Mobile network operator Africell has partnered with Oxford University on a groundbreaking research project to examine the economic and social impact of artificial intelligence tools in West Africa, focusing on Africell’s SMS-based AI service, AfriGPT.
The collaboration, funded in part by Schmidt Sciences’ $3 million “AI at Work Programme”, will see researchers from Oxford University’s Internet Institute and Department of Economics study how AfriGPT is being used by mobile subscribers in Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
AfriGPT is a low-cost, subscription-based AI chat service that allows users to interact with ChatGPT via SMS, requiring only 2G mobile connectivity. Unlike conventional AI chatbots that depend on smartphones and internet access, AfriGPT works on basic feature phones, removing a major barrier to AI adoption in low-income and rural communities.
Researchers say the service presents a rare opportunity to study how generative AI tools can be adopted by populations often excluded from digital innovation, with potential applications in job searching, entrepreneurship, education and everyday problem-solving.
“Tools such as ChatGPT are increasingly taken for granted in Europe and North America, but for economic and technological reasons they remain far less common in Africa,” said Sam Williams, Africell’s Group Communications Director.
“AfriGPT is promising because it allows mobile users in countries like Sierra Leone, where internet penetration is still relatively low, to access AI without data. Africell is pleased to support this rigorous research to see whether our assumptions about AfriGPT’s value are supported by evidence.”
Subscribers to AfriGPT pay a small fee to receive AI-generated responses to questions sent by text message. By eliminating the need for internet access, the service extends the potential benefits of AI to younger, poorer and more rural users than is typically possible with mainstream AI platforms.
A preliminary survey conducted by Oxford researchers in April 2025 revealed notable differences between how AfriGPT is used in Sierra Leone and how ChatGPT is typically used globally. The expanded research programme, supported by Schmidt Sciences, is expected to provide deeper insights into regional usage patterns, device types, seasonal trends and user behaviour.
Johanna Barop, a DPhil researcher at Oxford’s Internet Institute, and Joseph Levine, a DPhil researcher in Oxford’s Department of Economics, said the study aims to better understand the social and economic factors shaping AI use in Africa.
“We want to understand how AI chatbots are used in Sub-Saharan Africa, how this differs from global usage, and what the benefits and risks are in this context,” they said.
“There is very little research on AI use in low-income and rural African settings, and stronger evidence is needed to ensure these tools are designed and distributed with such communities in mind.”
The findings from the study are expected to contribute to broader global discussions on inclusive AI development and the role of mobile technology in expanding access to emerging digital tools.
