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Artificial Intelligence with Social Impact

An African technology initiative to create open, practical AI systems for community benefit.

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Sunflower

Sunflower is Sunbird’s flagship large language model an open-source conversational AI built for Uganda’s linguistic reality.

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Sunbird API

Your unified gateway to our Sunbird  African language technology stack comprising speech-to-text and text-to-speech models, and localized Large Language Models (LLMs)

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Speech Suite

Sunbird Speech Suite enables systems to listen and speak fluently in African languages.

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SALT Dataset

The Sunbird African Language Technology (SALT) dataset is a multi-way parallel text and speech corpus of over 25,000 sentences across 6 languages

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Geospatial AI

AI-powered satellite analysis to identify settlements suitable for solar mini-grids, assess renewable energy viability, and publish open data for infrastructure planners.

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Environmental AI

Deployed custom embedded hardware across Kampala & Entebbe, classifying sound across 19 categories in real time.

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Sunflower

Sunflower is Sunbird’s flagship large language model an open-source conversational AI built for Uganda’s linguistic reality.

Learn More
Sunbird API

Your unified gateway to our Sunbird  African language technology stack comprising speech-to-text and text-to-speech models, and localized Large Language Models (LLMs)

Learn More
Speech Suite

Sunbird Speech Suite enables systems to listen and speak fluently in African languages.

Learn More
SALT Dataset

The Sunbird African Language Technology (SALT) dataset is a multi-way parallel text and speech corpus of over 25,000 sentences across 6 languages

Learn More
Geospatial AI

AI-powered satellite analysis to identify settlements suitable for solar mini-grids, assess renewable energy viability, and publish open data for infrastructure planners.

Learn More
Environmental AI

Deployed custom embedded hardware across Kampala & Entebbe, classifying sound across 19 categories in real time.

Learn More

Our Approach to Building For Africa's Future Of AI

We takes a practical, Africa-first approach to artificial intelligence building solutions grounded in local realities, driven by African data & expertise, designed to create meaningful impact across communities, governments, & industries.

Practical Systems Deployment

We develop real, operational systems in response to specific challenges identified by local institutions, moving beyond theoretical research into live community deployment.

Open Source & Open Data

We develop real, operational systems in response to specific challenges identified by local institutions, moving beyond theoretical research into live community deployment.

African Technical Leadership

Our multidisciplinary engineering team combines ML expertise with understanding of local socio-cultural realities.

Evidence-Informed Decisions

We specialize in generating/ converting complex data into actionable intelligence for public policy.

Our Approach to Building For Africa's Future Of AI

We takes a practical, Africa-first approach to artificial intelligence building solutions grounded in local realities, driven by African data & expertise, designed to create meaningful impact across communities, governments, & industries.

Practical Systems Deployment

We develop real, operational systems in response to specific challenges identified by local institutions, moving beyond theoretical research into live community deployment.

Open Source & Open Data

We develop real, operational systems in response to specific challenges identified by local institutions, moving beyond theoretical research into live community deployment.

African Technical Leadership

Our multidisciplinary engineering team combines ML expertise with understanding of local socio-cultural realities.

Evidence-Informed Decisions

We specialize in generating/ converting complex data into actionable intelligence for public policy.

Projects We Have Worked On

Discover how we’re applying AI to create practical solutions for communities, institutions, and society.

African Language Technology

Bridging Language Gaps in the Parish Dev't Model

Signed a 5-year MoU with MoICT&NG to integrate translation tools into gov’t citizen infrastructure.

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African Language Technology

Real-Time Urban Noise Intelligence in East Africa

We deployed custom, Edge AI-powered sensors across Kampala and Entebbe to classify urban soundscapes.

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Environmental Monitoring

Voice AI for Agriculture with Amara Hub

In partnership with Amara Hub, we developed a voice-first agricultural information system.

Learn more
VIEW ALL OUR PROJECTS

Projects We Have Worked On

Discover how we’re applying AI to create practical solutions for communities, institutions, and society.

African Language Technology

Bridging Language Gaps in the Parish Dev't Model

Signed a 5-year MoU with MoICT&NG to integrate translation tools into gov’t citizen infrastructure.

Learn more

Environmental Monitoring

Voice AI for Agriculture with Amara Hub

In partnership with Amara Hub, we developed a voice-first agricultural information system.

Learn more
VIEW ALL OUR PROJECTS
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Bridging Language Gaps in the Parish Development Model (MOICT)

Uganda’s Parish Development Model (PDM) targets citizens in subsistence economies, most of whom don’t speak English.  The PDM aims to uplift rural communities by providing economic opportunities. However, language barriers, with many beneficiaries unable to speak English, hinder effective communication.

Sunbird AI partnered with the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in Uganda to support the Parish Development Model (PDM) initiative. To address this challenge, Sunbird AI is providing advanced machine translation technology. By integrating our tools into the PDM information system, we facilitate communication between government officials and citizens. This ensures that information is accessible to all, and that feedback can be effectively gathered and understood.

Real-Time Urban Noise Intelligence in East Africa: Deploying Africa’s first real-time noise monitoring network and building the world's largest urban acoustic dataset.

Africa is rapidly urbanising, and this comes with new public health hazards. Some problems are easily overlooked because of a lack of data. Noise pollution, for example, may seem merely an annoyance, but in fact is a major health concern. It is linked to deaths from ischaemic heart disease (as the body’s nervous system is constantly ‘on alert’ in noisy places), causes learning impairment in children who cannot sleep well, and hinders the recovery of patients recovering from illness who need to rest. In Europe, noise pollution is linked to one million healthy years of life lost each year. Across Africa, city planners have historically lacked the data needed to measure and manage acoustic pollution. You cannot fix what you cannot measure.

In partnership with KCCA and  Entebbe City Authority, Sunbird AI built the solution from the ground up. We deployed custom, Edge AI-powered sensors across Kampala and Entebbe to classify urban soundscapes into 19 categories 

This initiative has yielded an urban noise dataset, making it the largest urban acoustic dataset in existence that we know of. Peer-reviewed in Nature’s Scientific Data, our open-access dataset and live dashboard (noise.sunbird.ai) give policymakers, researchers, and regulators the evidence needed to design quieter, healthier, and more livable cities.

Voice AI for Agriculture with Amara Hub

In northern Uganda, smallholder farmers need agricultural advice and market information in their local languages. However, extension workers are scarce, internet connectivity is low, and text-based tools require literacy skills many farmers do not have.

To bridge this gap, Sunbird AI partnered with Amara Hub, a non-profit empowering underserved communities in northern Uganda, to build a voice-first agricultural information system. Powered by Sunbird Speech and Translation APIs, the platform allows farmers to receive and share vital updates simply by speaking in their native languages.

This inclusive AI connects rural farmers to essential data without requiring English literacy, offering a practical model for voice-based community tools that can be replicated across Uganda’s agricultural sector