Africa Deep Tech Community

💫Exciting Launch Announcement💫 Only 5% of Africa's trained AI talent can afford to access GPUs, the essential instrument for building competitive AI solutions. So no matter how many people we train or how much data we gather, we continue to hit the compute roadblock for true innovation to take place. As Keyzom Ngodup Massally said, history was made in 1945 when the United Nations Charter was drafted in San Francisco to give birth to the United Nations. So it was pretty historic that yesterday, in San Francisco, the UNDP and the Italian G7 presidency launched its Africa AI Hub for Sustainable Development. Celina Lee and I worked with the UNDP team to publish this primer on Africa AI Compute, explaining the key investment that can rid Africa off its compute roadblock and push the continent to the next stage of its AI revolution. Africa is estimated to need $2.5B in investments by 2030 to plug its "compute gap". Together with our budding coalition, we proposed a $15m program to initiate this flywheel and bring Africa closer to becoming the "use case capital of AI for the world". 👉🏾 Read more https://lnkd.in/gvYssmiH Great working with you Tonee Ndungu, Robin A. Miller Omar Jagne, Sharon Machira, Houda Ghozzi, PhD Alliance4ai, Ahura AI and others contributing to this cause.

Our experience at Disrupt 2024 left us not only inspired but deeply optimistic for the future of beauty, wellness and entrepreneurship. Hair Robotics' Team had the privilege of connecting with bold innovators and hearing Alfred Lin’s reflections on the power of education and resilience. Moments like these fuel our commitment to creating a world where beauty and well-being are perfectly aligned. We're filled with optimism for a future where hair braiding becomes accessible anywhere in the world. We envision a world where beauty doesn't mean sacrificing time, comfort or health, where hair care professionals, especially braiders, no longer face health risks like carpal tunnel syndrome or permanent nerve damage. We’re committed to using advanced technology to elevate stylists, empowering them to showcase their artistry while thriving as successful entrepreneurs with well-deserved revenue growth. At Hair Robotics, we stand for 'empowering beauty without sacrifice'—because we all deserve a world where innovation and beauty support our best selves. Together, let’s build a future that’s beautiful in every way!

Earlier today, together with the Google team led by Matt Brittin President, EMEA Business & Operations, we announced a N2.8 billion commitment from Google to support our ministry’s efforts at accelerating growth in Nigeria’s digital economy. This significant commitment, which is in alignment with our Strategic Blueprint, will be directed towards the following initiatives: 1. DeepTech Ready Upskilling Programme: A training programme which will operate within the framework of our 3MTT Nigeria initiative to empower 20,000 Nigerians with advanced technical skills in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. 2. Experience AI Programme: Co-developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and Google DeepMind to introduce young people aged 11-14 to the fundamentals of AI. Google will provide resources and training to 25,000 educators to reach and inspire 125,000 learners across Nigeria. 3. Apolitical Government AI Campus Programme: A virtual platform providing government officials and policymakers with access to resources and training on AI governance and application. Google will empower 100 leadership-level and 1,000 practitioner-level public servants to effectively utilise AI in their roles. 4. N100million AI Fund: A joint effort between NCAIR Nigeria and Google announced a few weeks back to award N10million each to promising Nigerian AI startups. The 10 beneficiaries, who have since been selected, will also gain access to Google's AI tools and resources, including up to $3.5million in Google Cloud Credits, mentorship from Google engineers, and technical support from NCAIR. I appreciate the entire Google team for betting big on our technology ecosystem and their continued support. I look forward to building on our partnership as we continue on our path of Digital Transformation in Nigeria. #NigerianExcellence

We're so proud of our engineering students for their incredible work on the 'Trailblazer' project. PAU students are indeed making history! They've developed the first-ever Mars rover prototype in Nigeria. Named "Trailblazer," this groundbreaking project showcases the talent and innovation of our students. Recently, the team came 2nd at the African Rover Challenge, winning a 2,000 R cash prize, and are already looking ahead to their next adventure in South Africa, where they will continue to explore the frontiers of space and Mars. Thank you to Channels Television for the feature. We appreciate your support. #PanAtlanticUniversity #AfrifanRoverChallenge #Innovation #SpaceExploration

Working Flat-Out for Mentees & Innovation! It's been an intense but rewarding time here at TD4PAI HardTech Hub as we’ve been working tirelessly to meet an urgent request for version 58 of our Unity Board, which will be delivered tomorrow! This latest version, designed in 2023, comes with enhanced features like load switching, port expanders, an SD card reader, and a crypto IC, making it even more powerful and versatile for IoT applications. These innovations will have a significant impact, particularly in Nigeria and across Africa, where local tech communities can leverage these capabilities to solve real-world challenges and drive digital transformation. We’re excited to see how the Unity Board will empower African tech talent, foster local innovation, and contribute to building the future of technology on the continent. Looking forward to seeing the positive results this will bring for our partners and the wider tech community. #Innovation #IoT #TechDelivery #UnityBoard #Version58 #TeamWork #TechCommunity #HardTech #DisruptiveTech #EmergingTech #IoTSolutions #TechForGood #SmartDevices #Industry40 #DigitalTransformation #TechInnovation #SmartTechnology #Entrepreneurship #AfricaTech #NigeriaInnovation #FutureOfTech #EngineeringExcellence

Earlier today in Abuja, we formally launched the Nigeria AI Collective (backed by Luminate with $1.5m) - a community of practice bringing together expertise from civil society, academic, tech, and other sectors working together to advance Artificial Intelligence in Nigeria and ensure its safe and ethical use in society. It’s objectives include: * Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration * Policy Advocacy * Innovation and Research * Capacity Building * International Collaboration The Nigeria AI Collective reflects our unique and inclusive ecosystem approach towards developing and deploying AI in Nigeria for the greater good. It sets a standard for other countries looking to build capacity in AI for transformational change. This approach is similar to the one adopted for the development of our National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) a few months ago, where we brought together 120 AI experts of Nigerian descent to develop the document which is currently in its stakeholder engagement phase. Three organisations will manage the AI Collective in collaboration with NCAIR Nigeria and NITDA Nigeria - Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University(LBS), DSNai - Data Science Nigeria (DSN), and Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) LBS will lead research activities and serve as research manager whilst providing training programs and nurturing talent; CJID will coordinate the Collective’s work around AI governance; while DSN will spearhead initiatives aimed at fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in AI. We are grateful for the support from our partners, particularly Luminate who are committing $1.5million to support Nigeria’s effort towards developing its AI ecosystem.