At the Global Data Science and AI Conference in Nairobi, The ElevenLabs Impact Program and Senses Hub demonstrated the true meaning of AI for good
Africa is rapidly applying artificial intelligence across finance, health, education, and public services. This year, Strathmore University hosted the 4th Annual Global Data Science and AI Conference in Nairobi, bringing together leaders shaping how AI evolves on the continent. As part of the program, we showcased the ElevenLabs Impact Program with Senses Hub, highlighting how inclusive voice technology supports people with permanent speech loss across East Africa.
At this Summit, the ElevenLabs Impact Program was the only exhibition focused on inclusion in AI. The agenda also featured disability-centered panels and sessions, underscoring a clear direction for the region: Africa’s AI future must include persons with disabilities.
Dr. John Olukuru, Head of Data Science and AI at Strathmore University’s iLab Africa and Convening Lead of the Summit, shared:
"AI has the potential to transform how we live, work, and communicate across Africa. What makes the ElevenLabs Impact Program stand out is its deliberate focus on using advanced AI to serve those who are often left behind. We are proud to host this showcase at the Summit and to highlight work that demonstrates how technology can restore dignity, identity, and opportunity."
Millions of people across Africa live with speech impairments or permanent voice loss caused by stroke, cerebral palsy, ALS, cancer, injury, or neurological conditions. Assistive technologies offer a critical pathway to communication, but most available voices are generic and based on American or British English.
The issue is not simply about accent or style. It is about identity.
When the voice you rely on feels foreign or robotic, communication becomes harder. Confidence drops. Stigma increases. Everyday interactions reinforce a sense of distance between who you are and how you are heard. This affects participation in education, work, and community life.
This is the gap our collaboration with Senses Hub aims to close.
The Global Data Science and AI Conference is one of the region’s key platforms for applied AI. Senses Hub and ElevenLabs demonstrated how voice technology can scale inclusion alongside innovation. We showed how beneficiaries can restore their natural voices through existing recordings or create culturally aligned voices through ethical donation.
Amid sessions on models, datasets, and deployment, more than 300 attendees encountered something deeply human at the ElevenLabs booth. They heard voices that had been lost and then restored, engaged beneficiaries directly whose daily lives have changed because of inclusive AI, and asked about technical implementation. They saw how voice affects daily life in ways that standard product demos cannot capture, and what AI for good truly looks like.
Elsa Wanderi said:
"I never realized how much of my confidence was tied to my voice until I began using the voice donated by my mother. When I first heard a voice that sounded Kenyan, a voice I had grown up listening to, it felt like I had been given a part of myself back."
Maryanne Emomeri, a communications officer at a Disabled Persons Organization, spoke about professional environments:
"In meetings, people used to focus more on the western voice from my assistive software than on what I was saying. With a relatable voice, people listen to me again."
These stories show why inclusive AI is not theoretical. It is about everyday participation, dignity, and identity.
ElevenLabs uses advanced deep learning models to recreate or generate voices with emotional accuracy and linguistic flexibility.
This enables:
At the conference, Senses Hub demonstrated the full pipeline, from voice collection and modeling to deployment.
Senses Hub is one of the continent’s leading accessibility research centers and works to ensure global technologies adapt to local languages and cultures. The current collaboration focuses on East Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
Senses Hub and ElevenLabs will continue expanding the Impact Program across Africa, increasing language and accent coverage, and integrating voices into tools used in schools, hospitals, and workplaces.
As Phidelis Kiarie, Projects Lead at Senses Hub, said:
"We are not just giving people a tool. We are building a system around them so that the technology actually fits into their lives."
The ElevenLabs Impact Program, in partnership with Senses Hub, is open to new applicants across Africa.
If you live in Africa and have permanent speech loss, you can apply to receive a free, personalized voice through the program. Sign up here: Sign-up form
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Millions of people across Africa live with speech impairments or loss of voice. Through our partnership with Senses Hub, we’re developing personalized, culturally relevant voices that restore identity, confidence, and connection across the continent.
With support from the ElevenLabs Impact Program, Generative AI for Good launched "Hearing Their Voices" at the United Nations in Geneva, helping survivors of conflict-related sexual violence share their stories safely.
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