Africa · Kenya
Swahili conversational speech dataset
2,000 hours of spontaneous Swahili conversations recorded in Kenya across 200 vetted native speakers. Dual-channel audio with time-aligned transcripts, speaker metadata (age, gender, region, device), and full chain-of-consent documentation. Licensed for commercial ASR, TTS, and voice AI training.
Dataset specifications
| Language | Swahili |
|---|---|
| Recorded in | Kenya |
| Speech type | Spontaneous two-person conversations |
| Volume | 2,000 hours |
| Speakers | 200 vetted native speakers |
| Audio | Dual-channel (one channel per speaker) |
| Transcripts | Time-aligned, human-verified |
| Metadata | Age, gender, region, recording device |
| License | Commercial (training & evaluation) |
| Price | $65 per hour of audio |
Built for
Training and evaluating speech models that must handle real Swahili speech:
- Automatic speech recognition (ASR / STT)
- Text-to-speech & voice synthesis prosody
- Voice agents and IVR for Kenya
- Speaker diarization & turn-taking models
- Speech LLM / audio-understanding fine-tuning
Why conversational data?
Models trained on read speech consistently underperform on spontaneous audio. Disfluencies, overlap, and natural speech rates aren’t in the training distribution. This dataset closes that gap for Swahili. Read more in our guide to conversational vs. scripted speech data.
Free samples
Audit the Swahili data yourself
Verify your company email and we’ll reach out shortly with representative audio, matching transcripts, and the metadata schema. Check audio quality, transcript accuracy, and speaker diversity before you spend a dollar.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does the Swahili speech dataset include?
2,000 hours of spontaneous two-person conversations from 200 vetted native speakers recorded in Kenya, delivered as dual-channel audio with time-aligned transcripts, speaker metadata (age, gender, region, device), and consent documentation.
Can I use this Swahili dataset commercially?
Yes. The dataset is licensed for commercial use, including training ASR, TTS, and other voice-AI models. Every speaker has signed explicit commercial-use consent, and we provide the full consent chain for your legal review.
How much does the Swahili speech dataset cost?
Pricing is $65 per hour of audio. Volume discounts are available for full-dataset and multi-language purchases. Contact us for a quote.
Can I evaluate samples before buying?
Yes. Verify your company email to request samples, and we'll reach out shortly with representative audio files and matching transcripts to your email, so your team can audit quality before committing.
Related datasets
You might also need
$60/hr