ADQ, a sovereign investor focused on critical infrastructure, and the Gates Foundation have announced a new partnership to accelerate the responsible use of artificial intelligence and education technology to improve learning outcomes for children across sub-Saharan Africa, the Foundation announced. The announcement came during Abu Dhabi Finance Week, when Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, visited the UAE. The four-year partnership will deploy a combined $40 million, with ADQ contributing up to $20 million, to tackle persistent education challenges by expanding ethical AI use through two flagship programs.
By 2050, Africa will be home to one in every three of the world’s young people. Yet today, nine in ten children in the region cannot read or do basic math by age 10. The partnership will direct resources toward solutions that reflect local needs, empower teachers, and support students, helping education systems build the capacity for sustained progress. Strengthening early-grade literacy and numeracy is essential to improving learning outcomes throughout a child’s education and supporting growth across the region.
The funding will support two initiatives. AI-for-Education, a global initiative launched in 2022, develops practical models of AI-enabled learning and provides expert guidance to governments in the Global South. The EdTech and AI Fund, a new multi-investor vehicle set to launch next year, will scale proven EdTech and AI solutions across sub-Saharan Africa. Jointly anchored by ADQ and the Gates Foundation, it will be the first fund dedicated to national-level expansion of interventions shown to improve foundational learning. Generative AI offers unique opportunities to enhance proven approaches like structured pedagogy, but evidence on what works is scarce. The sector also faces underfunding and low reach—more than 93% of EdTech products in low and middle-income countries are not tested for proof of learning impact, only 2% of global EdTech venture capital goes to sub-Saharan Africa, and just 4% of children in the region consistently use EdTech.
“As part of the UAE’s commitment to advancing AI and technology-enabled solutions, this partnership underscores ADQ’s dedication to delivering meaningful impact for current and future generations across global markets,” said His Excellency Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ADQ. “As a responsible investor, we have focused on enabling the infrastructure that supports socio-economic development and creating pathways for inclusive growth. The systems that support learning, data, and intelligent technologies are becoming equally important to national development.”
“AI has enormous potential to transform learning and expand opportunity. This partnership brings together the expertise needed to apply these tools responsibly and scale approaches already showing results,” said Bill Gates. “The UAE has shown leadership in using innovation to expand opportunity, and together we’ll build on that momentum to help children develop the foundational skills that shape their futures.”
Earlier this year, the Gates Foundation announced a $240 million expansion of its Global Education Program, a four-year effort to help 15 million children in sub-Saharan Africa and India learn more effectively by delivering cost-efficient and evidence-based solutions in partnership with governments.
With increasing momentum for education reform across Africa, reflected in commitments made at the 2025 African Union Summit to end learning poverty by 2035, the opportunity for meaningful progress has never been greater. Advances in technology, expanding local expertise, and increasing collaboration are creating a stronger foundation for change. By supporting efforts to apply AI and EdTech in ways that meet the needs of teachers and students, this partnership aims to accelerate learning gains and contribute to a more prosperous and inclusive future for the continent’s young people.
