ICT's PS Zawedde launches SunbirdAI's "Sunflower" language Model

Yesterday, Dr. Aminah Zawedde, the Permanent Secretary of  the Ministry of ICT and national guidance, launched #SunbirdAI ’s “Sunflower” language model. 

What You Need To Know: 

Sunflower is a language model built for Ugandans, by Ugandans. 

It supports over 25 Ugandan languages, plus Swahili and Kinyarwanda, serving as the “ChatGPT for Uganda” in country's local languages.

Dr. Aminah Zawedde emphasized that this innovation enables citizens to access vital information, from health to agriculture to governance in the language they understand best. When language is no longer a barrier, inclusion becomes real.

She notes that this milestone reflects the Ministry’s Fourth Industrial Revolution Strategy and our unwavering commitment to ensuring that all Ugandans benefit from digital transformation.

 Sunflower, is Uganda’s first multilingual AI model  it is built to understand 31 local languages, Sunflower bridges Uganda’s digital language divide and makes technology truly inclusive.

The goal is to tackle linguistic inequality in AI across Africa. 

Most large models still center on English and a few global languages, while local ones receive little attention. 

Uganda offers a strong test case because many of its languages are used side by side every day.