Ethiopian AI Institute Becoming Africa’s Most Visible,  Influential Institute, PM Abiy Says

Addis Ababa, November 17, 2025 (ENA) -- Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute (AII) has positioned itself as one of Africa’s most visible and influential AI institutions.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the Institute’s move to the former Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation building, PM Abiy highlighted the AII’s “remarkable” progress over the past five years.

According to the prime minister, key achievements include the development of an internationally patented breast cancer detection technology and a patented system for identifying diseases in coffee and other agricultural products.

The prime minister also noted that the Institute’s accomplishments extend beyond software for robotics, emphasizing that it has also been designing and building hardware.

The AII is advancing its capabilities in drone production and communication technologies, he added.

PM Abiy described artificial intelligence as a rapidly evolving and competitive field across Africa, stating that the Institute has already released multiple products.

Among its most significant breakthroughs, he said, is the internationally recognized and patented breast cancer detection innovation. In agriculture, the AII’s patented technology for diagnosing crop diseases, particularly in coffee, was also highlighted.

 

The Institute has also developed “Mesob,” a platform offering more than 100 services through a single system, he stated, adding that it has also built numerous digital solutions that support government institutions, including the ministries of Finance and Revenue and the Customs Commission, helping modernize their operations.

The Prime Minister further pointed to the AII’s progress in cloud computing and language technologies, which include tools enabling speakers of Amharic, Afan Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya, and Afar to communicate across languages without a third-party translator, using text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and cross-language conversion technologies powered by thousands of hours of audio data.

Reflecting on Ethiopia’s historical struggles to keep pace with global transformations, from the agricultural revolution to the technological and industrial revolutions, PM Abiy noted that the nation has often lacked the readiness and imagination needed to embrace new knowledge and innovation.

However,  this trend has already been changing, he underscored.

Whether we like it or not, unless Ethiopia fully immerses itself in the ongoing artificial intelligence revolution, as a country that risks falling behind global advancements just as it did during past revolutions.