YOUNG ENTERPRISE INITIATIVE
South Africa 2020 Cohort to exhibit at AI Expo Africa 2020, Courtesy of French Embassy
13 SYNAPSE
meetings that Bécue says are designed MATHIEU BÉCUE, Attaché for Innovation at to allow each laureate to benefit from an the French Embassy, explains that the Yei extensive customized business network Start in France programme – which YEi South and connections to the best resources in Africa falls under – was founded in 2005 as Europe. The trip has now been postponed to an accelerator for science startups looking to October because of the COVID-19 pandemic. develop and grow their businesses in France 3DIMO co-founder Nneile Nkholise says the and Europe. YEi South Africa programme has helped her The French Embassy then launched Yei realise the potential her company has to create South Africa in 2016 in partnership with the relationships in the French market. Nkholise Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) with the points out that France has been investing intention to provide South African startups heavily in creating a thriving AI community with the opportunity to develop and grow and creating opportunities for non-French their businesses in France. South Africa is tech companies to establish businesses in the currently the only country on the African country. continent to benefit from this programme. “Although there have been delays in us The French Embassy together with TIA Raphta founder Tshidiso fully experiencing the opportunities of YEi have now sponsored 3DIMO, Raphta and Radinne programme due to Covid-19 pandemic, I’m Ubiquity to participate at AI Expo Africa 2020 – thankful that I have been given an opportunity Africa’s largest AI, Robotic Process Automation to be part of the AI community in South Africa and France. (RPA) and data science trade-focused show and conference That will benefit the sustainable growth of our company and – which will this year be held as a virtual event on 3 and 4 help transform society using emerging opportunities from AI September. technology,” she adds. 3DIMO has developed an automated livestock data Raphta founder Tshidiso Radinne says the YEi South Africa analytics and modelling platform. Raphta offers world-class programme has catapulted his firm into a “global AI startup”, and pioneering computer vision, facial recognition and imaging assisted the company in executing its Europe, Middle East and technology. Ubiquity AI has over six years commercial Africa expansion plan by establishing a presence in France – a experience in Natural Language Processing (NLP) as the first data-at-rest social analytics consultancy in Africa and the Middle key European market. “We have a core focus on fundamental and applied research East. The startup has developed Simone, a chatbot which it in cutting edge areas such as the combination of quantum claims to be the world’s first debt intermediator. imaging and machine learning, and our research partnerships The Yei 2020 cohort were initially meant to travel with leading French universities through the YEI are vital to our to France for a two week-long immersion trip which research ecosystems,” adds Radinne. ai includes training sessions, networking and one-on-one
3RD QUARTER 2020
The French Embassy in South Africa has announced that the three South African artificial intelligence (AI) startups that were selected last year to participate in its Young Enterprise Initiative South Africa (YEi South Africa) 2020 programme – 3DIMO, Raphta, and Ubiquity AI – will exhibit their solutions and products at AI Expo Africa 2020.
