WAAA WEEKLY AI INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING – 26 September 2026

For AI Academies and Universities Teaching AI

With a Focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Week ending Saturday 26 September 2026 | Published by WAAA | www.waaa.academy

No live webinar was held this week. Last Saturday's session, W012, on “A Global Fund for AI Solutions – What Needs to Be Done Now!”, examined what a workable global fund for AI solutions would mean for research funding, training infrastructure and student ventures at AI academies, building on UN Secretary-General António Guterres's own call earlier this year for a global AI fund to ensure AI benefits everyone.

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 25 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, W013, is on Saturday 3 October 2026 at 1pm Dublin, on the topic: “Eliminating the Digital Divide.  A Pilot Proposal for MDBs and UN to Consider.” For WAAA members, the pilot's national AI entrepreneurship Training initiatives that provide thousands of trainees to ai academies is central to the proposal. This shows how academies could be positioned as delivery partners if MDBs and how the UN could take it forward.  The proposal calls on multilateral development banks and the UN to run a demonstration pilot  project combining solar power, national AI training academies and rapid deployment of already-proven AI solutions in a handful of countries. This would build on the World Bank's 2026 World Development Report, to show  how this combination could measurably narrow the digital divide before recommending it for wider scale-up. Some of the ideas that will be covered/discussed  are already are included within the  “Humanity's Biggest Moonshot” video.

Register now: https://waaa.academy/webinar-registration

Zoom joining details for registered attendees:

Topic: Eliminating the Digital Divide-A Pilot Proposal for MDBs and UN to consider

Time: Saturday 3 October 2026, 1:00 PM Dublin

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88318199886?pwd=nbQIUHGajdnPdfe9prTSfb1uN1co9N.1

Meeting ID: 883 1819 9886   Passcode: 773754

A regional sweep of the week from Sunday 20 to Saturday 26 September 2026 — a week dominated by AI announcements around the UN General Assembly in New York — with developments from Africa, Asia and Latin America, plus one global story with strong Global South relevance. Key points only below; follow the source link for the full story.

AFRICA

1. KENYA AND FINLAND CO-CHAIR AN “AI MIDDLE POWERS” COALITION AT THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY — AND KENYA SIGNS AN AI DECLARATION WITH ANTHROPIC

President William Ruto of Kenya and President Alexander Stubb of Finland co-chaired a High-Level Artificial Intelligence Middle Powers Coalition meeting on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York (reported 22 September).

The coalition argues that middle-income and smaller nations should build shared AI capabilities through organised cooperation while keeping national control over accountability, and that global AI governance should be anchored in the UN rather than set by a handful of governments or technology companies.

Ruto: “Political sovereignty without technological agency risks becoming sovereignty in law but dependency in practice.” Stubb: “We can't be in a situation where we have no skin in the game.”

On 23 September Kenya also signed a Joint Declaration with US AI company Anthropic covering skills and research, public-sector solutions, AI safety and evaluation, education and health, with pilots to be designed with Kenyan institutions under Kenyan law. No funding figures were disclosed.

Why this matters for WAAA members: The coalition's focus on pooling talent across countries opens space for academies to position themselves as regional training partners. Kenya's new agreement with Anthropic also lists skills, research and education among its pilot areas - worth watching for academic partnership openings.

Source: KBC Digital, 22 Sept 2026; The Star (Kenya), 23 Sept 2026

2. SOUTH AFRICA RESETS ITS NATIONAL AI POLICY — NEW DRAFT DUE BY MARCH 2027

Speaking at GovTech 2026 in Durban on 21 September, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi said a new, Cabinet-ready draft national AI policy will be ready by March 2027.

The previous draft was withdrawn in April 2026 after it was found to contain fabricated, AI-generated citations. An independent expert panel led by Professor Benjamin Rosman of Wits University is now overseeing the rewrite.

Malatsi admitted “we didn't interrogate the bibliography”, argued that relying on AI in research “is only unethical when it's not declared”, and urged governments to “use regulation to enable sectors to grow” while safeguarding citizens. He also said digital sovereignty must be treated as a developmental issue within growth plans.

Why this matters for WAAA members: A national policy withdrawn over fabricated AI-generated citations is a powerful teaching case for AI literacy and research-integrity modules- and academies in South Africa can offer expertise as the expert panel rebuilds the policy.

Source: Daily Maverick, 21 Sept 2026

3. AFRICA'S AI COMPUTE BUILD-OUT ACCELERATES: 656MW IN THE PIPELINE AND 85,000+ DEVELOPERS TRAINED

An NVIDIA report published on 21 September says four “AI factories” have been announced or brought online across Africa within a year, with 656 megawatts of new data-centre capacity now in the pipeline.

Projects cited include an estimated $400 million facility in Egypt by Hassan Allam Data Centers and A15 (with GPU-as-a-service planned through Vodafone Egypt), up to $720 million of potential Cassava Technologies investment across Africa, and a $1.2 billion initial investment for the Nexus AI factory in Morocco.

More than 85,000 developers across Africa have been trained through NVIDIA's Deep Learning Institute. Nigeria is now the Institute's second-largest market worldwide, and Egypt's learner base grew more than tenfold in a single year.

Context: Africa holds roughly 18% of the world's population but less than 1% of global data-centre capacity. (Figures are NVIDIA's own.)

Why this matters for WAAA members: With 85,000+ developers already trained and Nigeria now the Deep Learning Institute's second-largest market, demand for structured AI training in Africa is proven. Academies can explore DLI course partnerships and position themselves as the local skills pipeline for the new AI factories.

Source: NVIDIA Blog, 21 Sept 2026

4. “AFRICA NEEDS ITS OWN AI SOLUTIONS, NOT BORROWED ONES” — UN SCIENTIFIC PANEL MEMBER

In a UN News interview published on 25 September, Girmaw Abebe Tadesse - a member of the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI who leads Microsoft's AI for Good Lab in Kenya- called for a problem-first approach that builds AI around local challenges instead of importing external systems.

He urged governments, educational institutions, development partners and technology companies to work together, noting that Africa's large youth population and fast technology adoption create real innovation opportunities.

“There is a need for African countries to collaborate more, share experiences and learn from each other's successes instead of each starting from scratch.”

Why this matters for WAAA members: A UN scientific panel member making the case for exactly what WAAA exists to do - academies collaborating and sharing courses rather than each starting from scratch. The “problem-first” approach is also a strong design principle for student projects built around local challenges.

Source: UN News, 25 Sept 2026

ASIA

1. ADB: THE AI INVESTMENT CYCLE IS NOW SHAPING WHICH ASIAN ECONOMIES GROW FASTEST

The Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Outlook, September 2026 (reported 23 September) raised developing Southeast Asia's growth forecast to 4.7% for 2026 (from 4.6%) and 4.9% for 2027 (from 4.8%). Developing Asia and the Pacific is forecast to grow 5.0% in 2026.

Vietnam was upgraded to 7.8% (from 7.2%) and Malaysia to 4.9% (from 4.6%), helped by manufacturing, investment and semiconductor demand, while the Philippines was downgraded to 3.3% (from 3.8%).

ADB named “the technology and AI investment cycle favoring economies tied into electronics and digital supply chains” as one of three main forces behind the widening gap between economies, alongside differences in public investment and policy support.

Why this matters for WAAA members: Where AI investment flows, demand for AI-skilled graduates follows. Academies in Vietnam, Malaysia and neighbouring economies should expect growing employer demand, while those in slower-growing economies can use this evidence to argue for skills investment.

Source: TNGlobal, 23 Sept 2026 (ADB Asian Development Outlook, September 2026)

2. PAKISTAN'S PUNJAB LAUNCHES AI CURRICULUM AND TRAINING FOR 160,000 TEACHERS

The Punjab provincial government launched an AI Curriculum and Training Initiative (26 September) to train 160,000 schoolteachers in artificial intelligence.

Partners at the launch included the School Education Department, PECTAA, PMIU-PESRP, UNICEF and the provincial Office of AI, under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif's education modernisation agenda.

Ali Dar, Adviser to the Chief Minister on AI: “The main purpose of introducing AI in the curriculum is to train teachers according to the latest state-of-the-art standards.” Grade levels and a detailed timeline have not yet been published.

Why this matters for WAAA members: A single initiative training 160,000 teachers creates immediate demand for AI training content, trainers and teacher-education expertise. Academies in Pakistan and the region should consider how to support delivery, and others can use it as a model to propose to their own education ministries.

Source: ProPakistani, 26 Sept 2026

3. SOUTHEAST ASIA MOVES TO LOCAL-LANGUAGE AI AT SCALE: VIETNAM, THAILAND AND MALAYSIA BUILD ON OPEN MODELS

At NVIDIA's AI Day in Singapore (25 September), partners across Southeast Asia showcased AI systems moving from pilots into production, many built by fine-tuning NVIDIA's open Nemotron models for local languages and local services.

In Vietnam, Viettel AI fine-tuned Nemotron 3 Super for Vietnamese-language applications (ranked first on the VMLU benchmark), and FPT Smart Cloud is building a Vietnamese personas dataset. In Thailand, iApp Technology released an open-source legal model (OpenThai 2.0 Legal) powering a chatbot that serves 43,000 users. In Malaysia, YTL AI Labs is fine-tuning models for enterprise and citizen services.

AI Singapore also released Nemotron-SEA-LION-v4.8 (18 September), covering 10 Southeast Asian languages, and a developer “Codefest” gave builders GPU access to work with the open models.

Why this matters for WAAA members: Fine-tuning open models for local languages is now a practical, teachable skill with real national demand. Academies can build courses and student projects around adapting open models (such as SEA-LION and Nemotron) for their own languages.

Source: Techwire Asia, Sept 2026

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

1. LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN LEADERS CALL FOR A REGIONAL AI MECHANISM AT IDB SUMMIT

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) convened heads of state from the Bahamas, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Uruguay, plus officials from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala, in New York on 21 September during the UN General Assembly, alongside executives from Google, Anthropic, Microsoft and NVIDIA.

Leaders called for “a regional mechanism that would embed a common strategy and joint investment guidelines” for AI adoption across the region.

Preliminary findings from the IDB's forthcoming 2026 flagship report (due November): broad AI adoption could lift regional GDP by 5.1% within a decade, against just 0.3% with limited adoption. Wages could rise 2.3%–5.3% if workers move into expanding sectors — but fall 13.5%–20.9% if they cannot.

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader: “We can advance development and regulate at the same time.”

Why this matters for WAAA members: The IDB's own numbers show wages could rise by up to 5.3% or fall by up to 21% depending on whether workers can move into growing sectors — hard evidence that reskilling capacity decides who benefits. This is a strong, citable argument when academies approach governments and funders.

Source: IDB via GlobeNewswire, 21 Sept 2026; DR1, 23 Sept 2026

2. GOOGLE CLOUD TO DOUBLE ITS BRAZIL INFRASTRUCTURE AND UPSKILL 3 MILLION BRAZILIANS IN AI BY 2030

Google Cloud announced on 24 September that it will double its technical infrastructure in Brazil by 2030. Gemini Enterprise will process Gemini 3.5 Flash data inside Brazil from 15 October, and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell GPUs are now available in the São Paulo region.

Skills commitments include 10,000 free certification vouchers for Brazilian developers, a “Capacita+” programme aiming to train 200,000 people in a single day with more than 150 educational institutions, and a goal to upskill 3 million Brazilians in AI and cloud technologies by 2030.

Google Cloud cites figures showing 62% of Brazilian organisations are implementing AI agents, but only 17% have consolidated adoption with governance in place.

Why this matters for WAAA members: The Capacita+ programme is being delivered with more than 150 educational institutions, and 10,000 free certification vouchers are available to Brazilian developers — concrete ways for academies in Brazil to partner and to get students certified at no cost.

Source: Google Cloud Press Corner, 24 Sept 2026

3. BRAZIL'S NUVIA RAISES $1.8M TO SCALE WHATSAPP-FIRST AI SALES AGENTS ACROSS LATIN AMERICA

Nuvia, founded in 2024, raised $1.8 million (reported 23 September) led by Amador Capital and Nascent, with NXTP, Crivo Ventures, Delusional Capital and Spectra Investimentos also participating.

Its AI agents handle sales and customer service across WhatsApp, Instagram, voice, web and email, connected to CRMs and other business tools. Around 90% of clients are in Brazil, with a presence in Mexico, Colombia and Iberia.

Over Easter, one client (Chocolat Du Jour) handled roughly 25,000 customer interactions in under eight days, with AI agents managing 91% of conversations. The funds will go into the platform, sales and marketing, and wider Latin American expansion.

Why this matters for WAAA members: A clear, current case study for entrepreneurship and applied-AI courses: a two-year-old startup whose AI agents handle 91% of a client's customer conversations. It shows students that practical, local AI businesses can be built quickly.

Source: LatamList, 23 Sept 2026

GLOBAL

1. ITU AND GOOGLE OFFER 100,000 FREE AI CERTIFICATE SCHOLARSHIPS IN 80+ COUNTRIES

Announced on 22 September during Digital@UNGA 2026, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Google will provide 100,000 AI certificate scholarships across more than 80 countries through the AI Skills Coalition.

The scholarships give access to a catalogue of over 200 practical AI courses with expert-led certificates, and will be delivered through national governments and the ITU-UNICEF Giga school-connectivity initiative, so each country can tailor training to its workforce priorities.

Eligible groups include students, educators, job seekers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, civil servants and young people. Google says hands-on training makes people “up to four times more likely to become confident with AI”. More information: grow.google/ai

Why this matters for WAAA members: Educators and students are explicitly eligible for 100,000 free certificate scholarships across 200+ courses. Academies should ask their national government or ITU/Giga contacts how places will be allocated and help their students and staff apply.

Source: Google Blog, 22 Sept 2026; PM News Nigeria, 22 Sept 2026

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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. We also lobby UN , world bank and governments to implement National AI entrepreneurship training programmes.  Members receive this free weekly briefing, invitations to our twice-monthly webinars, access to our AI-agent developer and Global AI advocates networks, and opportunities to participate in our in-country projects and initiatives currently under discussion. WAAA membership from EUR50/year; those appointed as WAAA country coordinators receive large discounts on fees and income-generating opportunities.

Contact Alan: alan.ross@waaa.academy

Remember to register for our next free webinar, W013, Saturday 3 October 2026 at 1pm Dublin on the topic: “Eliminating the Digital Divide- A Pilot Proposal for MDBs and UN to Consider.”

Register now: https://waaa.academy/webinar-registration

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