Meta announces $20,000 grant for startups, researchers

Meta, in partnership with Data Science Africa, has launched the Llama Impact Grant, offering $20,000 to startups and researchers in Sub-Saharan Africa developing AI-driven solutions for economic and social impact.

The technology giant disclosed in a statement on Wednesday.

The initiative, part of Meta’s global Llama Impact Grants, aims to support projects that leverage Llama, the company’s open-source large language model, to address challenges in key sectors such as health, science, and agriculture.

Speaking about the grant, the Policy Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Meta, Siddo, commented, “We’re still in the early days, but AI is likely to fundamentally change every aspect of our lives—spurring innovation, turbo-charging growth, and driving an explosion in learning and productivity.

“At the forefront of this transformation are open-source AI models, like Meta’s Llama, which are available for free for organisations to use, modify and build on.

“Through this grant programme, we’re hoping to support and scale AI-driven solutions across Africa that use our open-source model Llama to address the continent’s unique social and economic challenges, empowering innovators to drive meaningful impact across the region.”

The Llama Impact Grant for Startups and Researchers is part of Meta’s broader Llama Impact Grants programme, which launched in October 2023.

This global initiative looks to source innovative use cases of Llama, Meta’s open-source AI models, to address critical global challenges in areas like education and open innovation. There have been over 800 applications from 90+ countries to the global Grants Programme since 2023.

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