Project summary

AI Safety East Africa (AISEA) is a volunteer driven initiative that delivered foundational AI safety and governance training across East Africa in 2025. We trained 40 learners across four cohorts from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Sudan, with 22 completing the program. Several high potential technical and governance projects emerged during the project phase ,however  we currently lack the operational capacity and resources needed to advance them.

This funding will enable us to maintain essential operations, complete learner projects currently in our backlog, and strengthen the delivery of AI safety education across East Africa.

What are this project's goals? How will you achieve them?

1.Ensure continuity of workflow within the organisation.

This funding will ensure we can maintain core communication and coordination tools, handle administrative and community management tasks effectively, and reduce burnout across our volunteer team.

2.Support the completion of high-potential learner projects.

We will provide small research grants, allocate resources to refine and publish backlog projects, and offer structured guidance alongside mentor connections to help learners advance their work.

3.Build stable, local infrastructure for identifying and supporting talent.

We will run targeted outreach activities, host small workshops and discussion groups, and facilitate regional connections to global opportunities to strengthen East Africa’s emerging AI safety ecosystem.

How will this funding be used?

Minimum funding $500
Covers only essential operational costs (communication tools, coordination, and admin). To kee AISEA active and prevents loss of momentum by volunteer team.

Max funding $5,000
Completion of pending learner projects in our backlog
Grants/resources for research projects
Local workshops and outreach initiatives
Community engagement across East Africa through country leads

Who is on your team? What's your track record on similar projects?

Core Team

Immaculate Odwera – Co-founder

https://www.linkedin.com/in/immaculate-odwera-079921138

Essa Mohammedali – Patron, Co-founder of AI Community Tanzania
https://tz.linkedin.com/in/essa-mohamedali

Gergo Gáspár – Advisor
https://hu.linkedin.com/in/gergogaspar

Mercy Kyalo – Co-founder
http://linkedin.com/in/mercymkyalo1

AI Safety East Africa made significant strides in its first year of building without external funding. In 2025, we received over 150+ applications from across East Africa and onboarded 40 learners across 4 cohorts, graduating 22 participants with certificates in Technical AI Safety and AI Governance. While we were encouraged by the strong interest and enthusiasm from many applicants, we were only able to onboard a limited number of learners due to constraints in volunteer capacity and available facilitation resources. Our learners represented 7 countries, supported by facilitators from Kenya, Nigeria, and Sudan. The AISEA community has grown to over 100+ members across LinkedIn and Slack, reflecting ongoing engagement and the demand for AI safety expertise in the region. These results showcase the dedication of our small, volunteer driven team and demonstrate our capacity to deliver meaningful, scalable impact even with limited resources.

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails?

Without funding, AISEA risks becoming inactive, leaving high potential learner projects unfinished, weakening momentum for emerging AI safety talent in East Africa, reducing regional participation in global AI safety efforts, and causing community enthusiasm to stagnate due to limited support infrastructure.

How much money have you raised in the last 12 months, and from where?

$0 in external funding.
All activities have been supported entirely through personal funds from the cofounders, which is no longer sustainable with the growing number of learners and ongoing operational demands.