Ghana's Ministry of Education has announced a partnership with Google, the University of Ghana, and GDI Hub to develop artificial intelligence tools for local languages including Twi, Ewe, and Dagbani—technology that a Ghanaian startup has already built and deployed successfully.
Khaya AI, a Ghana-based startup, currently operates a working platform supporting those exact same languages: Twi, Ga, Ewe, and Dagbani. The company has won international recognition for its technology, which is already live and functional, not in beta testing.
Yet when the Education Minister announced the new initiative to enhance educational accessibility through AI-powered language tools, no mention was made of Khaya AI or other local solutions.
"Innovation isn't just about building new tools, but recognizing and scaling what already works," technology advocates wrote in response to the announcement on social media. The decision sparked immediate questions in Ghana's tech community about why the government would commission a new development project when a proven solution exists domestically.
The controversy highlights a persistent challenge across Africa: governments often default to partnerships with Western technology giants even when local innovators have already solved the problem. 54 countries, 2,000 languages, 1.4 billion people—and in many of them, local entrepreneurs are building solutions tailored to African contexts, only to watch governments look elsewhere.
Dr. Kwame Mensah, a technology policy researcher at the University of Cape Coast, says the pattern undermines domestic innovation ecosystems. "When governments consistently overlook local solutions, they send a signal that discourages the very innovation they claim to support," he told African Arguments. "Khaya AI didn't just build a product—they proved it works. That should count for something."
The risks extend beyond individual companies. Technology advocates warn that if homegrown solutions are consistently ignored, talented innovators may abandon local markets entirely, taking their expertise elsewhere. Meanwhile, continued dependence on external providers can undermine long-term technical capacity and self-sufficiency.
Following pressure from journalists and technology leaders, the Education Minister has expressed willingness to discuss collaboration with Khaya AI, suggesting the government may be reconsidering its approach. Whether this represents a genuine shift in policy or damage control remains to be seen.
Similar dynamics play out across the continent. In Kenya, M-Pesa revolutionized mobile money precisely because the government allowed local innovation to flourish. In Nigeria, fintech startups have built payment systems serving millions—but often struggle when governments default to established Western providers for official projects.
"The question isn't whether to work with international partners," says Amina Osei, director of Accra-based tech hub Impact Hub. "It's whether we recognize and invest in solutions that Africans have already built. Khaya AI exists. It works. Why are we pretending we need to start from scratch?"
The Ministry of Education has not responded to requests for comment on why existing local solutions were not considered in the initial partnership announcement.
For Khaya AI and other African tech companies watching this unfold, the message is clear: building a working product isn't enough. The harder battle is convincing your own government to use it.
