Rolling programme in design
The Translation Engine
A rolling contribution challenge where ATTP participants build high-quality open datasets for Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and Nigerian Pidgin: recorded speech, translated sentence pairs, transcribed conversation. Monthly prizes for the best contributions. Every contributor credited by name.
The idea
AI systems serve Nigerians badly for a simple reason: Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and Nigerian Pidgin are severely under-represented in the data those systems learn from. This is a known, documented gap, and research labs around the world actively want it closed.
The Translation Engine turns closing it into structured, credited, rewarded work. Participants record speech, translate sentence pairs, and transcribe real conversations in their own languages. Contributions are quality-checked, and the resulting datasets are published openly under ATTP's name with every contributor listed.
A teenager in Bariga becomes, verifiably, a named contributor to African AI infrastructure. And unlike a competition, this never ends. It compounds, month after month, into an asset the whole field can use.
At a glance
Format
Rolling, monthly prize cycles
Languages
Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Pidgin
Ages
13 to 35
Equipment needed
A phone
Cost to join
Free
Output
Open datasets, every contributor named
How it works
Pick a language and a task
Speech recording, sentence translation, or conversation transcription, in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, or Pidgin.
Contribute through the platform
Guided tasks with clear quality standards. You work at your own pace, from a phone.
Pass quality review
Contributions are checked by reviewers fluent in the language. Quality counts for more than volume.
Get credited and win monthly
Every accepted contribution carries your name in the published dataset. The strongest contributors each month win cash prizes.
Who it is for
Anyone fluent in a Nigerian language who wants their name on real AI infrastructure. Students, teachers, market traders, grandparents' grandchildren doing the recording at home. Fluency is the qualification, not a CV.
Questions
Who owns the data?
Datasets are published under an open licence with ATTP as steward and every contributor credited. The licence terms are public before you contribute anything, so you know exactly what you are giving and how it can be used.
Why would anyone pay for open data?
Labs and companies sponsor the creation of high-quality open datasets because they need them and cannot easily produce them. Sponsorship funds the prizes and the review process. Participants never pay and are never charged.
What counts as quality?
Clear audio, accurate translation, natural language rather than textbook stiffness, and correct metadata. The standards are published per task, and reviewers give feedback rather than silent rejections.
Can I contribute in more than one language?
Yes, if you are genuinely fluent in more than one. Quality review applies per language.
Register interest
Be there when this launches.
Tell us who you are and how you want to be involved. We will write to you before anything goes public.