• The Gates Foundation and ADQ launched a four-year initiative to transform education in sub-Saharan Africa using AI and EdTech, with ADQ contributing up to $20 million.
• The initiative will fund AI-for-Education and a new EdTech and AI Fund to expand proven, tech-enabled interventions that improve foundational learning at the national level.
• The partnership aligns with Africa’s education reform drive, including the AU’s Decade of Education. 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ADQ, a sovereign investor focused on critical infrastructure and global supply chains, have unveiled a four-year, $40 million partnership aimed at revolutionising education for children across sub-Saharan Africa through artificial intelligence and education technology.

The initiative, announced December 17 during a visit by Bill Gates to the UAE on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Finance Week, will see ADQ contribute up to $20 million to tackle one of the continent's most pressing challenges. "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.

The $40 million initiative will channel resources through two key vehicles. The first is AI-for-Education, a global program launched in 2022 that develops practical, AI-enabled learning models and offers expert guidance to governments across the Global South. The second is the EdTech and AI Fund, a pioneering multi-investor vehicle set to launch next year, jointly anchored by ADQ and the Gates Foundation. This fund will be the first of its kind dedicated to scaling nationally proven interventions that enhance foundational learning outcomes.

"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."

The partnership builds on the Gates Foundation's $240 million expansion of its Global Education Program announced earlier this year, which aims to help 15 million children in sub-Saharan Africa and India learn more effectively through evidence-based solutions.

The timing aligns with growing momentum for education reform across Africa. In October 2025, the ADEA Triennale in Accra convened education leaders, policymakers, and development partners to chart a path toward ending learning poverty by 2035. It also reinforced the African Union’s Decade of Accelerated Action for the Transformation of Education and Skills Development in Africa (2025-2034), a continent-wide initiative launched to end learning poverty and ensure foundational skills for all, elevating the teaching profession as central to Africa's development, and aligning education with the future of work through digital transformation and innovation.

Digital technologies are increasingly seen as a catalyst for inclusive, lifelong learning across the continent. As highlighted by the Boston Consulting Group in its article " Boosting Education Technology in Africa, Kenya’s Eneza Education, for instance, has reached over five million learners using basic mobile phones, leading to a 5% improvement in exam scores. In Tanzania, the Ubongo platform delivers educational content to 17 million children each week, demonstrating the power of localised, tech-driven solutions to close learning gaps.

Hikmatu Bilali