Telecom
ITU Unveils AI Platform to Hasten Community Development
The United Nations (UN) tech agency International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform, which seeks to step up global collaboration on the use of AI to drive sustainable development.
The AI for Good Neural Network offers content and collaboration opportunities aligned to each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN, and is also designed to accelerate exchanges among government and industry to foster partnerships to achieve the SDGs.
The launch of the platform is part of the UN and ITU’s AI for Good programme, which seeks to step up the use and development of AI capabilities to develop communities globally.
The AI for Good programme is led by the ITU in partnership with 40 organisations across the UN system and provides an action-oriented, global, inclusive platform promoting AI to advance health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure and other global development priorities.
With the unveiling of the AI for Good Neural Network, the ITU says it hopes to “stimulate unprecedented cooperation across borders and boundaries”, to foster impactful SDG-focused partnerships in the field of AI.
According to the ITU, its AI for Good programme has since helped “spur innovation, foster knowledge exchange and promote AI achievements” across the globe. It adds that with the AI for Good Neural Network, it hopes to attract those with an interest in how AI can positively impact the future of humankind.
“This new cutting-edge tool brings AI for Good to the service of the United Nations and our global community in ways that were not possible just a few years ago,” says ITU secretary-general Houlin Zhao.
“With the ongoing pandemic shifting our work and learning environments largely online, the Neural Network now leverages the power of AI to stimulate meaningful action, bring more partners aboard, and ramp up AI in pursuit of sustainable development.”
Chaesub Lee, director of ITU’s standardisation bureau, adds: “Artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) offer some highly-practical applications across multiple industries and sectors – applications with considerable potential to serve as a force for good.
“AI and ML are gaining ground in ITU’s standardisation work, with research, analysis and stakeholder discussions focusing on network orchestration and management, multimedia coding, service quality assessment, and various aspects of telecom management, operation and services, as well as cable networks, all supporting accelerated digital transformation in key industry verticals.”
Also, the ITU says it pre-standardisation initiatives have turned to AI to find solutions and help set standards for “better healthcare, autonomous and assisted driving, environmental efficiency, natural disaster management, machine learning in 5G networks and most recently, digital agriculture”.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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