Khaya.AI, an artificial intelligence platform founded by Ghanaian researcher and entrepreneur Dr. Paul Azunre, has introduced a groundbreaking speech-recognition and text-to-speech technology covering 32 African languages.
The innovation, according to the company, has the potential to digitally empower an estimated 540 million people across the continent.
In a video demonstration, Dr. Azunre who is also known musically as Dr. Pushkin showcased how the system accurately transcribes and interprets spoken words in real time. Users can upload or record audio directly from their browsers and receive instant transcriptions.
“So now I have it transcribe once you submit,” Azunre explained in the demo, highlighting the tool’s performance in Adangme, Ewe, Fante, Ga, Nzema, and Asante Twi. “If you compare the reference to the transcription, you will see that it’s doing pretty well.”
Dr. Azunre said the tools were designed to expand digital access for speakers of African languages that have long been marginalized in global technology development. Notably, Khaya.AI is the only platform supporting all government-sponsored Ghanaian languages, a significant national milestone in linguistic technology.
“Today I wanted to let you know that you can test our text-to-speech and our speech-recognition AI for 32 African languages, covering approximately 540 million people, which is more than half a billion,” he added.
According to Khaya.AI, the new tools could broaden market access for African businesses, strengthen digital communication across multilingual communities, and support education and preservation efforts for endangered languages.
Dr. Azunre, an MIT graduate and founder of the Ghana-based AI research firm Algorine, has spent years advancing linguistic inclusion in artificial intelligence. Through Khaya.AI, he continues to lead efforts to make African languages visible and functional in the global tech ecosystem.