Ghanaian startup launches SMS-based AI platform to reach young people without internet access

A Ghanaian technology startup, Scopeg AI, is partnering with the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment to expand access to artificial intelligence through an SMS-based platform designed for people without internet access or smartphones. The platform, Funza AI, allows users to interact with artificial intelligence by sending text messages to a short code and receiving AI-generated responses within seconds.

It is designed to work on basic mobile phones, including feature phones, across mobile networks without requiring an internet connection or data bundle. The initiative is intended to make AI-powered services more accessible to young people, students, farmers, small business owners and jobseekers who may otherwise be excluded by the cost of internet access and digital devices.

Under the partnership, young people participating in the Ministry’s programmes will receive discounted access to Funza AI, alongside limited free daily access. Scopeg AI says Funza AI will provide services across several areas, including tutoring for students, agricultural advice for farmers, business support for small enterprises and career guidance for young people.

The platform is also intended to support jobseekers and aspiring entrepreneurs with ideas and guidance as they explore employment and business opportunities. The partnership reflects the Ministry’s effort to support youth-led businesses and promote the use of locally developed technology to address access challenges. Speaking on the collaboration, Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment George Opare Addo reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting youth-led enterprises to grow and expand their reach.

Scopeg AI welcomes government partnership Chief Executive Officer of Scopeg AI, Klenam Kofi Tamakloe, said the partnership would help the company reach the young people its platform was designed to serve. “This partnership means a great deal to us, not just as a company, but as young Ghanaians who built this platform because we understood what it feels like to be left out of something that could genuinely change your life,” he said.

“To have the Ministry back that mission, and help bring discounted access to the very young people it was designed for, is exactly the kind of validation a youth-led startup like ours needs,” he added. Funza AI is expected to launch nationally by the end of November 2026, with the discounted and limited free access arrangements for participants in the Ministry’s programmes taking effect as part of the rollout.