AfriClimate AI

What AfriClimate AI does

AfriClimate AI is a non-profit research organization founded in September 2023 at the Deep Learning Indaba in Accra, Ghana, and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The organization develops AI-powered climate risk analytics, forecasts, and decision-support tooling designed to localize global AI numerical weather prediction models (GraphCast, Aurora) for African operational contexts — addressing a structural gap in which Africa possesses only about 12% of the World Meteorological Organization's recommended weather station density. Its core product, FineCast, performs post-processing, calibration, and downscaling of frontier AI weather models for use by African meteorological agencies. Primary end-users are African National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), smallholder farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture, AI and climate science researchers, and sector decision-makers in energy, water, and disaster risk management.

The product portfolio includes Forecast4Africa (Google.org-funded flagship running 2025–December 2027, deploying automatic weather stations and building AI-powered medium-range forecasting models), AfriNet (a weather station deployment network for data-sparse regions), AfriWiki (a collaborative knowledge hub hosting academic papers, tutorials, datasets, and reports), and Project Angalia. Products are distributed as open-source software, free datasets, and workshop/training programs available globally. The underlying technology combines multimodal AI inputs (satellite imagery, in-situ weather station data, CHIRPS precipitation) with frontier AI weather prediction models fine-tuned for African conditions, structured around a Community of Practice framework with three working groups covering operational forecasting, sector use-cases, and joint research/policy advisory.

AfriClimate AI operates as a grant-funded non-profit with no commercial pricing model. Disclosed funding includes a $50,000 Phase I grant from the Bezos Earth Fund's AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge (with University of the Witwatersrand) and an undisclosed multi-year grant from Google.org; additional funding partners include IDRC and UK International Development. The organization employs 8 core staff supported by 6 active community contributors and 5 alumni. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: annual workshops at the Deep Learning Indaba, the Forecast4Africa Co-Development Workshop (Pretoria, 65 experts from 17 countries), university co-supervision partnerships (Oxford, Wits, AIMS), and direct engagement with 9 NMHSs and 32 partner organizations. Distribution is via open-source downloads, the AfriWiki knowledge hub, and partner co-deployment.

Name

AfriClimate AI

Legal name

AfriClimate AI

Website

https://africlimate.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Non-profit research organization developing AI-powered weather forecasting tools (FineCast, Forecast4Africa) to localize global AI models for African meteorological agencies, smallholder farmers, and climate researchers, addressing Africa's structural climate data deficit through open-source products and NMHS partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Weather Forecasting and Climate Analytics

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Downscaled Climate Projections & Scenario Analytics (CMIP, SSP/RCP, Regionalization) (EUABALAB)

Keywords

• AI weather forecasting
• Climate risk analytics
• Open-source AI toolkit
• Weather station networks
• Climate science research

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: AfriClimate AI operates as a non-profit research organization funded primarily through grants from major organizations. Key funding includes Google.org funding for the Forecast4Africa project and the Bezos Earth Fund AI for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge grant ($50,000 Phase I). These grants support AI-powered climate solutions, weather forecasting tool development, and capacity building across Africa.
2. Research Partnerships: Collaborative research partnerships with universities (University of Oxford, University of the Witwatersrand) and international organizations generate funding for specific research initiatives. These partnerships often include co-development of AI tools, deployment of weather stations, and building open-source accessible tools for African decision-makers.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AfriClimate AI develops and distributes AI-powered weather forecasting systems that localize global AI numerical weather prediction models (such as GraphCast and Aurora) for African operational contexts, via the FineCast open-source toolkit and the Forecast4Africa flagship initiative. The organization complements these technical outputs with a continental Community of Practice, automatic weather station deployment (AfriNet), and the AfriWiki knowledge hub, all provided free of charge to build climate resilience across Africa.

Product overview

AfriClimate AI is a non-profit research organization offering a portfolio of AI-powered climate solutions for Africa. The core products include Forecast4Africa (flagship Google.org-funded project) and FineCast (AI weather forecasting toolkit developed with Wits University), which work together to localize global AI weather models for African operational contexts using data from the AfriNet weather station network. These are supported by AfriWiki (knowledge hub for climate resources), Project Angalia, monthly webinars, and workshop programs that build community capacity in AI and climate science.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AfriNet: A project focused on deploying weather stations and contributing to climate data collection across Africa.
• AfriWiki
• Forecast4Africa
• FineCast

Products and services

• Forecast4Africa Flagship AI-powered initiative funded by Google.org that improves local weather forecasting capabilities across Africa by deploying automatic weather stations, gathering high-quality local climate data, and building AI-powered medium-range forecasting models fine-tuned to African conditions, for African NMHSs and decision-makers.
• FineCast AI-powered weather forecasting toolkit designed to localize global AI numerical weather prediction models (GraphCast, Aurora) for African operational environments through post-processing, calibration, and downscaling, co-developed with University of the Witwatersrand with a focus on East Africa.
• AfriWiki Collaborative knowledge hub providing AI-powered climate resilience resources in Africa, including roadmaps, academic papers, articles, tutorials, reports, and datasets contributed by the community.
• AfriNet Network initiative involving deployment of automatic weather stations and data collection networks to address Africa's severe climate data deficit and improve observation networks in data-sparse regions across the continent.

Quantifiable outcome

• Africa has only 12% of WMO-recommended minimum weather station density, representing the world's least developed land-based observing network
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and strategic.

• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Collaboration through Dr. Shruti Nath's postdoctoral research to support development of AI weather forecasting systems designed for African operational contexts. Includes knowledge exchange sessions on AI weather forecasting, operationalisation of forecasting systems, and forecast evaluation methodologies. Part of SEWAA project for the Greater Horn of Africa.
• Ho Technical UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 October 2025AfriNet weather station donation to support the university's climate and sustainability research, marking a milestone in climate research excellence.
• University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Co-development partner for the Bezos Earth Fund grant, with Wits scientists and engineers advancing AI and data science for climate modeling. AfriClimate AI co-founder Dr. Rendani Mbuvha is affiliated with Wits University.
• Climate AI NordicsstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2024Partnership to drive innovation and build climate resilience across Africa and beyond, combining expertise in climate AI from both African and Nordic contexts.
• Deep Learning IndabacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe birthplace of AfriClimate AI, where the idea was conceived at DLI 2023 in Accra, Ghana. Deep Learning Indaba is Africa's largest annual gathering of AI researchers and serves as the primary event venue for AfriClimate AI workshops and community building.
• African National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner9 NMHSs participating in the Forecast4Africa Community of Practice, working to integrate frontier AI models directly into NMHS workflows, co-create dashboards for various sectors, and drive an African Research Agenda.
• Agricultural Research Council (ARC)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for agricultural research and climate resilience initiatives across Africa.
• TAHMOstrategicTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for weather station data collection networks and climate monitoring infrastructure.
• Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Ethiopian national meteorological service for climate data and forecasting collaboration.
• AI4DstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerAI for Development initiative partnership supporting AI capacity building and research in Africa.
• African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for supervising projects on localisation of AI NWP products for African contexts. Dr. Nath and Dr. Mbuvha co-supervise projects at AIMS.
• UN World Food Programme (via SEWAA project)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration through the SEWAA (Strengthening Early Warning Systems for Anticipatory Action) project working across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda on AI-based post-processing systems for rainfall prediction.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Climavision: AI-augmented weather forecasting company combining proprietary radar, satellite, and numerical weather prediction with machine learning to improve forecast accuracy. Comparable in its AI-forecasting product, but commercially focused on the US/enterprise market.
• Jupiter Intelligence: Climate risk analytics platform providing downscaled physical and transition risk modeling for enterprises and governments. Comparable to AfriClimate AI's downscaling and climate risk analytics work, but Jupiter Intelligence focuses on global commercial enterprise risk rather than African operational forecasting.
• Tomorrow.io: Commercial AI-powered weather forecasting platform offering global, high-resolution forecasts and APIs. Comparable to AfriClimate AI in its AI-first approach to weather prediction, though Tomorrow.io is a venture-backed global commercial vendor rather than a non-profit focused on Africa.
• XDI (Cross Dependency Initiative): Climate risk analytics provider specializing in physical climate risk modeling and downscaled projections for infrastructure and assets. Comparable in the downscaled climate analytics category but commercially focused on infrastructure risk in developed markets.
• Climate AI Nordics: Community-driven organization applying AI to climate challenges across Nordic countries and beyond, and an active AfriClimate AI partner. Highly comparable mission and community-driven structure, but focused on Nordic/European contexts.

Broad incumbents

• DTN: Large established provider of weather, climate, and agricultural analytics for enterprise and government customers worldwide. Comparable in delivering operational weather and climate insights at scale, but as a broad incumbent rather than an African-focused non-profit.
• The Weather Company (IBM): One of the largest global weather data and forecasting providers, now part of IBM. Comparable as a major weather-forecasting platform, though it serves global enterprise customers rather than specializing in African operational forecasting.
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF): Intergovernmental organization producing global numerical weather predictions and reanalysis datasets that AfriClimate AI's work builds on. Highly comparable in forecasting mission and scientific scope, but a large multi-national incumbent rather than an Africa-focused non-profit.

Others

• Google DeepMind (GraphCast / Aurora): Creator of the GraphCast and Aurora foundation weather models that FineCast localizes. Not a direct competitor for end users, but a key upstream technology provider whose model roadmap directly shapes AfriClimate AI's product capabilities.
• TAHMO: Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory deploying and operating weather stations across Africa, and an active AfriClimate AI partner. Comparable in addressing Africa's weather-station data gap, but focused primarily on infrastructure operation rather than AI modeling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/africlimate-research
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AfriClimate_AI/streams
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/africlimate-ai
• Xx.com/AfriClimateAI

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AfriClimate AI