Google has opened its first Artificial Intelli­gence (AI) Com­munity Centre in Accra on Thursday, positioning Ghana as a key hub for AI education, research, and innovation in Africa.The centre will provide train­ing programmes, workshops, and collaborative opportunities for developers, students, and creators.Its activities will focus on four main areas, which include Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy, commu­nity technology, social impact, and arts and culture.As part of the initiative, Senior Vice President for Research, Labs, and Technology and Society at Google, James Manyika, stated that Google would offer 100,000 fully funded Career Certificate scholar­ships to students in Ghana.Mr Manyinka said the courses would cover AI essentials, prompt­ing essentials, IT support, data analytics and cybersecurity, aimed at equipping young people with skills for the digital economy.He also mentioned that the AI Community Centre was part of a broader $37 million package to strengthen AI research, digital skills, and technology infrastruc­ture across Africa.Out of the amount, he said $25 million would support the AI Collaborative for Food Security, a multi-partner programme devel­oping AI tools to forecast hunger, improve crop resilience, and assist smallholder farmers in adapting to climate and economic shocks."Google is also investing $3 million in the Masakhane Research Foundation, which focuses on creating translation models, speech tools, and high-quality datasets for more than 40 African languages, improving digital access for mil­lions", he added.Furthermore, Mr Manyinka indicated that in an attempt to ac­celerate innovation, Google would launch a catalytic funding initiative to help more than 100 AI-driv­en startups expand solutions in healthcare, agriculture, education, and other sectors.Startups, he stressed, would receive a mix of funding, mentor­ship, and technical expertise."Africa is home to some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today.

We are commit­ted to supporting the next wave of innovation through long-term investment, local partnerships and platforms that help researchers and entrepreneurs build solu­tions to that matter," Mr Manyika explained.Google's Vice President of Engineering and Research, Yossi Matias, said the support reflects his outfit's belief in the talent, creativity, and ingenuity across the continent."By building with local com­munities and institutions, we are supporting solutions that are rooted in Africa's realities and built for global impact," he said.On his part, the Minister of Communications, Digital Tech­nology and Innovations, Mr Sam Nartey George, called on Ghana's technology community to use digital tools to address pressing national challenges such as urban flooding, waste management and traffic congestion."Digital transformation is not a luxury; it is an urgent necessity.

It is key to creating sustainable jobs, improving public services, and making Ghana globally competi­tive," Mr George said.He praised Google for support­ing Ghana's "One Million Coders" initiative by offering 100,000 career certifications, describing them as "100,000 opportunities and 100,000 lives transformed.""African solutions do not rest in Silicon Valley.

They reside in Nairobi, Kampala, Antananarivo, and right here in Accra.