Synapse - Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine - 1st Quarter 2021 Issue 11 by AI Media Group

SYNAPSE 1st QUARTER 2021

The Voice of African AI & Data Science

3.2% increase in funding raised by African AI /IoT startups

HOW AI IS TAKING ON LOCUST SWARMS IN E.AFRICA

Could SA’s WITS spawn the next IBM, Google?

EARTH OBSERVATION COULD BENEFIT AFRICA BY $2 BILLION A YEAR

IBM’S DIGITAL4AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE

Kenya’s AICE to train 1000 AI engineers in 3 years

Cape Town and the Western Cape Tech Capital of Africa We are a region of unlimited potential. And this translates into unlimited opportunity for those in tech. We have a world-class digital ecosystem, where resources and talent meet commercial and social opportunity. We are a region that sees digital disruption as less of a thing and more as a way of doing things. Our destination is a place with an interconnected business landscape, offering access to a shared economy, powered by tech-savvy investors. Our city is full of talented and highly skilled people, where opportunities to grow and make a global difference abound. We also have an unfair share of natural beauty. So it’s no surprise that global tech companies choose our destination to have headquarters, as a springboard into growing markets, and as a place to work and play. Wesgro, the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, can help you uncover these opportunities in the tech space.

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CONTENTS 4 6 8 10 11 12 14 17 18 19 20 26 29 31 34 36 38 41 42 43 44 46 47 47 48 49 50 51 52 54 55

The Baobab Network joins The Deal Room Gro Intelligence raises $85-million Series B round SA’s Aerobotics raises $17-million to scale AI for agriculture African projects selected for $10-million data.org challenge Ghana’s OZÉ raises $700k seed round 3.2% increase in funding raised by African AI/IoT startups Lacuna Fund invests in African agricultural datasets for AI UP launches Engineering 4.0 facility Here’s who won big at AfricaArena 2020 Envisionit Deep AI scoops two categories at AppsAfrica awards How SA can prepare for a data-driven education system How AI is taking on locust swarms in East Africa Wits could spawn the next tech giant. New VC explains how Kenya’s AICE to train 1000 AI engineers in 3 years Wits, York University launch Africa-Canada AI & Public Health Data Consortium 2020 Space-tech Innovation Challenge Winners IBM launches Digital4Agriculture initiative ITU launches open research group on autonomous networks Servicetrace to train 100 Kenyan developers in RPA Bantu language spellchecker, android keyboard launched Introducing MLCommons AfyaRekod, IndygeneUS partner on health data platform Altron joins NVIDIA Partner Network Webb Fontaine to open AI R&D Centre in Africa InstaDeep, BioNTech partner to develop novel immunotherapies WEF launches global AI Action Alliance Africa could benefit $2-billion per year from Earth Observation AI tool developed to identify informal settlements How much are SA mines investing annually in digital technologies? Need for legal & regulator frameworks for AI governance in Africa: UNESCO Synthesis to open local office in Mauritius 1ST QUARTER 2021 | SYNAPSE

EDITOR’S NOTE

elcome to our 2021 Q1 issue. If you’re passionate about the intersection of agriculture and technology then this issue has a lot in store for you. We look at the the Africa-focused projects that have received $1-million in funding from the Lacuna Fund for building datasets for AI. Learn how a Kenyan AI-powered tool is helping fight locust infestations in East Africa. Explore how Africa stands to benefit up to $2-billion annually by making use of Earth Observation technologies, and tied to this meet the winners of the 2020 Space-Tech Innovation Challenge. We also look at how Kenya’s newly launched Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence is looking to address the skills gap in the country by training 1 000 AI engineers in the next three years. On the policy front, we review a UNESCO AI Needs Assessment survey that was launched in February. You’ll also want to check out the WEF’s plans to accelerate adoption of transparent, inclusive AI. If you’re a thought leader in AI, Machine Learning, Data Science, or Intelligent Automation, we invite you to contribute to the next edition of Synapse. Drop us an email at daniel.mpala@aiexpoafrica.com. Looking to advertise your products and services in our next issue ? Get in touch on the same email address. Enjoy!

W Dr Nick Bradshaw, CEO, AI Media Group

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Daniel Mpala, Deputy Editor: News & Media, AI Media Group

elcome to 2021 and a new year for the AI community in Africa. It’s clear the year ahead will present us with new challenges but we have already seen a massive increase in demand for AI Expo Africa 2021 ONLINE with 2500+ delegates already registered - it will be our biggest show to date. Last year saw us all having to innovate with new technologies and platforms to allow us to continue to work and collaborate. It’s clearly going to be the same this year, thus our decision to keep AI Expo Africa as an online format. We hope you enjoy this edition of Synapse Magazine allied to our new look website and watch out for our up-coming newsletter that we plan to launch in Q1. Our audience is growing and the interest in 4IR technology in Africa is gaining momentum as we see more companies and governments gearing up for substantial digital change and a willingness to embrace the challenge and opportunity the 4IR presents in our region.

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INVESTMENT

EARLY-STAGE ACCELERATOR THE BAOBAB NETWORK JOINS THE DEAL ROOM Early-stage accelerator The Baobab Network (TBN) has joined AI Media Group’s free investment matchmaking service The Deal Room

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BN is the latest investor to join the service which aims to connect African AI-focused startups to interested investors and venture capitalists (VCs). The Deal Room was soft launched in November 2020 and counts Cirrus AI, Cape AI Ventures, Knife Capital, E4E Africa, Britegaze and Intelligent Impact among its members. Since launching their bespoke accelerator in 2019, TBN has already invested in 12 companies across seven geographies. The early-stage accelerator has also built a proven track-record in scaling startups and helping them raise significant rounds of funding. TBN has also already realised its first exit. While TBN has adopted a technology, geography, and sector-agnostic approach to investing in pre-seed startups in Africa, the accelerator shares the same outlook as AI Media Group — that is the sig-

nificant role artificial intelligence (AI) and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) have in contributing to some of the huge market opportunities and challenges across the continent. In fact, TBN recently invested in South African agritech startup 3DIMO which was among some of the companies that showcased their technologies at the 2020 edition of AI Media Group’s AI Expo Africa online conference. TBN’s belief in AI and 4IR technologies is also informed by the accelerator’s data and insights platform Baobab Insights. The Baobab Insights platform has tracked a notable increase in investment into African AI start-ups, increasing from $8.307 million USD in 2017 and reaching a height of $217.067 million USD in 2019. Even in the face of COVID-19 in 2020, TBN has seen investors continued commitment and belief in AI companies, investing a further $52.973 million USD. The accelerator believes this is

The Deal Room’s primary aim is to direct 4IR, AI and smart tech companies seeking funding to investors, VCs and organisations which are interested in backing firms in this rapidly growing sector.

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a technology type that will continue to disrupt established industries and has a lot of potential both commercially, and for addressing large societal challenges. One recurring theme AI Media Group hears from startup founders is around the lack of early-stage investors for companies that have not yet reached the necessary size or scale to raise larger investment rounds from traditional VC’s. AI Media Group recognises the important role that TBN has to play within the technology ecosystem in Africa, being among the few active investors in the pre-seed space that are helping startups to unlock international angel and VC capital through their network. Dr Nick Bradshaw, CEO and Founder of AI Media group stated, “Its great to welcome The Baobab Network Team to The Deal Room and wider community. Its proof positive that the AI Expo Africa community and wider AI start-up scene is growing and investment interest in growing at pace. We aim to ramp up promotion of The Deal Room from February onwards and welcome submissions from the African 4IR tech landscape”. ai

Lenore Kerrigan Country Sales Director South Africa m: +27 83 212 4452 e: Lenore.Kerrigan@uipath.com

INVESTMENT

BIG DATA, SAAS FIRM GRO INTELLIGENCE RAISES $85M IN SERIES B FUNDING Big data and software-as-a-service firm (SaaS) Gro Intelligence announced in January that it had raised $85-million in a Series B funding round co-led by Intel Capital, Africa Internet Ventures, and the family offices of Ronald Lauder and Eric Zinterhofer. The company’s previous investors DCVC and GGV Capital also participated in the round along with new investors that included Schusterman Family Investments, Dick Parsons, and Rethink Food.

he AI-powered insights firm was founded in Nairobi in 2014 by Ethiopian born CEO Sara Menker together with COO Sewit Ahderom and CTO Nemo Semret. Operating out of its headquarters in New York, Gro Intelligence provides decision-making tools, solutions and analytics to the food, agriculture and climate economies and their participants. According to business information platform Crunchbase, Gro Intelligence’s latest round brings the total funding amount raised by the firm to about $112.4-million. The company explained that the new capital will be used to accelerate the growth and global adoption of the Gro Platform, enhance the platform’s machine-learning capabilities and to deliver localised insights on food, agriculture and climate risk. Menker, commenting in an earlier statement, said food security and climate risk represent existential global-sized opportunities for the Gro Intelligence’s AI-powered decisions and insights platform. “We see a tremendous need for the market knowledge provided by the Gro Platform. Our customers have come to rely on Gro as a unique source of actionable data-driven insights about our food supply and

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Gro Intelligence CEO and founder Sara Menker

models to measure and manage associated climate change risk to physical and financial assets across the globe. We are absolutely delighted to welcome our new investors and continue to be grateful to our existing investors for their support,” added Menker. Intel Capital senior managing director Trina Van Pelt pointed out that Gro Intelligence is “one of the most exciting” AI companies and is tackling two of the world’s biggest challenges -- food security and climate risk. “Their software-based platform will drive compute-powered cross-border knowledge to surface meaningful insights and enable better informed

agricultural decisions. We are excited to co-lead this investment round because Gro Intelligence’s technology aligns with our mission of unleashing the power of data to improve the world,” added Van Pelt. TPG Africa managing partner Yemi Lalude said Gro Intelligence’s remarkable journey so far demonstrates the growing importance of AI in driving a more sustainable food supply. “PG Growth is proud to have supported the company from its beginnings in Nairobi to the forefront of today’s efforts to make companies and institutions across multiple industries around the world more resilient to climate change and climate risk.” ai

INVESTMENT

AEROBOTICS RAISES $17M TO SCALE AI FOR AGRICULTURE GLOBALLY South African agritech startup Aerobotics announced in January that it had raised $17-million in an oversubscribed Series B round led by Naspers.

aspers was joined in the round by Cathay AfricInvest Innovation, FMO: Entrepreneurial Development Bank, and Platform Investment Partners. Founded in 2014 by CEO James Paterson and CTO Benji Meltzer, Aerobotics uses aerial imagery and machine learning algorithms to optimise crop performance and predict yield for farmers in up to 18 countries including Australia, South Africa, and the US. The startup has become a leader in the application of artificial intel-

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ligence in agriculture. The insights Aerobotics provides to its clients include tree counts, the identification of missing trees, and the size and health of trees. The company has progressed its technology to engineer fruit counts, and to provide data on fruit size and colour. Farmers use the intelligence to manage their farms, trees and fruit more efficiently. Aerobotics delivers the insights through their proprietary Aeroview platform and Aeroview InField mobile app. Aerobotic’s $17-million Series B round follows a R100m investment

the startup received from Naspers Foundry in May last year (see this story. Aerobotics said the Series B investment will be used to further technology development and product delivery in the US and in the startup’s other core territories. Paterson said Aerobotics is committed to providing intelligent tools to optimise automation, minimise inputs and maximise production. “We look forward to further co-developing our products with the agricultural industry leaders,” he added. ai

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NEWS

AFRICAN PROJECTS AMONG AWARDEES OF $10M INCLUSIVE GROWTH AND RECOVERY CHALLENGE At least four African-based and Africa-focused projects are among the awardees of the $10-million Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge launched by data.org in partnership with the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth, and The Rockefeller Foundation.

ata.org announced the awardees of the challenge, which aims to tackle society’s greatest challenges by harnessing the power of data science to help people and communities thrive, in January. data.org executive director Daniel Mikhailov explained that the Challenge was created to kickstart breakthrough data science ideas and also to provide financial support to existing innovative social impact projects. “We have been enormously inspired by the innovative thinking of these projects that implement programs and policies to lift up all segments of society,” added Mikhailov. Awardees were selected based on exceptional use of data science to advance inclusive growth. They are located in the U.S., Chile, Mozambique, Togo, Australia, Mexico, India, Denmark, Switzerland, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Mikhailov said other than impact, awardees were also selected based on their potential for replicability, scalability, and practicality. “The eight projects recognised by The Challenge not only are visionary, but also practical. They are the type of project we expect to one day fundamentally – and positively – impact the way we live our lives,” said Mikhailov. Mastercard vice chairman Mike From an pointed out that data.org was launched a year ago with the belief that the world’s most pressing challenges and the lives of vulnerable people could be improved with data-driven insights. “As we begin to recover from the global pandemic, today’s awardees are providing

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innovative approaches to ensuring economic growth is inclusive and sustainable for everyone. We’re committed to building a global network of data scientists solving these problems – because that’s what is needed to build the field of data science for social impact,” said Froman. Rockefeller Foundation president Rajic J.Shah said the awardees leverage the latest data science techniques to build a world where entrepreneurs have fair access to credit regardless of their gender, where workers have analytical tools to chart their own course, and where wage theft is a thing of the past. “We founded data.org to reclaim data science as a tool for social impact. This cohort of projects makes that ambition real at a time when the need for an inclusive recovery couldn’t be greater,” said Shah. The winning projects include the use of AI to increase credit access for female entrepreneurs, data models to track how internet connectivity disproportionately impacts low-income communities, and an open-source quality of life map index to highlight where investment is needed most, among others. The African-based and Africa-focused awardees are: Fundación Capital, UX and Data Elevates (Mozambique) This project will combine Mozambique’s largest digital job platform for informal workers with an AI-powered virtual assis-

tant, and apply algorithms to provide workers with targeted insights into the labor market to improve job opportunities and financial outcomes. Over 54% of Mozambique’s adult workforce is in the informal sector, and information gaps on demand trends mean that opportunities for workers to improve their livelihoods are limited. GiveDirectly & CEGA (USA, Togo) GiveDirectly and CEGA will demonstrate a new model for rapid assistance where machine learning-based targeting will guide the delivery of digital cash transfers. Data science will enable GiveDirectly to better assess communities who are most in need of cash transfers. Solar Sister (USA, Nigeria, Tanzania) Solar Sister supports local women in Africa to create clean energy businesses. Through data science Solar Sister will gather insights, analyse customer data, and predict market characteristics to inform focal areas as they scale into additional emerging markets. Women’s World Banking (USA and Switzerland, with partners in Mexico, Nigeria, and India) Women’s World Banking will increase credit access for low-income female entrepreneurs by building a technical assistance facility that uses innovative lending methodologies. In addition to the eight awardees selected, The Paul Ramsay Foundation has selected and will be supporting the Melbourne School of Government’s data science project as part of the $10M Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge. ai

INVESTMENT

GHANA-BASED FINTECH STARTUP OZÉ RAISES $700 000 SEED ROUND

Accra-based fintech startup OZÉ announced in January that it had closed a $700 000 seed round which it intends to use to grow its team, expand into Nigeria and promote the iOS version of its business app.

nvestors who participated in the deal include Ingressive Capital, MEST, Anorak Ventures, Rising Tide Africa, and Matusa Sarl. The fintech startup was founded in 2018 by CEO Meghan McCormick and COO Dave Emnett. OZÉ’s business app enables small enterprises to track sales, expenses and customer information. The startup then analyses this data and provides tailored recommendations, reports and business education. In addition, using data and machine learning, the

fintech firm can predict the user’s business credit risk and provide them with affordable capital from its banking partners. The startup claims its award-winning business app and proprietary credit risk algorithm make it profitable for banks to make no-collateral loans to small businesses. “The OZÉ Flywheel makes profitable lending to MSMEs possible for banks. Using OZÉ already screens for the type of entrepreneurs banks should want to lend to and as entre-

preneurs keep using OZÉ they can access more funds at a lower risk to the bank,” says McCormick. OZÉ says it has over 25 000 registered users and has recorded more than 250 000 transactions worth more than $50-million since its launch. The startup further claims that 97% of the business that have used its platform for at least nine months are growing, profitable, or both. Last year OZÉ piloted a small loan portfolio with no defaults and a projected annual 43% ROI. ai

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INVESTMENT

3.2% GROWTH IN FUNDING RAISED BY AFRICAN AI/IOT STARTUPS - REPORT African Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) startups raised more money last year than they did last year, research by tech startup publication Disrupt Africa has shown. According to Disrupt Africa’s African Tech Startup Funding report, 397 African tech startups raised $701.5-million in funding in 2020. Of the 397 startups, 10 startups raised a combined $11,6-million. In contrast, in 2019, 10 AI and IoT startups raised $11,3-million.

nother report by research firm Briter Bridges estimates that $1.07-billion in disclosed funding, as well as $243-million in undisclosed funding was raised by African startups in 2020, this while mergers and acquisitions account for another $1.12-billion. According to Briter Bridges, 7% of this funding activity went into the

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data and analytics industry, accounting for about $98-million. Some of the noteworthy deals involving AI and data analytics startups in 2020 include: - Capacitech’s R2,5-million investment in GotBot (SA) - Y Combinator’s $150 000 seed investment in Tambua Health (Kenya) - Naspers Foundry’s R100-million

investment in Aerobotics (SA) - Knife Capital, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, and Norman Group’s $6-million Series-A investment in Data Prophet (SA) - Saviu Ventures, Kalon Venture Partners, and Compass Venture Capital’s $1.6-million round in FinChatBot ai

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INVESTMENT

LACUNA FUND BACKS SIX AFRICAN PROJECTS BUILDING AGRICULTURAL DATASETS FOR AI Lacuna Fund, the world’s first collaborative fund aiming to correct gaps and biases in data for artificial intelligence (AI), in January announced the first round of funding to support datasets for more equitable and accessible AI for agriculture.

acuna Fund was co-founded in 2020 by The Rockefeller Foundation, Google.org, and Canada’s International Development Research Centre with a mandate to provide data scientists, researchers, and social entrepreneurs in low-and middle income contexts globally with the resources they need to produce labeled datasets that address urgent problems in their communities. Lacuna Fund is working to fill data gaps in three main domains, namely language, agriculture, and health. The fund said its first round of funding in the agricultural AI for social good domain will support pioneering efforts solving urgent local problems in African countries while leading to a step change in machine learning’s potential around the world. A representative from Lacuna Fund said the six projects represent a total of $1.1-million in funding.

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“The recipients of this first round of funding are unlocking the power of machine learning to alleviate food security challenges, spur economic opportunities, and give researchers, farmers, communities, and policymakers access to superior agricultural datasets. We are proud to support their work,” the fund said on its website. Lacuna Fund said it had received over 100 applications from , or in partnership with organisations across Africa. Lacuna Fund’s Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) selected the six recipients using criteria based on the fund’s principles, namely: quality, transformational impact, equity, participatory approach, ethics, efficiency, feasibility, accessibility, and sustainability. “It’s clear that the demand for high-quality and representative labeled training data is high, and the expertise and groundwork needed to collect and deploy

it is growing by the day,” said Lacuna Fund. The fund said all datasets produced will be locally developed and owned and will also be openly accessible to the international data community. Lacuna Fund explained that it aims to match project teams with in-kind capacity building, and technical support as needed and available. Mutembesa Daniel, research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Research lab at Makerere University and a member of the Technical Advisory Panel, said he was very proud of the work being done by the cohort. “I look forward to seeing the glass ceiling between francophone and anglophone parts of Africa being broken, to seeing data scientists from these different parts of Africa starting to work with each other across regions,” he added. Another member of the Technical Advisory Panel, AllSightsAfrica executive

chairman Youssef Travaly said Lacuna Fund had managed to reach a consensus on a well-balanced portfolio, both in terms of geography and type. “This is a great step forward toward more inclusive AI,” said Travaly. The six projects selected for funding address a range of agricultural needs, including livestock and fisheries management, as well as crop identification, yield estimation, and disease detection in crops that shore up food security efforts in the region—namely cassava, maize, beans, bananas, pearl millet, and cocoa. They are: Helmets Labeling Crops This project is a collaborative initiative between the University of Maryland/NASA Harvest Africa Program, The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Center for Earth Observation and Citizen Science at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, The Regional Center for Mapping of Resource for Development (RCMRD), The Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), Lutheran World Relief Mali, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and Radiant Earth Foundation.

The project will create unprecedented ML-ready labeled datasets for crop type, crop pest and disease, and market prices in the main food production regions in Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Collectively, the team will use novel and innovative approaches that include rapid point data collection with cameras mounted on the hoods of vehicles—“helmets”—combined with crowdsourcing to create point and polygon labels. By partnering with local universities -- including Makerere Univesity Uganda, Sokoine University Tanzania, as well as others that are part of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) --, this project will create opportunities for training future African researchers to use remote sensing and machine learning. Catherine Lilian Nakalembe, a Ugandan remote sensing scientist and assistant research professor at the University of Maryland, as well as NASA Harvest Africa programme director described Helmets Labeling Crops as a one of a kind opportunity to address a critical gap, to learn and develop a cost-effective scalable approach to labeled data needed to improve the basis of agricultural monitoring.

“We’ll also get a chance to train and work with students across Africa which is an exciting opportunity to encourage students into remote sensing, data science, and machine learning,” added Nakalembe. IoT Water Quality Monitoring System for Freshwater Aquaponics Fish Ponds The University of Nigeria Nsukka will build a remotely monitored and controlled Internet of Things (IoT) water quality management system for conventional ponds and the aquaponics fish pond systems to generate labeled datasets, and partner with local farmers to test the system in the field. These datasets will enable machine learning researchers to build models for predicting fish yield in terms of weight gain, water quality parameters, and feed consumption. Collins Udanor, deputy director of the Education Innovation Centre at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, said he was hopeful the project is going to open a open a vista of opportunities to local fish farmers as it will throw an avalanche of light into what happens inside the fish pond. “This will indeed explain many things to the farmers and improve yields, as well as make available local datasets for the machine learning community,” he added. Machine Learning Datasets for Crop Pest and Disease Diagnosis based on Crop Imagery and Spectrometry Data This project will produce quality open and accessible image and spectrometry datasets from Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia, and Ghana for several crops that contribute to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, including cassava, maize, beans, bananas, pearl millet, and cocoa. The team -composed of data scientists and researchers from Makerere University, The Nelson-Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Namibia University of Science and Technology, and the karaAgro AI Foundation – expect the image and spectral datasets will be used for early disease identification, disease diagnosis, and modelling disease

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spread, which will ultimately help in breeding resistant crop varieties. Makerere University lecturer Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende explained that the project is a unique collaboration across four countries in sub-Saharan Africa with the aim of delivering crop imagery and spectrometry datasets for six important food security crops. “The datasets are necessary for building machine learning models for early disease diagnosis and will be relevant for not only the AI and machine learning communities but also for the smallholder farmers and agricultural experts,” she added. Decision Support Tool for Community-led Land Use Plans This project, which is led by The Nelson-Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, University of Glasgow, University of Hohenheim, and NOTTECH Company Limited, will apply participatory methods and telemetry data to generate labeled datasets of landscape features. These labeled datasets will then be used to develop a community-led land use plan in Tanzania to support the management of livestock resources and reduce conflicts with crop cultivation. Locational Offset Correction The utility of existing crop-cut yield datasets is often compromised due to location inaccuracies arising from the data collection process. To address this, the Locational Offset Correction project will create a method for correcting location inaccuracies using available satellite data. This method will then be used to create a new, clean version of a crop-cut yield dataset for maize crops in East Africa, which will be released along with a tool to allow others to re-create the process using additional datasets. This research will be conducted by a team from Zindi and the Big Data Platform of the CGIAR. Zindi CEO and co-founder Celina Lee said the data science competition platform will call on data science talent from across Africa and around the world to crowd-source a machine learning solution for correcting location errors which are a common problem in agriculture data sets. “ This solution will allow us to correct and publicly release one of the most expan-

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sive crop cut yield estimation datasets for maize in Eastern Africa,” she added. Eyes on the Ground: Providing Quality Model Training Data through Smartphones This project will see the team from ACRE Africa and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) use smartphones to create a unique dataset of geo-referenced crop images along with labels on input use, crop management, phenology, crop damage, and yields. Images will be collected in 11 counties in Kenya. Funding will be used to support data collection, standardisation of methods for submitting images, and curation of datasets so they meet best practices for ground reference data collection and cataloguing, while safeguarding ethics considerations. Lilly Waithaka, Agri-climate Data Analyst at ACRE Africa, said the project is a novel concept that aims to provide smallholder farmers with risk mitigation and adaptation strategies through satellites and smartphones to ensure that they invest in high productivity agriculture investments. “The ground pictures not only provide ACRE Africa with Eyes on the Ground to fine-tune insurance products/models and minimise basis risk, but also enable us to observe management practices that promote the adoption of productivity-enhancing yet resilient technologies through bundling with stress-tolerant seeds and remote advisories. To bridge the gap

between insurance products, resilient technologies and smallholder farmers we leverage on the Village Extension Service Providers (VESPs) model, a high touch and robust route to market model to help create awareness, capacitate and distribute our products. This model ultimately intends to create entrepreneurial opportunities,” added Waithaka. “We co-founded Lacuna Fund recognising that AI has the potential to increase food and financial security for vulnerable populations around the world but that the only way to achieve this is through community-driven innovation,” said Evan Tachovsky, director and lead data scientist at The Rockefeller Foundation. Tachovsky added that Lacuna Fund exists to support the AI community across Africa as they build tools for farmers, extension workers, and policy makers. “This exceptional cohort of projects is a testament to their ingenuity, expertise, and commitment to impact and we look forward to seeing them build and open source these critical datasets,” he said. “The goal is open datasets. But this is bigger than just creating the datasets,” said Daphne Luong, director of Engineering at Google AI Research. “We want to create innovative, scalable and replicable data protocols, so they can be applied to different data domains as well as other geographical regions. Eventually we hope that more representative and accessible data will allow machine learning to better serve communities worldwide.” ai

FEATURE

UP LAUNCHES AFRICA’S FIRST ENGINEERING 4.0 FACILITY By Hlengiwe Mnguni

The University of Pretoria (UP) on 30 November officially opened its state-of-the-art Engineering 4.0 facility which focuses on research on smart transport, cities and infrastructure.

he facility, which is situated on the Innovation Africa@ UP campus in Hillcrest, is the first of its kind in Africa. It is a result of collaboration he South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation – and York Timbers.

Prof Wynand Steyn, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at UP, explained in a statement in November that by focusing on the development of integrated transportation and infrastructure systems, Engineering 4.0’s research will concentrate on the reduction of energy consumption in transportation, productivity maximisation in industry, and the creation of a higher quality of life for people.

“The research focuses on road construction, road use, traffic flow and smart transport systems, now and into the future. We are researching road construction materials, vehicle-pavement interaction issues, infrastructure materials and management, exhaust-related emissions, semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles,” added Professor Steyn. Continued on Page 22

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NEWS

MEET THE 4IR FIRMS THAT WON BIG AT AFRICARENA 2020 The fourth edition of African tech ecosystem accelerator AfricArena 2020 which was held in November 2020 turned out to be a big coup for African tech startups. In all 20 African ventures from 18 countries won $350 000 in cash and Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits across several ecosystem and open innovation challenges.

mong the winners were Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) startups operating in the artificial intelligence (AI), data science and robotics verticals. Each of these 4IR firms were awarded $10 000 work of AWS credit and business support services. They are:

Casky: This Morococcan startup has developed the Casky Protector System -- an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled safety and data collection device which is attached to motorcycle helmets. The device not only increases driver visibility, but can

developed a cloudbased platform which helps waste management and recycling companies optimise their operations through SMS interactions and a web-based interface in a way that makes waste management and recycling easier and more profitable. The startup’s platform also helps companies improve their client management by enabling them to communicate with and keep track of their clients. Kudoti won the Challenge of 1000 hosted by the French Embassy.

also contact emergency services or relatives in the event of an accident. The device, which is coupled with a data analytics platform, also aims to improve riding habits and could also be used to avoid traffic congestion. In addition, the device could also have some applications in the insurance sector. Casky won the Scaling from Africa to Europe Challenge by BpiFrance.

OZÉ: Ghanaian fintech startup OZÉ uses data to help African SMEs grow and access credit. The startup’s app, which it calls “The Business Coach In Your Pocket” not only enables users to track transactions on the go, but also provides real-time updates and alerts on business performance. More importantly, using data and machine learning, OZÉ can also predict business credit risk and assist with capital from its banking partners. The fintech startup was selected as the AfricArena Best of Ecosystem in Nigeria.

Kudoti: Award-winning South African tech and logistics startup Kudoti has

Enova Robotics: Tunisia’s Enova Robotics brings together expertise

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in AI, mobile robotics and security to design and manufacture autonomous mobile robots. Enova Robotics won the AfricArena Best of Ecosystem in Tunisia. 3DIMO: South African startup 3DIMO uses a combination of biometric identification, infrared (IR) imagery and AI to provide early detection of health risks in farm livestock. The startup won the AfricaArena Best of Ecosystem in Cape Town, South Africa. Maad: Senagal’s Maad has developed an intelligent platform that enables users to digitises operations, collect, and analyse data to make the best possible decisions for their organisations. The startup won AfricArena Best of Ecosystem Senegal. ai

NEWS

SA STARTUP ENVISIONIT DEEP AI WINS TWO CATEGORIES AT APPSAFRICA INNOVATION AWARDS South African medtech startup Envisionit Deep AI was one of the big winners at the AppsAfrica Awards 2020 after it won the HealthTech Award, and the Social Impact Award.

nvisionit Deep AI was founded in 2019 by South Africa’s first paediatric radiologist Dr Jaishree Naidoo together with Terence Naidu and Andrei Migatchev. The Johanesburg-based startup uses artificial intelligence to streamline and improve medical diagnoses for radiologists. Its RADIFY solution -- which was trained and validated by radiologists -- highlights abnormalities across X-rays, ultrasound, MRI and CT scans. (Read this Synapse feature on the firm) AppsAfrica announced the winners of the 2020 edition in December. The awards aim to showcase leading ventures from across the continent each year and provide winners with industry recognition, global publicity, and potential investment. AppsAfrica Winners are also invited to join Africa Tech Summit in 2021 connecting with tech leaders, corporates, and investors at next year’s African and European Summits. AppsAfrica said the awards, which are now in their sixth edition, attracted over 500 submissions from 51 countries, with solutions launched by start-ups, established ventures, and corporates and for the first time were held online. Judging for the 12 categories was assessed by an independent panel of industry experts including media, investors, and leaders from the tech ecosystem. AppsAfrica founder Andrew Fassnidge said the 2020 edition of the awards had seen large increase of entries from sectors currently booming due to the effects of the pandemic, including HealthTech, Edtech, Gaming, Fintech, eCommerce and many Covid19 related entries with many great investment opportunities across the continent. ai

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EDUCATION

HOW SOUTH AFRICA CAN PREPARE FOR A DATA-DRIVEN EDUCATION SYSTEM By Mmaki Jantjies and Paul Plantinga

There are significant disparities in South Africa’s education system. Schools are divided into quintiles, from one to five; the poorest, in quintile one, struggle enormously with a lack of resources and support. They also tend to have poorer educational outcomes. That has a direct effect on university admission and outcomes.

ne of the government’s attempts to address these inequalities is through technology. This began as early as 2003 with the Draft White Paper on e-Education. These and similar policies aim to resource more marginalised schools, universities and colleges with digital tools. This, in a bid to “leapfrog” access to interactive learning content and improved administrative capabilities. COVID-19 lockdowns

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have made this approach “imperative ... now the only thing we can do”, according to the country’s Ministry of Basic Education. More and more, data and data-driven tools are emerging as a central feature of this digital response. Developers of these technologies promise a new level of insight and automation that mimics human intelligence. They argue this will bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to both teaching and

learning as well as to administrative processes. They suggest that performance dashboards, automated assessments, chatbots and adaptive learning technologies can mitigate many of the challenges faced by the country’s teachers, lecturers, district managers and university administrators. There’s a growing global evidence base to support these sorts of approaches. For instance, teachers in under-resourced schools with large classes could use technology to gather individualised data. With this they could develop more personalised learning experiences for pupils based on their strengths and weaknesses. Data is the backbone of these tools. The growth of machine learning and other intelligent applications has been spurred by the increased collection and availability of data. Such data underlies the kinds of adaptive applications and emerging technologies that are proposed for use in the education system. We collaborated on a guide that examines how South Africa can ensure its data policy and governance takes some of the lessons and concerns from previous education technology

“

The growth of machine learning and other intelligent applications has been spurred by the increased collection and availability of data.

implementations into account. It also considers the practical steps needed for this to happen. The guide is part of a series curated by the Policy Action Network (PAN), a project by South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Here are some of the things a data policy for South Africa’s education system should consider. Technology impact Experience shows that simply providing technology to teachers or students has a limited effect on educational outcomes. The benefits of online, assisted learning and behavioural interventions also vary depending on how technology is used, and in what context. This is highlighted in working papers that review the effectiveness of educational technology globally and in developing countries. In South Africa, questions about effectiveness are amplified. That’s because of concerns about unequal internet access. Cost-effectiveness and teacher perceptions are also issues. Data management A key issue centres on how data is collected, shared and used. It’s crucial that personal information should be kept private. Education institutions need to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which comes into force effect later in 2021. Another question concerns sharing and reuse across the wider spectrum of education data. This ranges from the content of books and journal articles to administrative data, such as student enrolments and graduations. Sharing or publishing this data in a responsible way can stimulate the development of many creative and useful applications. But

data sharing intersects with evolving copyright laws and debates around ownership and reuse. These will have implications for data-driven innovation in the sector. A third point is to reckon with well-documented concerns about bias embedded in existing data which is being used in decisionsupport applications. If this isn’t dealt with, data-driven applications may reinforce historical prejudices and practices related to education. A holistic policy response South Africa doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel to deal with these issues. Other countries are exploring policy approaches that could guide or inform its approach. For instance, a governmental think tank in India developed a national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. This points to various examples of how the country can use AI technologies to support education. Importantly, however, it also suggests replicating the UK’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) to ensure ethical and safe use of data. Echoing this approach, a report commissioned by the Australian National Department of Education, outlines how critical it is that the application of AI should accord with human rights. There are also existing resources in South Africa. These include the recently released 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) report and recommendations from a 2019 Department of Higher Education and Training discussion on 4IR implications. POPIA and related legislation provide guidance on how data should be published, used and handled, including for automated decision-making. These resources recognise that a variety of underlying issues need

”

to be addressed to benefit from data-driven innovation, such as connectivity and processing capacity. AI-powered systems are resourceintensive. Any introduction of data services will require a supportive digital infrastructure plan which addresses performance, security and inclusion. Another priority is skills. There are existing guidelines to support teachers using digital technologies. These guidelines recognise the interdependent nature of content, ways of teaching, and technology. Additional training and updated guidelines will be needed to address the role and use of data, probably starting with a broad data literacy programme. But more will be needed. Technology policy, adoption and spending in education often involves more than one ministry. This makes early engagement and communication important. Specific policies will have to be updated or developed to guide the use and implementation of data, machine learning and the wider spectrum of automated decisionmaking tools. These should govern how data is collected, handled and shared to balance relevant transparency, privacy and ethics principles and laws. Educators, policymakers, researchers and innovators in the sector all need to get involved. Mmaki Jantjies is Associate Professor in Information Systems at the University of the Western Cape and Paul Plantinga is Research Specialist: Digital Strategies and Engagement at the Human Sciences Research Council This article is republished from The Conversation Africa under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here. ai

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NEWS

UP LAUNCHES AFRICA’S FIRST ENGINEERING 4.0 FACILITY Continued on from 17 Engineering 4.0, he added, entails smart roads and infrastructure talking to smart vehicles, to reduce traffic congestion and to ensure the safety of passengers and cargo. “This can help in areas such as agriculture and logistics, where transporting food can be improved to reduce wastage or damage to fresh produce.” The new facility will also address the shortage of civil engineers in South Africa. Prof Sunil Maharaj, Dean of EBIT, said the facility is a place where novel ideas, scientific research, global expertise, students, academics, entrepreneurs and industry partners can meet to generate new thought leadership, innovation and training opportunities through collaborative partnerships. Prof Maharaj explained that a flagship feature an active two kilometre-long test lane on Pretoria’s N4 highway, where real-time data will be collected and with the help of big data analytics and the Internet of Things, tests and analysis will be carried out on how different road surfaces perform, how traffic, emissions testing, and air quality monitoring. Prof Maharaj said sensors next to, above and below the lane collect data which will be monitored from a data house next to the N4. “This facility allows one to optimise pavement design and construction. The data collected can be used to model many aspects of transportation systems. Improved and optimised pavement design supports longer-lasting pavements that serve the economy

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and social well-being of society,” added Prof Maharaj. Prof Maharaj and Prof Steyn pointed out that for the smart cities research, the centre will work with a team of academics including social and environmental scientists, economists, urban planners, architects and lawyers. UP Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Tawana Kupe said Engineering 4.0 will share its vast resources in technology and data sciences with all faculties via the institution’s Future Africa institute and campus, a platform for developing inter- and trans-disciplinary research networks within the University and the global research community. “We thank our partners and value their contribution to this landmark collaboration. Working together means we can achieve much more in solving Africa’s grand challenges,” he added. SANRAL CEO Skhumbuzo Macozoma said SANRAL is pleased that the Engineering 4.0 facility is now officially open. “This is a true testament of the success that can be achieved through partnerships. This facility will enable cutting-edge roads research, materials testing, skills development, real-time road performance monitoring, and the application of research outcomes and innovation in industry,” he added. CSIR CEO Dr Thulani Dlamini said the CSIR recognises that roads and transport infrastructure is at the heart of the economic recovery of South Africa. “It is for this reason that we have created a dedicated focus on smart mobility in our new strategy.” He added that the CSIR views this collaboration as an ideal

mechanism to build on transportation systems and transport infrastructure geared to improve societal quality of life. Dr Dlamini stressed that this facility will play a critical role in setting South Africa up for success, and advancing the country’s ambitions to lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is of particular interest to the CSIR to collaborate with institutions whose research and development is channelled to improve the lives of all South Africans. “The CSIR invests in the development of methods and technology to facilitate the efficient and safe movement of people in the transport network,” said Dr Dlamini. “This is done through collaboration with role players that include public transport operators, automotive industry and transport authorities. Their strong technical expertise, capacity and capabilities as well as advanced technologies all play a key role in advancing the work of Engineering 4.0.” Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula pointed out that South Africa’s National Development Plan places infrastructural investment at the centre of economic growth. Engineering 4.0’s focus on reduction of energy consumption levels in transportation is a great achievement for South Africa. It will ensure that government’s future investments and infrastructural developments are based on sound research and are environmentally friendly. The beneficiaries of these will be cities, towns and rural communities that rely on public transport and on our roads network for economic participation.” ai

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READERSHIP / SOCIAL MEDIA REACH Synapse Magazine is Africa’s first and only business quarterly publication covering developments across the continent in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) smart technologies. Synapse offers industry executives, practitioners, investors and researchers relevant news, in-depth analysis, and thought leadership articles on trends around 4IR innovation and digital transformation in industries that include banking, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, mining, agriculture, education, and government, among others. With its insights, interviews and case studies, the magazine aims to be a voice for African 4IR practitioners, researchers, innovators, thought leaders, and the wider African AI community. Since its launch in 2018, Synapse has amassed a combined readership of 31,300 across the Issuu platform (on which it is published), the AI Media Group’s email database, the AI Expo Africa Community Group on LinkedIn and the AI Media Group’s social media channels where the magazine is distributed. It also links to AI TV, Africa’s only dedicated YouTube streaming channel focused on 4IR business users and trade.

Over the years the magazine has established a significant following across Africa as well as globally, with readers from as far afield as the North America, South America, Europe and Asia. This makes Synapse a great marketing platform for startups and established tech companies to reach a broader community of buyers, investors and partners. Readers around the world

BOOK YOUR AD / EDITORIAL FEATURE Advertising and artwork to be supplied as a high resolution PRESS-ready PDF of at least 300dpi. Art and editorial features to be submitted to: daniel.mpala@aiexpoafrica.com

FEATURE

HERE’S HOW KUZI IS USING AI, ML TO HELP AFRICAN FARMERS PREDICT, CONTROL DESERT LOCUST SWARMS Kenyan agricultural company Selina Wamucii has developed a free AI-powered tool that is helping farmers across the Horn of Africa and Eastern Africa forecast and control desert locust.

uzi the Swahili name of the wattled starling, a bird that feeds on locusts -uses an array of data that includes satellite data, soil sensor data, ground meteorological observation, and machine learning (ML) to predict the breeding, occurrence, and migration routes of desert locusts in East Africa. Selina Wamucii explains on its website that the tool uses a machine-learning model trained on satellite data, soil sensor data, as well as other factors like soil moisture, wind, humidity, surface temperature, and the vegetation index. These factors, the company points out, affect the breeding, swarm formation, and movement of locusts. Kuzi currently displays a real-time heatmap of high-risk areas in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda. The heatmap also shows forecasts of breeding, swarm formation and potential migratory routes that can alert farmers and pastoralists to potential locust activity up to between two to three months ahead of an invasion. Selina Wamucii spokesperson Tim Wahome said it had taken the startup seven months to develop the tool which went live on 6 January. Prior to that, the firm had been running pilot tests for close to 3

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months. The company said some of the challenges it faced in developing the tool were around acquiring and processing the huge amount of data available. At the time of writing, Selina Wamucii said Kuzi had over 60 000 farmers registered users, including 89 co-operatives and farmer organisations. Wahome explained that between early to mid-2020, Selina Wamucii saw firsthand the frustration caused by locusts and the impact that had on the farmers the startup works with as they encountered what he said was the worst locust invasion in decades. “Immediately, the question on our mind was, how come such a plague could still strike yet it had been given attention many years back with the first international conference on fighting locusts having been held 100 years ago in 1931? This challenged us but at the same time inspired us to find a solution,” he added. Selina Wamucii points out that early detection and control are “critical” in desert locust management. Using deep learning, Kuzi can spot the formation of locust swarms, giving those

at community level the means to identify and deal with favourable breeding areas. Farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda can currently sign up for free SMS alerts -- available in Kiswahili, Somali and Amharic -- of when their respective areas are going to be in danger of a locust swarm attack. The company says anyone can sign up for the service and to capture the GPS

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Desert Locust swarm in northeastern Kenya in January 2020 (©FAO/SVEN TORFINN)

location of their farm, regardless of device type or whether or not they have internet access. Selina Wamucii says Kuzi provides the foundation of early warning, forecasting, and preventive control strategy, allowing intervention to be undertaken in a more efficient and timely manner. Selina Wamucii CEO John Oroko explained that the worst locust invasion in 70 years occurred last year, threatening food supplies for millions of people across Eastern Africa. He believes it is crucial that local communities be involved in fighting locusts. “A new wave of

SYNAPSE | 1ST QUARTER 2021

locust upsurge now threatens millions across Eastern and Southern Africa, exacerbating food insecurity for already vulnerable communities, amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have a responsibility to develop and deploy locally bred solutions that address these challenges faced by our vulnerable rural communities,” said Oroko. Selina Wamucii funded the initial development of the tool and has also received financial backing from Expo 2020 Dubai and Tommy Hilfiger through PVH. Wahome said the startup is keen to get funders for up-

grade releases, as well as additional features and enhancements. The company says it plans to scale and reach as many farmers as possible across Africa, and if need be, extend the tool to support and help farmers in the Middle East and Asia where farmers are also suffering from the scourge of locusts. While Kuzi’s SMS warning service is free to use, Selina Wamucii intends to monetise the tool. Farmers will in future pay a small feee for advanced features. “Our intention is to keep the SMS alert service a free feature for individual farmers,” the company said. ai

FEATURE

WITS COULD SPAWN THE NEXT IBM, GOOGLE, NEW VICE CHANCELLOR EXPLAINS HOW On 1 January 2021, Professor Zeblon Vilakazi assumed the office of Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (Wits). Prior to his new role Vilakazi , who’s an expert in physics and nuclear research, was the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies at Wits.

e is credited for leading South Africa’s entry into the CERN research programme in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, the academic played a key role in establishing the $50-million IBM Research Laboratory at Wits incubator Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, as well as securing the university’s place as the first academic partner in the development of practical applications through access to the IBM Quantum Computing network. Vilakazi who describes startups as a subject he loves, told Synapse in a recent interview that he wants to make tech innovation and entrepreneurship a key focus of his tenure. “I really put that at the frontier of what will be the mission drivers of the university as I take the vice chancellorship. We need our graduates not to become employees, but to become employers. To have the ability to start their own companies,” he says. He points out that last year, Wits spawned three profit-making startups. “They are small, largely focused around energy and health. And these companies are running at a profit because they’ve gone through the whole chain of researchers coming with an idea and then taking the idea

to the next level cannot be done by a scientist or an academic. It needs someone who really has an understanding of managing the space,” he adds. Silicon Valley in Braamfontein He explains that the university wants not only its students, but other young entrepreneurs, to use infrastructure like the Tshimologong Digital Precinct in Braamfontein. “We have a space that is open to all youngsters and a few weeks just being in that kind of a creative space where they can come and experiment with ideas and take that idea to the next level,” he says.

The university also supports its entrepreneurs through the Wits Innovation Hub, a commercial enterprise through which it manages intellectual property of startups. Vilakazi says Wits is looking to use Tshimologong to push digital and tech innovation in a “much more focused and dedicated way”. He envisions Braamfontein becoming the next biggest tech hub. “We want to convert that effectively into a sort of Silicon Valley. Start with an idea in a lab, tinker in a lab and then just go down the road, play with other entrepreneurs and test the idea out and let there idea go through. And I think we are moving at speed now.

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FEATURE

In the next five years I want to see this scaled-up. Young people must learn, we must be a great attractor of venture capitalist, angel capital, risk-takers and change that culture of taking risk and inventing. “Who knows maybe we could produce our own little IBM or little Google, who knows? But you’ve got to give it a try and I think that is how Africa can actually be a producer of tech not just a consumer of tech,” he says. Vilakazi believes Wits’ location in the heart of Africa’s commercial centre and close to neighbouring University of Johannesburg means that the talent is there. He adds that the university’s proximity to the headquarters of major financial services makes for an ecosystem that is “ripe for that explosive potential to come out”. “You just need the right conditions in place, get the right spark to ignite the engine. I wish I was young, I’m excited about this,” he adds. Spearheading AI innovation Wits, he points out, has been a leader in Particle Physics research in South Africa. He explains that a group from The Institute for Collider Particle Physics at the University of the Witwatersrand has been working on modelling the spread of COVID-19 in Gauteng using AI techniques that they borrowed from the analysis of large datasets at CERN. Vilakazi says the Wits Institute of Data Science (WIDS) -- which sits in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment is “one of the largest groups” of data scientists that have been put together under one umbrella. The university also lays claim to the first African recipient of the

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Google Faculty Research Award in Machine Learning. In 2018, Dr Benjamin Rosman, an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics was granted the award for his research in decision making in autonomous systems. Vilakazi says he wants to consolidate this expertise in AI, Machine Learning and data science to spearhead the university’s 21st century thrust in digital learning, digital innovation and the establishment of tech startups. Collaboration is key The key to Vilakazi’s vision are partnerships. An example of this is the one Wits has with Cirrus AI, a South African private sector-led initiative bringing together academia and industry to establish a worldclass AI research and application capability in Africa and beyond. Vilakazi has also overseen Wits’ partnerships with companies like IBM and Amazon Web Services. Wits, he points out, hosts an IBM Researches Laboratory facility which is part of a network located in some of the leading universities in the US, Israel, Australia and Brazil. IBM only has one other research facility on the continent which is located in Nairobi, Kenya. He explains that university has been working closely with IBM on AI and that it recently signed a partnership on developing quantum computing capabilities including and getting young people to code. This, while the institution is working on a “high-level” agreement on cloud services with AWS. Besides it’s partnership with CERN, Wits is also the Africa strategic partner for the Massachu-

setts Institute of Technology (MIT). Vilakazi says Wits’ Faculty of Health Science also has a very good relationship with Vanderbuilt University around bioinformatics and precision medicine. Closer to home, Wits is hosting a national data science platform for data engineers and scientists. Addressing the talent gap Wits, he says, aims to address South Africa’s skills shortage around AI, Machine Learning, data science and other 4IR skills through its undergraduate and postgraduate courses in subjects like data science, bio-medical engineering. He proudly points out that the university has also pioneered a degree in the digital arts and gaming, which he says is a merger of graphics design, digital arts and engineering. “It’s actually a joined arts and engineering degree for the creatives because gaming is about doing creative work. Some of the students have actually been snapped up by some of the leading gaming industry companies in the world. As you know, gaming is becoming a huge industry. And I think that’s one thing that we want to push our innovation on. Gaming is going to be central, both for teaching and learning through AR and VR, but just basically for us to tell our own stories because I think gaming is not about just games, it’s about people telling their stories. Telling African stories based on an African narrative. Not just always importing Japanese or European games, but kind of developing our own games, and hopefully spawning companies that will grow and bring profit to the shareholders and to the university,” says Vilakazi.ai

FEATURE

PUTTING AFRICA ON THE AI WORLD MAP: AICE TO TRAIN 1000 AI KENYAN ENGINEERS IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS The 2019 Global AI Talent report puts the number of artificial intelligence (AI) experts in the world at 36 524. The report estimated that at least half of these were in the US, with only five percent in Africa. LinkedIn data shows that demand for AI talent grew by 74% between 2016 and 2019.

s Kenyan data scientist Claire Matuka (pictured) points out, it stands to reason that there’s only a few AI experts in Kenya and East Africa. “ AI is still relatively new in Africa and despite the fact that there are thousands of graduates from East African Universities every year, there still remains a huge skills gap in the AI ecosystem,” she adds. Matuka last September teamed up with John Kamara, Carol Muchemi and Natasha Ochiel to establish the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (AICE). Matuka says AICE offers a unique foundation as an AI championing Centre in Africa aimed at building innovations that will create jobs and drive human wealth in the artificial intelligence landscape. “The key objective is placing Africa on the AI world map. As Africans, the team has a better understanding of the challenges faced and is better placed to develop African solutions.

Statistics show that Kenya ranks first when it comes to governance readiness for artificial intelligence which is quite exciting,” she says. She believes Africa holds great untapped talent, which once harnessed, can help solve some of the regional challenges, automate processes and improve the progress of technology particularly in Africa. “AICE will spearhead development of Africa’s AI ecosystem through the world’s leading innovation platforms and identify areas AI needs to be integrated into societal sectors in Kenya to solve real time problems. AI technology will contribute $15-trillion to the global economy, the Centre is motivated to place Africa at the centre of this,” says Matuka. One of AICE’s main goals is to train 1000 AI engineers in the next three years. In addition some of the organisation’s main objectives include helping create new smarttech driven companies that will drive

Kenya’s Vision 2030; solving unique African solutions through AI, and making sure Kenya stays on the map for foreign direct investment in the knowledge space. In January AICE held its inaugural AI for Leaders Round Table. The event, which brought together over 50 CEOs and business leaders in Kenya, sought to provide a platform to discuss the potential for AI in business in Africa. Matuka explains that some of the key take-aways from the event included the fact that the potential for AI in Africa cannot be overstated. Other key insights from

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the round table were that resources must be put in place to build capacity, run research and development (R&D) work, and the need for conducive collaborative policies around AI. AICE is incubated under Nairobi-based ADA Labs Africa which currently funds the organisation. So far the organisation has provided AI as a service to other startups incubated by Ada Lab Africa. These include Afya Rekod, Twaa, Paylend, and Ecobba. Mutuka says the Centre is looking to tap investors to fund some if its R&D projects. AICE training programme The Centre is in the midst of training its first cohort of engineers through its AICE AI training programme. Matuka explains that the outcome driven-programme aims to transform data scientists and python experts into AI and machine learning (ML) engineers by enabling them to solve real industry use cases. The four-month long programme covers

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Python programming, data cleaning and preparation, data science, machine learning algorithms, and neural networks AICE has partnered with Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSDK) and AI Commons to facilitate training. “The program is designed for working professionals and graduates, and leverages on AI Commons’ pool of experts, FSDK’s understanding of local needs for growth and includes interactive live classes, access to teaching assistants, practical lab works and online resources and will include a globally recognised certification upon completion,” she says. Matuka believed the initiative will build “the next level” of data scientists and AI engineers who will bridge the knowledge gain in AI in Africa, and the rest of the world. “AICE is proud to be training the first cohort of AI engineers in Kenya and Africa. The programme welcomed 30 individuals (both men and women in Kenya) from various backgrounds,

these include software engineers, data scientists, full stack developers, statisticians and even undergraduate students. The programme has been running seamlessly for the past 4 weeks and the Centre looks forward to helping the students gain skills and practically apply themselves to solve current and future problem,” she adds. Matuka says sourcing talent has also been a “hiccup” for AICE. “We have an untapped talent who are equipped and skilled in mathematics and statistics. Ergo, AICE has created a bridge for this gap to ensure that we always have a hub of talent with the necessary skill set. Matuka says the main challenge facing AICE is around the popular notion that AI will take over jobs. While this might be the case, she explains, AI technology is set to create more jobs.”AICE is here to sensitise and demystify AI, this way everyone has an understanding of this great “monster” at a human level.” ai

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WITS, YORK UNIVERSITY PARTNER TO LAUNCH THE AFRICA-CANADA ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH DATA MODELLING CONSORTIUM The University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (Wits) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with York University in Canada to establish the Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence Data Modelling Consortium. The consortium will research predictive modelling and forecasting of the transmission of COVID-19 on the continent using AI.

rofessor Rhonda Lenton, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University, and Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand signed the MoU in a virtual ceremony on 27 January.

tional Development and Research Centre (IDRC) for the Predictive modelling and forecasting of the transmission of COVID-19 in Africa using Artificial Intelligence project. The project builds on an existing South African-led COVID-19 dashboard and modelling developed

The consortium -- which will be co-chaired by Professors Jianhong Wu (York University) and Bruce Mellado (Wits University and iThemba LABS) and include representatives from many African countries -- will create algorithms based on AI to predict the evolution of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with which to help policymakers and the public manage complex situations. The initiative has received a $1.25 million grant from the Interna-

by Mellado’s Institute for Collider Particle Physics, and transmission models and simulation technologies that have been developed both at York University and at Wits. Wits said in a statement announcing the MoU that these technologies have been widely adopted by government agencies and international organisations in recent months, including the Gauteng Provincial Government. Mellado explained that Particle

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Physics harnesses large amounts of data and uses artificial intelligence to understand the data. “These skills are transferrable to the problem solving of complex systems, such as the modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic or future crises. Artificial Intelligence through machine learning provides a unique suite of tools and methodologies that allows analysts to learn from it. This is essential in solving complex modelling problems” he added. Mellado and his colleagues -- Wits pointed out -- view this exercise as a form of technology transfer revolving around skills and knowledge developed in solving problems of fundamental interactions in nature. In solving such problems, they would also be able to create an ecosystem of knowledge in AI that feeds back into Particle Physics. Vilakazi said while the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life as we know it, it has also galvanised rapid adaptation to change and the adoption of new technologies. “Wits is proud to collaborate with leading scholars from York University on this multidisciplinary project to develop new technologies to strengthen the fight against COVID-19. We are

in a crucial moment in the life of this pandemic and it is important that we work as a collective for the benefit of society,” he added. Lenton says York University is excited to join forces with colleagues from Africa, as part of the global effort to put an end to the pandemic. “This important and timely collaboration will combine York’s research strength in disease modelling, global health, artificial intelligence and emergency management, with AI and modelling expertise in Africa and the practical skills and sensitivity that only local organisations can provide,” she added.

Lenton said the partnership will strengthen the collaboration between Wits’ and York’s academic communities and help students, researchers, policy makers and community representatives work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19, mitigate potential outbreaks in the future, and drive positive change across Africa and around the world. Professor Jude Kong, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in the Faculty of Science and a member of the National COVID-19 Modelling Rapid Response Task Force at York will serve as the Canadian Principal

Investigator. She explained that the consortium will working with organisations in Africa to develop models and simulations of COVID-19 that are relevant to specific cities and the areas adjacent to them. “This will give municipal and national health authorities, and policy-makers from across Africa the practical tools that they need to suppress subsequent waves of infections or mitigate their impact. It will enable us to look at the effectiveness of public health interventions to determine if a particular intervention is appropriate, equitable, feasible and cost-efficient,” added Kong. ai

HUAWEI CLOUD Inclusive AI Making Intelligence Per vasive

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GEOSPATIAL DATA SCIENCE FIRM HYDRO BLU WINS 2020 SPACE-TECH INNOVATION CHALLENGE Durban-based geospatial data science startup Hydro Blu was in February announced as the first place winner of the 2020 Space-Tech Innovation Challenge.

onvened by the South African National Space Agency (SANSA)and ZA SPACE -- in partnership with RIIS, Maxar, FNB, SA Innovation Summit, and Anza Capital -the challenge aims to develop early-stage tech startups that utilise downstream applications of space technology African in the agriculture, insurance, retail and sustainability and conservation industries.

to peer-to-peer network through the TechTribe Accelerator. Hydro Blu, which was represented by director Joash Kisten, placed first and won a $12 5000 SecureWatch Premium 5GB subscription valid for three months. The startup enables hydrogeologists to make data-driven decisions when identifying suitable locations to drill in remote regions.

The challenge, which was launched last September, attracted submissions from across Africa and as far afield as Russia. The top 15 finalists were selected to participate in a two-week virtual business development training programme that enabled them to strengthen their business solutions for the grand finale -- a virtual Space-Tech challenge pitching den. Prizes on offer included a four months of online incubation and virtual mentorship, as well as ongoing access

Agritech startup Smart AgrIoT, which offers farming-as-a-service to smallholder farmers placed second. Smart AgrIoT has developed a cloud-based digitisation and farm management platform that enables smallholder farmers to utilise precision agriculture solutions. The startup was represented by Jabu Madlala and won a $5 000 SecureWatch Premium 5GB subscription valid for three months. HeHe, a Rwandan startup that’s building a platform that uses remote

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sensing technology to forecast supply and consumer data was placed third together with Nigeria’s FieldDev Group an agribusiness-focused geographic information systems (GIS) mapping systems provider which has developed a low-cost geospatial analysis tool that helps smallholder farmers sub-divide shared land. This year’s edition will be geared towards promoting new entrants and entrepreneurs across the industry value chain, which will strengthen Africa’s geospatial readiness. The programme will aim to demystify the space industry for entrepreneurs and civil society by bringing them together with relevant stakeholders, government agencies, and commercial organisations to shine the light on the impact space technology could have on the future of Africa. There are further plans underway for a Space Infrastructure Hub (SIH) in South Africa, which will also play a role in developing the space-technology ecosystem by providing the appropriate platforms for developing new skills whilst leveraging the current areas of expertise in South Africa. SANSA is working closely with the industry (through ZA SPACE) to map the way forward. Ultimately the SIH can be leveraged to stimulate the local industry by designing and investing in projects that utilise local skills and Intellectual Property (IP) for application on a global stage. You can watch a recording of the pitching 2020 Space-Tech Innovation Challenge here. ai

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IBM LAUNCHES DIGITAL4AGRICULTURE INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT AFRICAN STARTUPS Multinational technology and consulting company IBM in December announced the launch of the Digital4Agriculture Initiative (D4AG) which aims to support African startups in the agricultural sector. In addition, the initiative will also aim to improve the living conditions of local smallholders in the long term by increasing productivity and quality.

4AG will make use of IBM Services’ digital expertise, as well as access to weather data provided by IBM’s The Weather Company.IBM

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said in a statement that the initiative is currently helping over 36 African agribusiness companies to prepare for the digital future. Reliable weather forecasts are

very difficult to make for the African agricultural economy due to the lack of IT infrastructure. Small farms not only lack internet access and suitable hardware, but the existing

“

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We also want to promote cooperation between startups and platform operators in order to fully exploit the possibilities of the digital world. D4AG lead & Make-IT in Africa consultant Desiree Winges

data is often unreliable or difficult to process. By providing high-resolution weather data to agricultural startups, D4Ag provides smallholders with valuable information that can help them make important decisions with greater confidence. For example, historical weather data from a tea plantation served as training material and showed how the data analysis can be used to increase yields and to determine the best harvest time or the optimal use of fertilisers or pest control. Make-IT in Africa consultant and D4AG lead Desiree Winges pointed out that the initiative wants to help local startups to reach more customers and open up new markets.”To do this, we impart basic knowledge in the areas of data analysis, interoperability and business modelling. We also want to promote cooperation between startups and platform operators in order to fully exploit the possibilities of the digital world,” said Winges. D4AG is being implemented by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and as part of the Make-IT in Africa project which IBM joined in 2017 as part of its #GoodTechIBM initiative. MakeIT in Africa promotes the start-up scene in the digital sectors of developing and emerging countries together with (primarily) European technology companies, startups, associations, research & science, and non-governmental organisations. IBM Public Sector Account

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Executive Florian Scheil commented that smallholder farmers are the backbone of Africa’s food supply, and their success and quality of life depend on having reliable weather forecast data and insight from it. “We pride ourselves on providing African farmers with weather information and services that will help them manage and improve their crop production more efficiently,” added Scheil. Three-stage training IBM said experts from GIZ and IBM Services have been working together on the D4AG project for about three years and have developed a digital coaching concept for startups that offer agricultural services for African farmers. GIZ and IBM Services have created a threestage, interactive training concept, consisting of individual e-learning, workshops on business modeling, interoperability and data analysis, as well as detailed materials with tips and suggestions for future projects. The virtual training lasted several weeks and taught participants how to use high-resolution weather data and up-to-date alerts to help smallholders grow their products in a more sustainable and healthier way. The workshops saw the participants analyse historical data about a tea plantation - harvest volume, temperature, precipitation, etc. and determine whether there is a connection between weather conditions and yields, for example. D4Ag Capacity Development Workshop trainer Silas Machaira ex-

plained that the next step was to use the results to predict and plan for the future.”If you discover a pattern, you can plan future harvest phases accordingly and thus increase yields in the long term,” he added. Overall, the use of weather data can make our food healthier: If a farmer adjusts the use of fertilisers to the weather, he can reduce the amount required. The consumer benefits from healthy products - the farmer, in turn, can achieve a better price with the high-quality products. This is made comprehensible - right down to the supermarket shelf through blockchain-based platforms such as FoodTrust. Access to information from industry enables startups to successfully establish themselves on the market in the long term, thus creating more jobs in the region and stable growth. In the first edition of the training, over 36 startups from around 13 countries including Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Zimbabwe in Africa took part. Around nine out of 10 participants then draw a positive conclusion and look to the future with optimism. One of the 36 participants is Fred Zamblè the co-founder of Seekewa, an agrifintech that identifies promising agricultural projects and promotes them with the help of third parties. He said The course came at “exactly the right time” for his company. “We’re currently thinking about integrating it into a larger digital platform and this week really opened my eyes,” he added. ai

INDUSTRY

ITU LAUNCHES OPEN RESEARCH GROUP ON AUTONOMOUS NETWORKS The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in December 2020 launched a new Focus Group to support the emergence of ICT networks able to control their behaviour autonomously in the interest of efficiency. Participation in the Focus Group is open to all interested parties.

he ITU Focus Group on ‘autonomous networks’ will lead an exploratory ‘pre-standardisation’ study to determine how ITU standards will support the realisation of autonomous networks and their evolution in years to come. “ITU standards incorporate the latest advances in technology whilst taking account of the associated implications for business dynamics to allow industry players to advance together,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “Innovation towards autonomous networks calls for an evolution that is viable both technically and economically and ITU standards have a long history of enabling such an evolution.” Networks are growing in sophistication to enable highly interactive new communication experiences and innovations in fields such as digital health and intelligent transport systems. IMT-2020/5G and future networks will be versatile all-round players able to meet the requirements of a very diverse set of ICT applications. This versatility is made possible by major advances in cloud computing and network virtualisation – the software revolution reshaping the networking business – butthis versatility also introduces significant network complexity. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are expected to play a key part in managing this complexity, especially in meeting new demands on network management and control as these demands exceed the capabilities of humans as well

as pre-defined automated processes. “As the demands on communication networks have grown through increased user subscription and new service expectations across industry sectors, network operators must find new ways to address these pressures while at the same time controlling operational cost,” said the Chair of the Focus Group, Leon Wong, Research Engineer at new ITU member Rakuten Mobile. The complexity of the latest network architectures has created the motivations for autonomous networks, but these architectures also create the conditions necessary to integrate ‘creative intelligence’ techniques into 5G and future networks. “Creative intelligence techniques can provide a new layer of abstraction, introducing an evolution mechanism as a catalyst for autonomy,” said Wong. Autonomous networks would display the ‘self’ properties: the ability to monitor, operate, recover, heal, protect, optimise and reconfigure themselves. These networks could autonomously adapt and improve management and control, but also self-evolve through online experimen-

tation to enable better compositions of controllers and controller hierarchies. The Focus Group will study the creative intelligence techniques that leverage this online experimentation, elaborating foundational concepts such as ‘exploratory evolution’, ‘emergent behaviour’, and ‘real-time responsive experimentation’. It will study the meaning and characteristics of autonomous networks, providing definitions and terminology to build clarity around the concepts underpinning creativity in autonomous networks. It will propose technical enablers for evolution in autonomous networks to support networks’ dynamic adaptation to future ICT environments and use cases. And it will demonstrate architecture concepts and develop associated guidelines to enable higher levels of autonomy through real-time responsive experimentation. The group is expected to make a key contribution to the coherence of innovation towards autonomous networks by offering an open platform for the collaboration of standardisation and open-source communities and all industry players and academia active in the field. ai

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NEWS

GERMAN FIRM TO TRAIN 100 KENYAN DEVELOPERS IN RPA SKILLS Darmstadt-based robotic solutions company Servicetrace has partnered with Kenyan boutique PR agency and IT services provider African Elite Group to train 100 Kenyan developers in robotic process automation (RPA) skills.

ervicetrace said in a statement on LinkedIn that its partnership with African Elite Group will help young technology graduates in Africa find opportunities through skills development that leads to good-paying jobs

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in the global market. “Thereby a priority will be given to female developers, as it is important to close the gender gap in technology where females remain underrepresented,” the company added. Kenyan publication Business

Daily reported that the partnership will see African Elite Group select candidates for the programme. In addition, the company will also offer trainees mentorship in collaboration with its regional network of digital technology partners. ai

INNOVATION

ZIMBABWEAN RESEARCHER LAUNCHES BANTU LANGUAGE SPELLCHECKER, ANDROID KEYBOARD US-based Zimbabwean computer scientist and researcher Sabelo Mhlambi in January launched a free AI-powered multilingual spellchecker and Android keyboard supporting six Bantu languages used by about 150 million people in Southern Africa.

he spellchecker, which can be accessed here supports ChiShona, IsiNdebele (Northern), IsiSwati, IsiXhosa, IsiZulu and Kiswahili. This while the Bhala - Africa Keyboard currently supports word auto-complete and spellcheck in the same languages. Mhlambi said in a Twitter thread announcing the launch of the tools that he’s working on adding three more languages, namely Sepedi, Setswana and Sotho. “So why? In 2021 there still aren’t spellcheckers online or other online writing tools for Africa’s major languages let alone free dictionaries and thesauri and the major AI keyboards by google & Microsoft are really bad in their support for African languages. The right to one’s culture,

language, customs is a fundamental human right. The benefits of AI technology must be made available to Africans online & offline in ways that preserve African languages and cultures. The Bhala online spellchecker + offline keyboard is such an

attempt.” he explained. Mhlambi pointed out that this is the first time a Zulu spellchecker has been made available online. He further explained that the Bhala spellchecker outperforms the one launched in 2016 by the University of Cape Town which was developed by then UCT Computer Science Honours student Balone Daba with assistance from Norman Pilusa, Dr Langa Khumalo, Prof. Hussein Suleman and Dr Maria Keet (read more about that project here, as the UCT version uses three letter char grams. “It also outperforms the one by UKZN, and unlike NWT University bhala’s are free to all,” said Mhlambi. Mhlambi is a fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society and a Technology and Human Rights Fellow Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy. He focuses on the ethical implications of technology in the developing world, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, along with the creation of tools to make Artificial Intelligence more accessible and inclusive to underrepresented communities. ai

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INDUSTRY

INTRODUCING MLCOMMONS By Gregg Barrett

MLCommons was officially launched on December 3rd, 2020. MLPerf, which has been absorbed into MLCommons, successfully collected input from dozens of companies and academic institutions to create the industry-standard benchmarks for machine learning.

here MLPerf concerned itself with the development and maintenance of machine learning benchmarks for training and inference, MLCommons has a much broader objective and aims to answer the needs of the nascent machine learning industry through open and collaborative engineering in three areas: benchmarking, datasets and best practices. Datasets To make machine learning systems requires data and that is something

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that is not always easy to come by. In addition, to do an apples-to-apples comparison of one model against another requires using the same testing data. The problem however is that most public datasets are small, legally restricted, not redistributable and not diverse. To foster machine learning innovation MLCommons is therefore working to unite disparate companies and organisations in the creation of large diverse and redistributable datasets under a Creative Commons or similar license, for machine learning training and testing.

As an example, ImageNet is commonly used in computer vision, however there is no similar largescale dataset for speech where there might be a need to compare speech to text accuracy. The first effort in this regard is the People’s Speech Dataset, which is approximately 100 times larger than earlier open alternatives, and aims to be more diverse. Compiling such a dataset is not any easy task as aside from data engineering issues, there are licensing matters that need to be dealt with and the resulting dataset needs to be state of the art.

local machines, on a variety of major clouds, or in Kubernetes clusters -all using the same code. MLCube is currently a pre-alpha project with an active development team. We invite experimentation and feedback, code contributions, and partnerships with ML infrastructure efforts. The People’s Speech dataset (SOURCE: MLCOMMONS)

For the Peoples Speech dataset 86 000 hours of speech and labels was collected from diverse sources, although primarily in English. In building the dataset much of the data was unaligned, meaning that the audio and text is there, but that they are not matched together. To match the audio and text forced alignment was used. Forced alignment uses a weak speech recognition system to match a segment of speech to the corresponding text. On a large CPU cluster, it costs around 1000 dollars to align 100 000 hours of audio. On an accelerator cluster the cost of forced alignment is negligible. The dataset will be released under the Creative Commons (CC-BY license), allowing for commercial use. There are also a few reference TPU models that have been trained on the dataset that will also be released. We believe that the People’s Speech People’s Speech dataset will accelerate innovation in hardware-algorithm co-design and help MLPerf benchmarks reflect current production systems while incurring a modest cost. The 86,000 hours is therefore the first iteration of the dataset with more to come, and later versions due to branch out into more languages and accents. Best Practices New models emerge on a daily basis but sharing them remains an ad-hoc process. Often, when a researcher wants to use a model produced elsewhere, they must waste hours or days on a frustrating attempt to get

the model to work. Similarly, a ML engineer may struggle to port and tune models between development and production environments which can be significantly different from each other. This challenge is magnified when working with a set of models, such as reproducing related work, employing a performance benchmark suite like MLPerf, or developing model management infrastructures. Reproducibility, transparency and consistent performance measurement are cornerstones of good science and engineering. The first effort in this regard is MLCube, a set of common conventions that enables open and frictionless sharing of ML models across different infrastructure and between researchers and developers around the globe. MLCube can be viewed as a consistent interface to machine learning models in containers like Docker. Models published with the MLCube interface can be run on

Conclusion Machine learning is completely unlike conventional software -- developers train an application rather than program it, and this requires a whole new set of techniques analogous to the breakthroughs in precision measurement, raw materials, and manufacturing that drove the industrial revolution. The launch of MLCommons in partnership with its founding members will promote global collaboration to build and share best practices - across industry and academia, software and hardware, from nascent startups to the largest companies. The Peoples Speech dataset and MLCube are the first in a very promising pipeline, more of which will be unveiled during the coming months. Gregg Barrett serves on the MLCommons Research and Science working groups, is the CEO of Africa’s AI initiative, Cirrus, and a supporter of ELLIS and CLAIRE. ai

MLCube is a shipping container for ML models

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NEWS

AFYAREKOD, INDYGENEUS AI PARTNER ON NEW GENOMICS-INTEGRATED HEALTH DATA PLATFORM

AfyaRekod, a Kenyan consumer-driven health data platform built on artificial intelligence (AI) and Blockchain has partnered with Nairobi-based US genomics firm IndyGeneUS AI on a new genomics-integrated health data platform.

ndyGeneUS AI, which has offices in Washington DC and Nairobi, is creating the world’s largest Blockchain encrypted repository of indigenous and diaspora African as well as Afro-Latin clinical and multi-omit data for disease prevention and detection; drug discovery and development; and clinical disease management. The partnership -- which was announced by the genomic firm in January -- leverages access to 110 000 patients, and once sequenced will bring IndyGeneUS to 10% of its 1 million African genomes goal. IndyGeneUS AI said the partnership will establish a solid foundation in precision medicine for Kenya, Africa, the African diaspora, and indigenous

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populations globally. IndyGeneUS AI explained in its statement that it will leverage the power of whole-genome sequencing in combination with patient-entered health data and electronic health records to create a unique resource for research on the conditions affecting Kenya, Africans and diaspora populations. Through its health data platform, AfyaRekod is looking facilitate better healthcare outcomes for its subscribers in Kenya and across Africa. AfyaRekod founder John Kamara pointed out that the partnership will be “ a great leap” for Africa in the area of genomics, patient management and precision medicine. “The collaboration will open new

opportunities for doctors, patients and also pharmaceutical companies to better understand the patient driven economy that is revolutionising healthcare and how to make sure Africa is at the forefront of using technology and research to improve healthcare.” IndyGeneUS AI founder, American public health expert Yusuf Henriques says he founded the startup to address the thoughts on the promise of genomics. “The opportunity to save lives using genomics is enormous. We are creating Africa’s first secure health and genomics digital platform that will democratise access to accelerate discoveries and the implementation of precision health innovation across the continent.” ai

NEWS

ALTRON BECOMES SA’S FIRST NPN COMPUTE DGX PARTNER Altron Systems Integration (ASI), a subsidiary of JSE-listed Altron, announced in January that it had joined the NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN), making it the first NPN Compute DGX partner and solutions provider in South Africa.

SI joins the NVIDIA Partner Network as a solution provider focusing on the Compute and Compute DGX competencies, serving customers across Southern Africa in their AI journey. This gives Altron Systems Integration access to the latest hardware, trainings, technical documentation, technical specialists, and promotions for its customers. The partnership will allow Altron Systems Integration the ability to distribute NVIDIA’s AI solutions across Africa. ASI managing director Leslie Moodley explained in a statement that NVIDIA’s expertise in building end-to-end AI and data science solutions and frameworks enable every enterprise to realise their AI

potential. “As an NPN member, Altron plans to leverage NVIDIA expertise and accelerated computing technology to better serve our customers in their AI journey,” added Moodley. NVIDIA’s invention of the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined mod-

ern computer graphics and revolutionised parallel computing. More recently, GPU deep learning ignited modern AI – the next era of computing – with the GPU acting as the brain of computers, robots and self-driving cars that can perceive and understand the world. Alfred Manhart, Vice President of Channel at NVIDIA said the company has evolved the GPU into a computer brain at the intersection of virtual reality, high performance computing, and AI. “Becoming an NPN member will enable Altron Systems Integration to take advantage of NVIDIA’s supercharged GPU computing platform, allowing customers the opportunity to accelerate discovery that prevents disease, builds smart cities, and revolutionise analytics,” he added. ai

WEBB FONTAINE TO OPEN AI R&D CENTRE IN AFRICA Jean Gurunlian, the founder of Webb Fontaine -- a leading provider of solutions for trade facilitation -- last November announced that the company plans to open an AI research and development centre in the region.

he Dubai-based company said in a statement on LinkedIn that the new R&D centre is expected to contribute to growing and nurturing fresh African talents in the region, as well as support local governments to drive economic

growth powered by the latest innovations and technology. Gurunlian made the announcement during the inaugural Bloomberg Invest Africa while responding to a question by Bloomberg companies reporter Tope Alake on how the company is tapping

talent in Africa. It’s not clear when exactly and where in Africa the AI R&D centre will be opened. Webb Fontaine has offices in Abuja, Nigeria; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Conakry, Guinea; Cotonou, Benin, and Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. ai

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NEWS

INSTADEEP PARTNERS WITH GERMAN BIOTECH FIRM TO DEVELOP NOVEL IMMUNOTHERAPIES London-based AI startup InstaDeep -- which was founded by the Tunisian co-founders CEO Karim Beguir and Zohra Slim -- in November entered into a multi-year collaboration with German biotechnology firm BioNTech aimed at applying the latest advances in artificial intelligences (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology to develop novel immunotherapies for a range of cancers and infectious diseases.

n a joint statement in November, the two firms said they will, as part of the collaboration form a joint AI Innovation Lab in London, UK, and Mainz, Germany, to advance a portfolio of initiatives across drug discovery and design, protein engineering, manufacturing and supply chain optimisation. The AI Innovation Lab will combine InstaDeep’s advanced capabilities in the areas of AI, ML, and digitalisation along with BioNTech’s deep domain expertise in precision immunotherapies and its access to a wide variety of internal and external datasets. One of the key research areas of the BioNTech-InstaDeep joint Innovation Lab will be the development of next generation vaccines and biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer and prevention and therapy of infectious diseases, including Covid-19. The two companies said their strategic collaboration will focus on the following three core areas: •N ovel Drug Design: BioNTech is advancing a pipeline of novel

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mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics and will apply InstaDeep’s DeepChainTM protein design platform to engineer new mRNA sequences for protein targets, including for its RiboMabTM and RiboCytokineTM platforms, which use messenger RNA to encode antibodies and cytokines in vivo. • A dvanced Analytics: BioNTech and InstaDeep plan to generate insights from public and proprietary meta datasets, as well as anonymised patient data through the use of machine learning and edge analytics to identify novel biological targets and predictive biomarkers. • Manufacturing and Supply Chain Optimisation: BioNTech plans to utilise AI and ML applications to further optimise manufacturing and supply chain processes. By employing the latest advances in robotics and autonomous decision-making algorithms, BioNTech aims to deliver higher efficiencies in drug manufacturing, logistics and supply chain processes. BioNTech co-founder and CEO M.D Ugur Sahin said his firm sees

a significant opportunity at the intersection of AI and immunology by computational design of new precision immunotherapies. “This collaboration will expand our digital capabilities and optimise our operations across the value chain by adding InstaDeep’s powerful Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning expertise. We look forward to working with InstaDeep to advance the next wave of innovation in the field,” added Sahin. Beguir said pairing BioNTech’s deep knowledge of the human immune system and scientific data-driven development approach with our AI platform could transform the way we discover and develop new drug classes for patients all over the world. “For InstaDeep, the long-term collaboration with BioNTech also means we can further expand on our mission as a company to accelerate the transition to an AI-First world that benefits everyone. Based on the results already achieved by working together, we see an exciting path forward,” he added. ai

INDUSTRY

WEF LAUNCHES GLOBAL AI ACTION ALLIANCE TO ACCELERATE ADOPTION OF TRANSPARENT, INCLUSIVE AI In a bid to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) by accelerating the adoption of trusted, transparent and inclusive AI systems globally, the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January launched the Global AI Action Alliance.

he alliance is a multi-stakeholder collaboration platform and project incubator designed to accelerate the adoption of inclusive, trusted and transparent artificial intelligence (AI) globally and across industry sectors. The project brings together more than 100 leading companies, governments, international organisations, non-profits and academics united in their commitment to maximising the societal benefits of AI. The WEF said the alliance builds on over three years of successful efforts to create interoperable governance protocols for the development and use of AI technologies. The Forum added that the alliance will collaborate closely with the Forum’s Industry Action Groups and its Data for Common Purpose Initiative (DCPI) to ensure that AI governance reflects best practices in data governance and is interoperable globally and across industry sectors. The Global AI Action Alliance is overseen by a steering committee comprised of top global leaders from industry, government, academia and civil society co-chaired by IBM CEO and chairman Arvind Krishna, and Patrick J.McGovern Foundation president Vilas Dhar.

The initiative is also supported by a grant from the Patrick J.McGovern Foundation. The WEF said members of the alliance will work together to identify and implement the most promising tools for ensuring that AI systems are ethical and serve all of society, including groups historically underserved by AI. The platform will enable alliance members to participate in real-time learning, pilot new approaches to ethical AI, scale adoption of best practices, and undertake collective action to ensure that AI’s benefits are shared by all. How it’ll work The WEF said participating organisations support the alliance through an institutional commitment to its mission as well as active participation in one or more working groups. These member-driven communities

of action focus on priority governance topics, collaborating in real-time to: 1. Aggregate the most relevant tools and practices for addressing key governance challenges 2. Accelerate their adoption at scale across priority sectors and geographies 3. Drive real-time learning and rapid scaling of proven tools and approaches 4. Catalyse collective action to address key governance gaps and create global interoperability Participating organisations join the alliance by committing to its mission institutionally and participating actively in its global efforts. Members will designate one or more executives to contribute actively to the alliance’s Working Groups on behalf of their organisation and in line with their institutional priorities. Global AI Action Alliance members will lead in developing and delivering the activities of a Working Group, collaborating with its co-champions to set the agenda and drive real-time learning and action. The alliance’s members will nominate a qualified individual to provide on secondment to the World Economic Forum’s AI team, where they play an integral role in building the alliance and driving action. ai

1ST QUARTER 2021 | SYNAPSE

REPORT

AFRICA COULD BENEFIT $2-BILLION A YEAR FROM EARTH OBSERVATION, HERE’S HOW Could Earth Observation (EO) be one of the most valuable assets on which Africa can rely on? A report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January in collaboration with Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) suggests that the socioeconomic benefits of EO in Africa could be higher than $2-billion a year.

he report, which is titled “Unlocking the Potential of Earth Observation to address Africa’s critical challenges” can be accessed here, examines the economic potential of the DE Africa programme, which provides a platform to help translate EO into freely accessible data. DE Africa is the world’s largest open data cube, encompassing a land area of over 30-million square kilometres. The programme provides valuable insights into a range of issues, from water and agriculture, to urbanisation and deforestation. DE Africa said in a statement in January that the report was developed following extensive examination of the readiness of African countries to effectively and efficiently grow their geospatial capabilities, integrated with careful study of the economic benefit of EO data adoption on specific sustainable development focus areas. The report estimates that improved use of EO data could lead to an extra $500-million in yearly EO sales along with new job opportunities and increased revenue. Better data, the report’s authors point

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out, could potentially be worth an extra $900-million a year thanks to water savings, productivity gains from farmers, and reduced pesticide usage. EO could lead to better regulation of mining activity, with data enabling countries to track unregulated mining. The report states that EO data could lead to potential savings of at least $900-million from reduced environmental damage and fiscal evasion. DE Africa Programme managing director Dr Adam Lewis said the initiative

has through collaboration with key partners within Africa and around the world made “significant progress” in turning this potential into a reality. “We are already seeing the benefits of EO in Africa. In Tanzania for example, the National Bureau of Statistics has been able to use the data to analyse water changes over time for Lake Sulunga, leading to better decisions for the populations living around the lake,” added Dr Lewis. Benedict Mugambi, who’s the Head of Geographic Information Systems at the National Bureau of Statistics, has been monitoring the the water extent of the Lake Sulunga using the DE Africa Water Observation from Space (WoFs) analysis ready data service. The insights gained from this analysis are helping to inform evidence based policy decisions to support the communities living around the banks of the lake. “Digital Earth Africa gives us the data and evidence to make better policies about how communities can use land and water for the best environmental and economic outcomes. But to be fully effective we must find a way to share the results with local people,” said Mugambi. ai

INNOVATION

SANSA, AWS, ZINDI COLLABORATE TO DEVELOP AI TOOL THAT IDENTIFIES INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has collaborated with Amazon Web Services and data science platform Zindi to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can identify informal settlements using SANSA’s satellite data.

ANSA said in a statement on its website that the COVID-19 pandemic had made it more critical than ever for the government to identify countrywide informal settlements. The agency explained that knowing where informal settlements are located would have help the government make evidence-based policies which would ensure that all people have access to the services they need to manage the crisis. SANSA Managing Director for Earth Observations said the idea was to get data scientists to work on a potential solution that SANSA could use to optimise its mapping processes.

Between 12 and 15 -- June as part of the SANSA AWS Informal Settlements in South Africa hackathon by Zindi -- 184 data scientists from 34 countries used SPOT satellite imagery provided by the agency to create the models. The data scientists were also given access to powerful computing capacity through virtual machines provided by Amazon Web Services. SANSA provided training data that had information about informal settlements around Johannesburg in Gauteng, and challenged the data scientists to create models that can find informal settlements in KwaZulu-Natal. The winning model, created by Raphael Kiminya, a data scientist

Satellite data showing where informal settlements can be found in Gauteng (SANSA)

from Kenya, found informal settlements in KwaZulu-Natal that manual labelling by SANSA data scientists did not flag in the training data. Zindi Africa CEO Celina Lee explained that the informal settlement that it picked up on, as an example, was a very small area that was surrounded by other homes, but you start to recognise it when you look at it more carefully. “What’s nice is that the model can pick up on what the human eye might just scan right over and not notice,” added Lee. These models won’t be replacing humans anytime soon; they remain tools developed to make the work of technicians easier, by pointing users towards where to look for informal settlements. “Right now, with the models that we have, it will almost be like a heatmap with different probabilities indicating where an informal settlement is likely to be,” she said. Lee said it was exciting to work with SANSA on this project as it unlocked opportunities for many African data scientists to showcase their talents. The hackathon also illustrates the wealth of data that SANSA has to offer data scientists on the continent.“We would love to work with SANSA to tackle other problems. There is such great potential in SANSA’s data to generate insights in a quicker and more efficient way using machine learning,” said Lee.ai

1ST QUARTER 2021 | SYNAPSE

INDUSTRY

SA MINES INVESTING AN AVERAGE OF R111M ANNUALLY IN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES - REPORT The average investment in digital technologies by South African mines is R111-million, so says a report released in February by Minerals Council South Africa in collaboration with PwC.

he report is based off a study that Minerals Council South Africa and PwC conducted between December 2019 and August 2020 by surveying 23 senior managers from 19 mining companies. Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter said the purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of the adoption of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies within the South African mining industry, and to provide guidance on the opportunities and challenges associated with digital transformation. The council believes regular reports like this will help decision makers from all mining stakeholders make better and faster decisions which will enhance the global competitiveness of mining. “Mining is an integral part of how humans, hand-in-hand with 4IR technologies, will build a socially just world and keep within its ecological limits. Using 4IR technologies to enable a more modern mining sector, South African mining will become globally competitive, attract the best talent, and ultimately contribute even more as we re-imagine our economy and society,” said Baxter. While the average investment in digital technologies by the surveyed companies amounted to R111-million a year, the study found that a quarter of the respondents were spending an average of R116-million

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per annum on digital technologies. “The scale of their spending suggests mining companies are coming out of the starting blocks at speed and using their traditional approach of net present value to motivate these investments. With the majority of respondents in the intermediate stages of their digital journey, we expect average investment size to increase in the coming years as the benefits of 4IR transformation become clear to stakeholders,” says the report. The study found that at least 37% of respondents, which were classified as “curious investors” did not have a clear 4IR strategy and were allocating less than 0.15% of their expenditure or an average of about R13-million per annum to experiment with digital transformation. On the other hand, 38% of respondents stated they had identified areas of their operations which they wish to impact with 4IR tech. This group invested between 0.16% to 0.3% of turnover or on average about R95-million per annum on digital technologies. “Their larger investment numbers are accompanied by their having more active roles in OEM product development. Forty percent of respondents in this category’s say they are taking a direct role in influencing OEM new product development. The remainder say they are taking active, but indirect roles such as participat-

ing in OEMs’ advisory boards and pilot programmes,” the report states. A quarter of the respondents were found to be investing more than 0.3% of their turnover or on average about R116-million per annum on digital programmes. “These companies typically have lower risk aversion and are the leaders in 4IR. They have been on the journey longer than their peers in most cases and have a clear vision of what areas will be impacted together with a clear investment strategy in each area of their business. Confident investors have mature digital programmes and are actively seeking to innovate. All of them can tie their larger investments to larger expectations for improvement. Their digital initiatives are business case driven and measured against predicted returns in a pilot environment prior to roll-out,” says the report. AI lagging behind IoT, but more piloting it The report suggests companies are prioritising technologies that connect people and assets to provide insights, as well as those that connect machine to visualise data (condition monitoring). The study found that the 4IR technologies currently being used the most in South African mines are condition monitoring (79%), connectivity and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) (58%), and Manufacturing execution systems (42%).

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently being implemented by 11% of respondents, however 47% of respondents are piloting the technology, with 21% looking to use AI within their mining operations in the next five years. Only 21% of the study’s respondents reported that they have implemented collaborative robots, smart robots, and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions within their operations, with 26% saying they plan on using the technologies in the next five years. This while 32% are piloting the technologies. “For AI and machine learning to succeed, respondents need to have connected sufficient infrastructure, people and equipment to provide the data points from which the technol-

ogy can ‘learn’ and in turn provide insights. This dependency is clearly illustrated by the current emphasis on implementing monitoring and connectivity technologies,” the report adds. About 47% of RPA or cognitive automation deployments are in finance and control functions. Other leading deployments of the technology are in Human Resources (26% of functions and procurement (26% of functions).This as engineering, logistics, supply chain planning, IT and mine support functions such as geology, health and safety and rock engineering sit at 20% each. “One in ten use the technology to help them keep track of their social licence to operate, a growing area of focus in the context of South African

mining and the social obligations of mining companies. The same proportion (10%) also implemented RPA in their security and facilities, asset management and maintenance departments. Ultimately, the goal of RPA remains to lower costs, expedite routine processing activities and increase ease of management and productivity. “Some respondents punt ‘full automation’ at some sites and are reaping the benefits. However, many seem to have adopted a cautious and incremental approach by implementing it in selected pockets and assessing the results,” cites the report. Check out more insights and in-depth analysis from the report here. ai

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POLICY

LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FOR AI GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA NEED TO BE FOSTERED: UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Artificial Intelligence Needs Assessment Survey in Africa, which the UN agency released in February, has recommended that African member states develop legal and regulatory frameworks for Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance to ensure that AI innovation and development upholds human rights.

Through the survey, UNESCO sought to establish the priorities and capacity building needs of African countries concerning AI. In all, 32 member states in Africa participated in the survey.

neered by AI so as to offset biases and discrimination, including on the basis of race and gender, or loss of personal privacy through predictive analysis among others. UNESCO also highlighted that

UNESCO recommended that the African member states adapt and test frameworks for human right risk assessments and due diligence on AI applications in order to ensure that they do not interfere with the full enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms. 22 of the 32 member states reported having legal frameworks covering personal data protection. UNESCO noted that these legal provisions may need to be updated to take into account the new uses and applications of data engi-

the need for legal protection against algorithmic bias and discrimination prompted by the fact that only nine countries that participated in the survey reported having measures against these challenges. The agency said it is developing a a larger framework on ethics of AI -which includes an Ethical Impact Assessment -- that will include the whole range of human rights, fundamental freedoms, and human dignity which will provide with a more robust framework to properly assess and address

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the challenges and opportunities of AI for all individuals and communities. UNESCO said such frameworks should ensure that there’s no discrimination in the selection of datasets and programmers design choices, and make explicit the values informing these choices, including those related to implicit and explicit gender biases. IN addition, UNESCO added that the frameworks should provide for close monitoring of outcomes that could infringe on the rights to expression, privacy and equality, as well as other rights. UNESCO also recommended that member states develop legal and regulatory frameworks updated for Personal Data Protection and Data Governance, including through the development of model laws. Other key findings from the survey include: - Policy initiatives for AI governance need strengthening - The need for enhancing capacities for AI governance is widely recognised - AI priorities for countries in Africa are varied but offer an opportunity for cooperation - More efforts are needed to advance an AI education, research and training UNESCO’s Artificial Intelligence Needs Assessment Survey in Africa can be accessed here. ai

NEWS

SYNTHESIS TO OPEN LOCAL OFFICE IN MAURITIUS South African technology and consulting company Synthesis announced in February that it is looking to open an a local office in Mauritius.

ynthesis partners with companies accelerating their digital journeys with cloud, digital platforms, emerging technology, managed services, intelligent data solutions, training and payment and regulatory technologies. Synthesis planned to open the Mauritius office last year, however the expansion was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company still intends to open a local office and employ top Mauritius talent. Synthesis is no stranger to the island though, having worked with retail consumer finance firms, wealth managers and Mauritian banks for the past 10 years. “Every day we see how technology

can transform businesses and make them more competitive and therefore better equipped to meet customers’ needs. We want this for Mauritius. While working with Mauritian businesses, we witnessed the country’s potential. We plan to put down roots and truly invest,” says Tjaard du Plessis, Synthesis Head of Digital and Emerging Technology. Synthesis has partnered with BYRD Consulting as one of its first steps to invest in the island. BYRD, a Mauritian company led by CEO Alex Bechard, offers management consultancy services that helps companies elevate financial strategy, accelerate growth and raises capital. BYRD’s team has a deep understanding of the Mauritian

landscape, with Alex Bechard being the co-founder of Fundkiss, Mauritius’ number one crowdlending marketplace. This partnership now provides Mauritius businesses with a local channel to engage with Synthesis. Together, with BYRD’s comprehensive understanding of Mauritius business and Synthesis’ innovation background, Synthesis seeks to enable Mauritius to embrace emerging technology and compete at a global level. “We have seen what Synthesis is capable of doing and we are confident that Mauritian companies will greatly benefit from Synthesis’ extensive expertise in their digital transformation,” says Bechard. ai

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Synapse - Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine - 1st Quarter 2021 Issue 11

Articles inside

WEBB FONTAINE TO OPEN AI R&D CENTRE IN AFRICA

ALTRON BECOMES SA’S FIRST NPN COMPUTE DGX PARTNER

Synthesis to open local office in Mauritius

How much are SA mines investing annually in digital technologies?

Need for legal & regulator frameworks for AI governance in Africa: UNESCO

AI tool developed to identify informal settlements

InstaDeep, BioNTech partner to develop novel immunotherapies

Africa could benefit $2-billion per year from Earth Observation

WEF launches Global AI Action Alliance

Introducing MLCommons

AfyaRekod, IndygeneUS partner on health data platform

Servicetrace to train 100 Kenyan developers in RPA

Bantu language spellchecker, Android keyboard launched

ITU launches open research group on autonomous networks

Wits, York University launch Africa-Canada AI & Public Health Data Consortium

IBM launches Digital4Agriculture initiative

2020 Space-tech Innovation Challenge Winners

Wits could spawn the next tech giant. New VC explains how

Kenya’s AICE to train 1000 AI engineers in 3 years

Envisionit Deep AI scoops two categories at AppsAfrica awards

How AI is taking on locust swarms in East Africa

Lacuna Fund invests in African agricultural datasets for AI

African projects selected for $10-million data.org challenge

The Baobab Network joins The Deal Room

3.2% increase in funding raised by African AI/IoT startups

UP launches Engineering 4.0 facility

Ghana’s OZÉ raises $700k seed round

Gro Intelligence raises $85-million Series B round

SA’s Aerobotics raises $17-million to scale AI for agriculture