Recognized for Innovation at LocWorld54

On October 15, 2025, African Languages Lab was named 2025 Innovator of the Year, USA, at the 19th Process Innovation Challenge, held at LocWorld54 in Monterey, California. Our founder, Sheriff Issaka, accepted the award on behalf of the team.

About the Process Innovation Challenge

LocWorld is one of the localisation industry's leading conferences, bringing together language service providers, technology companies and the global brands that depend on them. The Process Innovation Challenge recognises new approaches that change how translation and localisation work gets done.

What we presented

We presented MansaLLM, a unified model for translation and localisation across English and 20 African languages. Rather than stitching together separate tools for each language, MansaLLM brings them into one system that understands context, tone and culture, and fits into the workflows localisation teams already use.

Built to support translators

MansaLLM is designed to augment human translators, not replace them. It speeds up first drafts and keeps terminology consistent, while professional linguists stay in control of quality, nuance and the final word.

Why it matters

Fewer than 3% of Africa's 2,000+ languages are represented in computational platforms today. The award recognises real-world, enterprise-ready work to change that, and signals that the localisation industry is ready to treat African languages as core infrastructure rather than an afterthought.

In Sheriff's words

"We don't have to wait for inclusion. We can build it. For Africans, by Africans."

What comes next

The work behind MansaLLM now powers Mansa, our multilingual AI system for African languages, available on the web, on mobile and through the Mansa API, and inside localisation platforms including Phrase and Blackbird.