• The applicant must be a woman.
• Each applicant must have held a PhD in AI and ML, for not more than 5 years as at application.
• All applicants should have competent academic credentials and demonstrate motivation and commitment to pursue an academic career.
• All applicants must be nationals or permanent residents of an eligible sub-Saharan country (See the list of eligible countries above).
• All applicants must have all necessary national or other approvals to conduct the proposed research. Please note, the approval process may be conducted in parallel with the grant application, if necessary.
• All applicants must have the technical capacity – or the ability to create sustainable AI solutions addressing social challenges faced by user communities.

Interview date, Process and Venue for AI4D Early Career Academics (ECAs)

Capacity Strengthening
The following complementary activities will be provided to strengthen the capacity of beneficiaries of the scholarships (PhD candidates and their supervisors; ECA candidates and their MSc students);

• SRAIS (Scaling of Responsible AI solutions) mentoring
• Sensitization of responsible data collection framework.
• Scaling of AI solutions.
• AI policy brief development.
• One regional research and development conference after 24 months.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details,visit AI4D scholarship webpage