Togo Launches AI Initiative to Digitise National Languages
Through an online platform, citizens can contribute by recording spoken sentences, transcribing audio and translating written material. The collected data will be reviewed and validated before being used to develop language-processing technologies.
Togo has launched a national initiative to develop artificial intelligence tools capable of understanding the country’s local languages, with the aim of improving access to public services for citizens who do not speak French.
The three-year programme, known as Voix du Togo (Voice of Togo), was launched in early October by Cina Lawson, Minister of Public Service Efficiency and Digital Transformation. It will gather audio recordings, written transcriptions and translated texts to build datasets for training AI models in Togolese languages.
Through an online platform, citizens can contribute by recording spoken sentences, transcribing audio and translating written material. The collected data will be reviewed and validated before being used to develop language-processing technologies.
Pilot targets three national languages
The initial phase will focus on Ewe, Kabiyè and Moba, with plans to extend the programme to additional national languages as data collection progresses.
For each of the three languages, the initiative aims to gather 50 hours of validated audio recordings, 6,000 pairs of translated sentences and contributions from at least 500 speakers.
The resulting datasets are expected to support AI applications across public services, including healthcare, justice and government administration. The technology could allow citizens to interact with public institutions in their preferred languages and enable patients to describe symptoms without having to communicate in French.
Building local AI capacity
Voix du Togo forms part of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen the country’s ability to develop and deploy artificial intelligence technologies.
The Ministry of Public Service Efficiency and Digital Transformation is working with Togo AI Lab, an organisation focused on applying AI in sectors including agriculture, healthcare, education and the environment.
In September 2026, Togo AI Lab conducted public tests of the Voix du Togo platform in Lomé to assess its usability and collect feedback from potential users ahead of the initiative’s broader rollout.
By building language resources based on local speech and written material, the programme seeks to lay the groundwork for AI tools that better reflect Togo’s linguistic diversity and make digital public services more accessible.
