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WAAA WEEKLY BRIEFING
For AI Academies and Universities Teaching AI — With a Focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Week ending Saturday 5 September 2026 | Published by WAAA
Webinar Update
Webinar W011 on “AI Solutions for Economic Development – AI Products and Services Delivering Impact” was completed on Saturday 5 September 2026. For AI academies, the session showcased real-world AI products and services already delivering measurable economic impact across the developing world, giving practical case studies to bring into curricula and to inspire students toward building high-impact AI ventures of their own.
A video on this topic will be uploaded soon to our YouTube channel @AIGrandad999.alanross and to our 10 language-specific channels (e.g. @AIGrandad999.alanross.Spanish, @AIGrandad999.alanross.Hindi, etc.), where there are now over 24 long and 12 short videos on each channel covering the AI and technology disruptions that will affect your country, alongside our recent video “Humanity's Biggest Moonshot” on how the World Bank's World Development Report could be implemented. We encourage you to view and share these with your networks and to ask them to subscribe so they are notified whenever a new video is uploaded.
Our next free webinar, W012, is on Saturday 19 September 2026 at 1pm Dublin, on the topic: “A Global Fund for AI Solutions – What Needs to Be Done Now!” For AI academies, this webinar will explore what a global AI solutions fund could mean for research funding, training infrastructure and student ventures, and what evidence or proposals academies should start preparing now to be ready to draw on it.
Zoom joining details for registered attendees:
Topic: Alan Ross' Zoom Meeting
Time: Saturday 19 September 2026, 1:00 PM Dublin
Join Zoom Meeting: Link
Meeting ID: 825 6438 3585 | Passcode: 042436
📋 THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS
A wider regional sweep this week — four items each from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Key points only below.
Africa
1. KOREA–AFRICA ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP PIVOTS TO AI — $170M FIRST AI LOAN, $10BN INITIATIVE ALREADY IN PLAY
- The 8th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference (Seoul, opens 8 September) is built entirely around AI for the first time in its 20-year history; a Joint Declaration and 2027–2028 Action Plan are expected.
- Follows South Korea's first-ever AI loan to Africa: $170 million (EDCF) to build an AI and digital technology institute in Tanzania — training plus labs plus campus.
- Since 2007, KOAFEC's $50 million trust fund has catalysed a $6 billion+ investment pipeline, mobilised close to $4 billion in financing, and backed 1,300+ start-ups and 1,200 businesses.
- Separately, the African Development Bank has its own $10 billion AI Initiative, launched with UNDP in April 2026.
Why this matters for AI academies: Tanzania's new, fully funded AI institute (labs, campus, curriculum) is a concrete blueprint other academies could pitch to their own governments as a fundable partnership model.
2. FULLY FUNDED TWO-YEAR AI RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP FOR AFRICAN FACULTY OPENS
- The Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science African Faculty Fellowship (University of Michigan / MIDAS) opened applications on 31 August for its 2027 cohort.
- $35,000/year stipend during a 12-month US residency, plus a $50,000 pilot grant to implement AI research back home.
- Open to early- or mid-career faculty in biological, earth/environmental, engineering or physical sciences at African universities.
- Phase 1 application deadline: 5 October 2026.
Why this matters for AI academies: Identify eligible early- or mid-career faculty now — a funded year abroad plus a pilot grant to bring home is a rare, direct route to building in-house AI research capacity. Phase 1 closes 5 October.
3. NEW PAN-AFRICAN PROGRAMME OFFERS AI START-UPS UP TO $200,000 — ZERO EQUITY TAKEN
- The Askya AI Growth Platform — founded by ex-Digital Africa CEO Babacar Seck, with Moniepoint's Tosin Eniolorunda as honorary chair — opened applications on 2 September.
- Up to $200,000 per company, zero equity taken, for 10 AI-native start-ups per cohort (pre-seed to Series A, live product required).
- Free six-week hybrid programme: masterclasses, coaching, and access to cloud/compute, customers and talent.
- Application deadline: 30 September 2026.
Why this matters for AI academies: A model — and potential mentor/partner source — for pointing advanced students and spin-out ventures toward real funding.
4. NIGERIA'S CHIPMANGO RAISES $1.9M TO BUILD AFRICAN CHIP-DESIGN TALENT
- Nigerian venture ChipMango raised a $1.9 million seed round led by Atlantica Ventures, announced 4 September.
- AI-powered platform trains and certifies engineers in semiconductor/chip design, already delivering production-grade work for global customers.
- Expanding a design centre to Malta and a workforce-development programme to Rwanda.
Why this matters for AI academies: A concrete model for academies wanting to move beyond software-only AI teaching into hardware and embedded-systems training.
Asia
1. THAILAND LAUNCHES A NATIONAL “AI PASSPORT” — FREE ACCESS TO 33 AI MODELS FOR UP TO 5 MILLION CITIZENS
- Thailand's TH-AI Passport (aipass.go.th) launched 31 August, giving citizens, students and entrepreneurs free access to 33 premium AI models from 14 global providers.
- Government subsidises access at 24.70 baht/month per active user; over 1 million people pre-registered within two days.
- Data-use contracts bar providers from retaining citizens' data for AI training.
- Runs alongside Thailand's first draft AI Act, now in public hearing.
Why this matters for AI academies: A national digital-access scheme academies elsewhere could point to when lobbying for subsidised AI tool access for students.
2. SRI LANKA GETS AN ACCREDITED, WORK-STUDY ROUTE INTO APPLIED AI DEGREES
- Colombo's AI Academy partnered with Berlin's Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences (announced 31 August) to offer a BSc in Applied AI and an MBA in AI & Technological Transformation.
- Work-study model: students take on paid, real client briefs from day one alongside study.
- Degrees carry German accreditation (FIBAA/ACQUIN); target sectors include tech, apparel, tea, tourism, logistics and government.
Why this matters for AI academies: A concrete, internationally accredited model for partnering abroad to deliver applied AI degrees without a full study-abroad move — worth studying for similar tie-ups.
3. PAKISTANI-FOUNDED AI START-UP METAL RAISES $4.5M FROM a16z AND Y COMBINATOR
- Metal, an AI-native fundraising/capital-formation platform for start-up founders, raised a $4.5 million seed round (2 September), co-led by a16z Speedrun and Y Combinator.
- Pakistani VC Indus Valley Capital also participated; founder Usman Gul previously built Airlift Technologies.
- Company reports six straight quarters of 30–80% quarter-on-quarter growth and 100+ paying customers.
Why this matters for AI academies: A concrete, locally founded success story worth featuring for entrepreneurship-track students.
4. INDONESIA'S PUSH FOR “SOVEREIGN AI” RAISES OVERSIGHT QUESTIONS
- Analysis (5 September, East Asia Forum) examines Indonesia's planned 2026 AI Ethics Regulation and National AI Roadmap, due as presidential regulations this year.
- Government ministry Komdigi frames the goal as building a “sovereign and full-stack AI ecosystem.”
- Analysts flag that existing enforcement laws lack independent oversight bodies, and that draft ethics guidelines exempt defence/security uses from monitoring.
Why this matters for AI academies: Relevant, current material for any AI ethics or governance curriculum content.
Latin America
1. CHILE'S NEW GOVERNMENT MOVES AWAY FROM EU-STYLE AI RULES TOWARD A US/SINGAPORE MODEL
- Chile's Kast government is rewriting 20+ articles of the previous administration's EU-style, risk-tiered AI bill (confirmed 30 August).
- Replacing it with regulatory sandboxes, harm-based (not risk-based) sanctions, government AI-procurement rules and workforce retraining.
- Science Minister Ximena Lincolao cited struggles at French AI firm Mistral as a case against over-regulation.
Why this matters for AI academies: A live example for governance curricula of how quickly an AI regulatory approach can change with a change of government.
2. COLOMBIA'S FLAGSHIP TECH CONGRESS PUTS HARD AI-ADOPTION NUMBERS ON THE TABLE
- ANDICOM 2026 (Cartagena, 1–4 September), 41st edition, drew 6,200+ attendees from 40+ countries; the EU was guest of honour.
- AWS Colombia reported AI adoption among Colombian organisations rose from 34% to 42% in a year — but 40% of Colombian SMEs still have no AI adoption plan.
- The EU is said to represent 23% of Colombia's direct tech FDI and 120,000+ jobs.
Why this matters for AI academies: The EU's guest-of-honour role and named FDI/jobs figures show the kind of international academic and business partnerships now forming around AI in the region.
3. 4,000 FREE AI TRAINING PLACES OPEN ACROSS COLOMBIA, MEXICO AND CHILE
- Registration opened (4–5 September) for AI Week LATAM 2026 (29 September–3 October), run by SoftServe and NVIDIA with regional universities.
- First time expanding beyond Colombia, to Guadalajara (Mexico) and Valparaíso (Chile) as well as Bogotá/Medellín.
- Over 4,000 training slots and 400 NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute certification spots, covering generative AI, agentic systems and robotics.
- Justified by a projected gap of 85,000+ digital-talent roles in Colombia in 2026 alone.
Why this matters for AI academies: A named, multi-country, free AI-skills programme with a concrete registration window and university partners — directly worth promoting to students and studying as a partnership model.
4. COSTA RICA-FOUNDED KONKO AI RAISES $6M TO SCALE HEALTHCARE AI ACROSS LATIN AMERICA
- Konko AI, founded in Costa Rica and led by CEO Jean-Marc Goguikian, raised a $6 million round led by Hi Ventures, reported 2–4 September.
- Its “Kora” platform automates patient messaging, triage, scheduling and appointment recovery for clinics.
- Says it has processed 2 million+ patient interactions across 90 healthcare institutions in Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica; customers report up to 30% revenue gains.
- States a long-term goal of expanding across the wider Global South.
Why this matters for AI academies: A real-world applied-AI case study for health-informatics or entrepreneurship curricula.
Upcoming Webinar & Membership
A Global Fund for AI Solutions – What Needs to Be Done Now!
For AI academies, this webinar will explore what a global AI solutions fund could mean for research funding, training infrastructure and student ventures, and what evidence or proposals academies should start preparing now to be ready to draw on it.
Register now to book your free placeNot yet a WAAA member?
WAAA is building a global network of AI academies, universities and educators committed to sharing resources and jointly developing AI courses, with a particular focus on LMIC countries.
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