The GSMA, backed by funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has revealed the first cohort of its Innovation Fund for Impactful AI. Among the initial grantees, African startups from Ghana stand out for using mobile-first artificial intelligence to tackle deeply rooted economic and educational gaps. Their work shows how AI, when adapted to local realities and basic mobile infrastructure, can move beyond hype and deliver practical benefits for low-income communities.
Innovation Fund and AI in Emerging Markets
The Innovation Fund for Impactful AI was launched in January 2025 to support for-profit early-stage enterprises in low and middle-income countries. Its goal is to back AI-driven solutions that leverage mobile technology to address challenges in sectors such as education, financial inclusion, agriculture, and climate resilience. The fund is sector-agnostic but prioritizes solutions that can scale, use contextual data, and demonstrate tangible socio-economic or climate impact.
Strong Demand and African Momentum
The call for applications generated 625 submissions from 40 countries across Africa, the Pacific, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. This response underlines strong demand for capital and support tailored to localized AI innovations, particularly those that work on basic devices and in local languages. From this pool, Ghanaian ventures Kola Market and Metaschool AI emerged as leading examples of how AI and mobile can directly support microenterprises and students in underserved communities.
Kola Market: AI for Small Business Growth in Ghana
Kola Market targets millions of micro, small, and medium enterprises across Africa that struggle with poor product selection, unstable demand, and limited access to usable data. Without reliable insights on what to stock and when to stock it, traditional financing alone fails to unlock real growth for these businesses. Kola Market addresses this gap through an AI-powered, mobile-first platform accessible via WhatsApp, SMS, and voice, which optimizes inventory, boosts sales, and enables tailored off-balance-sheet financing.
Deepening Financial Inclusion through Mobile AI
With support from the Innovation Fund, Kola Market will upgrade its platform to deepen reach and accuracy in serving Ghanaian merchants. The company plans to enhance two-way voice interaction, expand accessibility for basic feature phones, and integrate mobile money data to improve credit scoring for thin-file customers. It will also pilot AI-guided micro-warehousing models that can reduce delivery costs and ensure that small retailers receive the right products in the right quantities at the right time.
Metaschool AI: Closing Ghana’s Rural Education Gap
Metaschool AI focuses on students in rural Ghana who face systemic disadvantages due to limited connectivity, weak digital infrastructure, and a lack of access to quality learning resources. While urban students increasingly benefit from tablets and high-speed internet, many rural learners rely only on basic feature phones and have little exposure to digital content. Metaschool AI tackles this inequity through an AI-powered learning platform that delivers personalized, curriculum-aligned tutoring to help students prepare for national exams.
Scaling Low-Cost, Mobile-First Learning
The grant will enable Metaschool AI to extend its platform across all device types, including low-connectivity channels such as USSD and SMS. The team will strengthen core features like video lessons, interactive quizzes, and progress dashboards while integrating localized voice support so students can access help in familiar languages. By combining AI personalization with basic mobile access, the platform aims to transform feature phones into powerful learning tools for rural classrooms and households.
GSMA Support and Ecosystem Impact
Over an 18-month period, GSMA will provide both African grantees with tailored venture-building support to refine their products and business models. The program will also facilitate partnerships with mobile network operators, public-sector bodies, and other ecosystem actors, helping these startups reach more users and embed their services into everyday life. In addition, visibility through GSMA events and publications is expected to attract further investors and partners, creating a pathway for scale across Ghana and other African markets.
The selection of Kola Market and Metaschool AI as inaugural grantees of the Innovation Fund for Impactful AI underscores the strategic role of African innovators in shaping inclusive AI. Their focus on feature phones, local languages, and concrete use cases for merchants and students shows how AI can deliver value far from the traditional tech hubs. As the fund’s wider cohort is rolled out, these Ghanaian startups are positioned to demonstrate how locally grounded AI can drive sustainable growth and opportunity across the continent.