Synapse - Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine - 1st Quarter 2022 Issue 15

1st QUARTER 2022 | ISSUE 15

SYNAPSE Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine

AI TECH INVESTMENT IN AFRICA reaches new heights INSTADEEP

$

£

Raises $100M

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VOXCROFT ANALYTICS

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Raises $2 Million

AFRICAN TECH

Raised $4bn in 2021

GAUTENG SOUTH AFRICA,

the new Silicon Valley of Africa?

AI EXPO AFRICA 2022 MOVES TO JOHANNEBURG

Join the largest B2B AI, RPA & Smart Tech Trade Event in Africa

& explore the growing 4IR opportunity in the region

3 Day event 80+ Speaker Programme / 1,500+ Companies / Live Networking Speaker Lounge / Trade Expo / Country ePavilions

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SANDTON CONVENTION CENTRE JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Business

Connecting

e

Educa tion ort pp Su

Kn ow led g

ation v o Inn

19-20 SEP2022

www.aiexpoafrica.com

Contents

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SYNAPSE | ISSUE 15 | 1st QUARTER 2022

p8 New 4IR strategy envisions Gauteng as 'Silicon Valley of Africa'

LY SPONSORING AI EXPO AFRICA 2021

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NVIDIA GTC Sees Spike in Developers From Africa

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Carscan, a South African automotive tech startup, has received a $1.3 million follow-on funding

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New 4IR strategy envisions Gauteng as 'Silicon Valley of Africa'

11 Cote d’Ivoire Tech Rising

36 Press Release: VoxCroft Analytics Raises $2 Million in Investment Funding with Knife Capital 38 IFC Completes $10m Investment In South African VC Knife Capital 41 Artificial intelligence powers AI for Good ‘Neural Network’ 42 AICE: Using AI to Bolster Productivity & Economic Growth

State of AI in Africa

13 SWITZERLAND - Where Artificial Intelligence Meets Data Safety 2022 REPORT 14 2021 Show Report: People Worth Watching…

16 2022 Show Planning: Join Us in Johannesburg in 2022

p21 African tech start ups raised $4bn in 2021

18 2022 Show Planning: AI Expo Africa Show Stats

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19 2022 Show Planning: Testimonials & Vendors 21 African tech start ups raised $4bn in 2021 22 InstaDeep Raises $100M to Scale Decision-Making AI Products that Solve Real-World Problems

State of AI in Africa 2022 Report Analysis of the 4IR in Africa – A Foundation for Growth Report Commissioned by the AI Media Group

25 AKU receives grant to establish novel research hub

p22 InstaDeep Raises $100M to Scale Decision-Making AI Products that Solve Real-World Problems

28 State of AI in Africa 2022 Report 30 Kenya’s Afya Rekod raises $2m seed funding to digitise health record 32 Ghana’s answer to Silicon Valley is inside refurbished government buildings 34 I think, therefore I am connected

TADEEP IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING AFRICA SHAPES THE FUTURE OF AI.

p30 Kenya’s Afya Rekod raises $2m seed funding to digitise health record

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Editor's Notes Darlington Akogo (Ghana)

Natasha Ochiel (Kenya) Co-Founder | CEO The AI Centre of Excellence natasha@aiceafrica.com

CEO, minoHealth AI / KaraAgro AI & Member of United Nations ITU & WHO Focus Group on AI For Health

darlingtonakogo

D

arlington Akogo is a global leader in Artificial Intelligence. He's the Founder and Director of Artificial Intelligence at GUDRA, and its subsidiaries; minoHealth; an AI Healthtech company, minoHealth AI Labs; an AI Healthcare, Biotech and Biomedical Research Lab, karaAgro AI; an AI-powered Plant & Pest Disease Detection and Precision Agriculture platform, Runmila AI Institute; an AI and Data Science training institute, and Gudra AI Studio; an organisation broadly exploring AI and Exponential Technologies applied various domains including Transportation, Sanitation and Energy.

natasha-ochiel

I

f data is the new oil, then Natasha is a veteran key to the fostering of its growth. She is a transformative and dynamic leader within the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence space who is well immersed across various industries. In that, she garnered a strong skill-set in data processes, business operations, start-up building and project management. In a bid to champion Artificial Intelligence in Africa, she co-founded the AI Centre of Excellence that aims to build sustainable value for AI in Africa by building capacity, building demand and building AI solutions through the Centre.

Johan Steyn (South Africa)

Dr Nick Bradshaw

AI & Automation thought leader. Lead Architect: Automation at PwC South Africa

Editor & CEO AI Media Group

johanosteyn

J

ohan Steyn is an Artificial Intelligence enthusiast and speaks globally at conferences on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Emerging Technologies.

2019 award winner Best AI & Robotics Management Consultant by Wealth & Finance magazine. He is a published author who regularly contributes articles on thought-leadership to well-known publications such as Business Day, the Sunday Times, and ITWeb. He is the Chair of the Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics with the IITPSA (Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South Africa). He works for PwC South Africa as Lead Architect: Automation.

nickbradshaw

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ell 2022 is off to a BANG!! Our theme for the 15th Edition of Synapse Magazine is Investment and Funding of AI in Africa. It goes without saying that the biggest raise of the year so far has gone to an African AI pioneer – Instadeep – under the leadership of CEO Karim Beguir hailing from Tunisa. This is a massive endorsement of the growing appetite for investment into the African AI & Deep Tech sector not to mention the other smaller but significant investments in the last few months. We also welcome our 3rd Guest Editor Natasha Ochiel, Head of Business & Partnerships at the AI Centre of Excellence, Kenya who will be serving as our East Africa news correspondent - Welcome aboard Natasha !! We also have some great news to share on the launch of the new “State of AI in Africa” report which will be launched in May at our new Leadership Event at the CSIR Pretoria, South Africa. It will be the first authoritative baseline of the 4IR tech landscape in Africa. We do hope you enjoy the 15th edition of Synapse.

Invest in Tshwane South Africa’s Capital City, the City of Tshwane, is situated in the province of Gauteng, the economic centre of South Africa. As the seat of government, Tshwane is the country’s administrative hub and houses 134 embassies, 30 international organisations making it second only to Washington DC in terms of the concentration of the diplomatic and foreign missions. It is also home to over 30 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed companies as well as various multinational companies.

The city is home to four universities and various research institutes and its knowledge and information industry is well-developed. Tshwane has a high literacy rate, a large concentration of financial and business services in the region, support of educational institutions and communication infrastructure, including broadband capacity.

Why Tshwane?

• Tshwane is the knowledge centre of South Africa. The City has a high concentration of academic, medical, social science,

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• Your investment is safe with us, we are governed by investment protection legislation, The Protection of Investment Act 22 of

2015 which specifically gives foreign investors similar rights and protections available to South Africans.

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materials used in the production of goods that are re-exported.

• There are no restrictions for foreign investors to acquire property in the country.

• There are no restrictions on foreign investors to acquire companies or businesses in South Africa.

• Tshwane has a well-developed infrastructure and road network and is centrally situated on the national road network with direct

links to Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia along the east-west N4 route, and with Zimbabwe along the south-north N1 route.

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Block B, 2nd Floor Tshwane House 320 Madiba Street Pretoria 0002

PO Box 440 Pretoria 0001

SET A DATE WITH BRILLIANCE Join developers worldwide at the conference for the era of AI. Register for GTC: nvidia.com/gtc Learn more about the NVIDIA Developer Program: developer.nvidia.com/join

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EVENT NEWS

NVIDIA GTC SEES SPIKE IN DEVELOPERS FROM AFRICA The appetite for AI and data science is increasing, and nowhere is that more prevalent than in emerging markets.

Registrations from African nations for NVIDIA’s flagship conference, GTC, tripled from the conference held in March to the conference held in November 2021.

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or the November conference, Nigeria had the third most registered attendees for countries in the EMEA region, ahead of France, Italy and Spain.

Five other African nations were among the region’s top 15 for registrants: Egypt (No. 6), Tunisia (No. 7), Ghana (No. 9), South Africa (No. 11) and Kenya (No. 12)

The numbers demonstrate the growing interest among Africa-based developers to access content, information and expertise centered around AI, data science, robotics and high performance computing.

Developers are using these technologies as a platform to create innovative applications that address local challenges, such as healthcare and climate change.

Global Conference, Localized Content Among the speakers at the most recent GTC were several members of NVIDIA Emerging Chapters, a new program that enables local communities in emerging economies to build and scale their AI, data science and graphics projects. Such highly localized content empowers developers from these areas and raises awareness of their unique challenges and needs.

For example, tinyML Kenya, a community of machine learning researchers and practitioners, spoke on the impacts of healthcare, education, conservation and climate change as a force for good in emerging markets. Zindi, Africa’s first data science competition platform, participated in a session about bridging the AI education gap among developers, IT professionals and students on the continent.

Multiple African organizations and universities also spoke about how developers in the region and emerging markets are using AI to build innovations that address local challenges. Among them were Kenya Adanian Labs, Cadi Ayyad University of Morocco, Data Science Africa, Python Ghana, and Nairobi Women in Machine Learning & Data Science.

Several Africa-based members of NVIDIA Inception, a free program designed to empower cutting-edge startups, spoke about the AI revolution underway in the continent and other emerging areas.

Cyst.ai, minoHealth, Fastagger and ARMA were among the 70+ Inception startups who presented at the conference.

AI was not the only innovation topic for local developers. The top African gaming and animation companies Usiku Games, Leti Arts, NETINFO 3D and HeroSmashers TV also joined the party to discuss how the continent’s burgeoning gaming industry continues to thrive and the tools game developers need to be successful in an area of the world where access to compute resources is often limited.

Engaging Developers Everywhere While AI developers and startup founders come from all over the world, developers in emerging areas face unique circumstances and opportunities. This means global representation and localized access become even more important to bolster developer ecosystems in emerging markets.

Through NVIDIA Emerging Chapters, grassroots organizations and communities can provide Jusdevelopers access to the NVIDIA Developer Program and course credits for the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute, helping bridge new paths to AI development in the region.

Learn more about AI in emerging markets and register for NVIDIA GTC 2022 taking place March 21 - 24, 2022

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INVESTMENT NEWS

CARSCAN, A SOUTH AFRICAN AUTOMOTIVE TECH STARTUP, HAS RECEIVED A $1.3 MILLION FOLLOW-ON FUNDING / Read original article here /

Carscan, a South African startup that is a market leader in artificial intelligence and augmented reality for the vehicle insurance industry, has raised a followon funding round of US$1.3 million to help it expand its operations.

Kalon Venture Partners, Launch Africa Ventures, IDF, and Allan Gray E2 Ventures led the round, which also included AlphaCode and Kalon.

O

bins Choudhary and Chander Prakash started the company, which raised a seed round in 2020.

Carscan is an augmented reality (AR) application with incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) that generates an accurate, trustworthy, agnostic, comprehensive, and traceable digital record of a vehicle.

By minimizing fraud, governance, and industry risks, the platform enables automotive ecosystems to purchase, sell, rent, service, insure, finance, and auction cars with confidence.

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Obins Choudhary and Chander Prakash

“Carscan aids the consumer and makes the entire claims procedure straightforward and frictionless,” Prakash added. “Carscan is working with a number of local and international clients and has been created in partnership with one of the leading companies in the automotive business in South Africa.”

Clive Butkow, CEO of Kalon Venture Partners, noted that the Carscan team had demonstrated extraordinary potential and that their service addressed a significant issue in the insurance and automotive markets.

“The company continues to grow at a quick rate which is evident by their traction and market acceptance,” Butkow said.

Carscan has achieved remarkable traction with South African, Nigerian, and Indian customers, and has completed a successful proof of concepts in various Gulf nations.

Despite the fact that its technology has a wide range of additional applications, the inspection, and insurance of automobiles are its primary focus right now.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

NEW 4IR STRATEGY ENVISIONS GAUTENG AS 'SILICON VALLEY OF AFRICA'

/ Read original article here /

The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has unveiled its 4IR Growth and Digitalisation Strategy, which seeks to provide fully-digital public services to citizens and position the province as the “Silicon Valley of Africa”.

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he new strategy, announced during a virtual media conference on Friday, is spearheaded by the Gauteng Department of e-Government and the 4IR advisory panel – a 15-member panel appointed by Gauteng premier David Makhura, to support government in ensuring citizens access modern government services.

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Providing an outline of the 4IR strategy, advocate Pieter Holl, stream lead of the Gauteng Provincial 4IR Panel and CEO of The Innovation Hub, explained the strategy seeks to further drive the implementation of the Grow Gauteng Together (GGT) 2030 roadmap, and facilitate the adoption of new technologies to ensure all Gauteng’s citizens benefit from a fully modernised public service.

In responding to the 4IR challenges, the province has embarked on a modernisation journey to smarter and digitised government services across departments, to drive sustainable economic growth and prosperity for Gauteng citizens, businesses and government, through co-ordination across city agencies and the involvement of all role-players in the provincial innovation ecosystem.

“The 4IR panel welcomes the opportunity to work with all stakeholders in driving this vision to make Gauteng the

“ The 4IR panel welcomes

the opportunity to work with all stakeholders in driving this vision to make Gauteng the leading digital economy on this continent and beyond,” noted Holl

”

leading digital economy on this continent and beyond,” noted Holl.

“The 4IR Growth and Digitalisation Strategy provides a framework for the digitisation of Gauteng's institutions to transform the inclusivity and quality of service delivery to the province's residents and businesses. This strategy is the province's bold vision to respond to the

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

Advocate Pieter Holl, stream lead of the Gauteng Provincial 4IR Panel and CEO of The Innovation Hub 4IR and prepare the provincial government to migrate to digital systems.”

Specifically, the 4IR advisory panel’s mandate is to identify policies, relevant strategies and plans required to make Gauteng respond efficiently to the 4IR, and further contribute to the development of a Gauteng city-region-wide 4IR strategy and roadmap.

Under the new strategy, Gauteng’s Department of e-Government is working on the establishment of several support structures to drive the improvement of e-government services, accessibility and enhancement of budget spend, he added.

These include the setting up of a data office and data collaborator, the establishment of a Gauteng city-region 4IR regulatory sandbox and policy lab, e-procurement for cost saving, and the piloting of various initiatives established though public-private sector collaborations.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the importance of data as the new oil in driving evidence-based decisions, and it is crucial to the development of new business opportunities. Gauteng continues to embrace the modernisation of government services and learn new ways of connecting with people, using data and processes.”

The 4IR Growth and Digitalisation Strategy is premised on six pillars: Digital infrastructure technologies that will provide meaningful connectivity to support new businesses, drive

service delivery underpinned by data to support decision-making and provide new business opportunities.

Smart procurement (e-procurement process) to drive transparency, better value for money, promote ethics and fair dealing, and maximise accountability.

A strategy to drive competitiveness and growth of Gauteng’s positioning supported by well-functioning datadriven e-government to support citizens and businesses though efficient digital platforms.

Highlights the critical role of 4IRfocused research, development and innovation towards building innovation-led ecosystems for development of applications for digital service delivery.

Developing future skills – shine the spotlight on how skills for the future of work will support government’s service delivery. Looking beyond formal ways of skills development to new ways of recognising and accrediting skills to better position workers and citizens for the future of work.

Guide 4IR governance issues, recommending new approaches to developing policies, frameworks and standards in the context of a rapidlychanging world.

Also speaking at the virtual conference, Mduduzi Mbada, Gauteng Government’s head of policy, explained: “The team at Gauteng e-Gov and the 4IR panel have been able to pull together a comprehensive strategy that is going to catapult the Gauteng city region and really get us to achieve what is outlined in the GGT, which is our vision to grow Gauteng into the home of artificial intelligence, 4IR and innovation.

“As the premier would say, ‘we want to Gauteng to become the Silicon Valley of Africa’. The responsibility now falls on us within the various departments to implement this strategy; we have no excuses.”

“

As the premier would say, ‘we want to Gauteng to become the Silicon Valley of Africa’. The responsibility now falls on us within the various departments to implement this strategy; we have no excuses

”

As part of the implementation of the strategy, the e-government department will soon rollout the third phase of the Gauteng Broadband Network, to bridge the digital divide and address inequality in the province’s communities, especially in townships and under-privileged settlements.

During the State of the Nation Address earlier this year, president Cyril Ramaphosa outlined his vision of building new post-apartheid cities driven by smart technologies. He noted the cities are being conceptualised in a number of places across SA, which include the Lanseria Smart City, the first new city to be built in a democratic South Africa.

Unlocking new opportunities The Gauteng Provincial Government also announced the opening of the Gauteng Centre of Excellence Innovation Centre, developed in partnership with Microsoft, to address ICT skills shortages for youth, women and the disabled.

So far, the Johannesburg-based centre, which seeks to implement the fifth pillar in the 4IR strategy, has introduced several ICT programmes and training offered to the youth and SMMEs across the five regions of Gauteng in the form of workshops, online training, bootcamps, etc.

“Digital advancement offers a chance to accelerate the pace of economic and social advancement and provides the ability to unlock new pathways to rapid economic growth, innovation and access to services and broader participation in the digital economy,” said Lillian Barnard, MD of Microsoft SA. “Microsoft will leverage its existing platforms such as Cloud Society to provide technical training for e-gov officials and youth in two ways – setting up an IT academy that delivers digital skills and building a B2B ecosystem by identifying start-ups which will develop artificial intelligence solutions that will support Gauteng's industry priorities.”

The centre will further provide a learning environment for technological developments and youth work readiness programmes, as well as equip them with various accredited training that will give them an upper hand when seeking opportunities.

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REGIONAL INSIGHTS

COTE D’IVOIRE TECH RISING / Read original article here /

When I first coined the KINGS (Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa) concept in September 2013, Cote d’Ivoire also known as Ivory Coast was a small “i” in the KiNGS. The country was just emerging from a tumultuous civil unrest that followed a disputed election in 2010 that ousted then incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo and set the country back. In 2016, when I wrote about “The KINGS of Africa’s Digital Economy” Ivory Coast had fully recovered, and its tech sector was on an acceleration path similar to Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

The francophone and the Portugesespeaking countries in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to get less attention compared to the English-speaking countries and thus Ivory Coast is rarely in focus.

West Africa was predominantly colonized by the French such that only five out of the 15 countries in the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) were British colonies and thus English-speaking (Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia) while Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau were the only Portugese colonies with Creole being the official language. The remaining countries in West Africa were French colonies and comprise Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Senegal, and Guinea. With the exception of Guinea, all francophone countries in West Africa use the same currency – Communauté Financière Africaine (“CFA”) that is issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO; Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest).

The francophone countries in West Africa are members of the West African Economic and

Monetary Union (UEMOA; Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine) – a French union within ECOWAS. The CFA is pegged to the EURO and the members of the UEMOA have to keep 50% of their foreign assets in the French Treasury and have a French representative in its currency Board as a colonial-era arrangement to help stabilize the currency in the region. Ivory Coast is Africa’s 11th largest economy with a GDP of US$61B and population of 26M people with 13M active internet users. Having Ivory Coast as part of the KINGS is not only symbolic but important. In 2019, Ivory Coast ranked 110 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report from 122 the year before.

According to Digest Africa, the 10 most funded startups in Ivory Coast have raised a combined $19M across 23 deals.

Of these 23 deals more than half relate to early-stage investment: 12 are seed rounds, three are pre-seed rounds and grants each, two series A, and one venture deal, angel investment and series B. The largest amount

I

n 2017, encouraged by this impressive turnaround my team took our annual Angel Fair Africa (AFA) to the Ivorian capital of Abidjan. Archangel, Esther Dyson, the event’s keynote speaker reacted remarked “I was pleasantly surprised with the level of tech innovation and digital entrepreneurship”. This final essay to see off 2021, will focus on Cote d’Ivoire’s digital economy and the startups that have raised capital and are leading the charge in the country. In the concluding paragraphs, I will also highlight some of the non-KINGS countries whose digital economies have picked up pace in 2021 with the attraction of investments similar to the KINGS.

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REGIONAL INSIGHTS

was raised by “Afrimarket” in a series B round of $11.5M. The twelve seed rounds are worth $3.4M while the 2 series A are worth $3.3M. The most funded sectors by number of companies are financial services with three in the top ten while e-commerce and retail and energy and resources had two each. E-commerce and retail had the top two funded startups with Afrimarket and Afrikrea raising a stunning $16M (or 84%) of the $19M total. Financial services came in second with its three startups managing to pull in $1.17M.

In February 2021, the Ivorian and Luxemburg government partnered to invest $12M into Bamboo Capital Partner’s BLOC Smart Africa Fund, a technology impact fund that would invest in African startups with their first investment potentially going to Ivorian insuretech startup, Digitech which provides a fully integrated and cloud-based insuretech platform to insurance companies that want to attract the next consumer emerging segments. On March 8th, 2021, leading Ivorian Mobility-as-a-Service startup, Moja Ride, raised funding from Toyota Tsusho.

In May 2021, two Ivorian fintech startups secured funding from local Venture Capital (VC) firm, Investisseur & Partnership (I&P) through its I&P Acceleration Technologies program, which is funded by the French development agency. Djamo, a finance super app for consumers in French-speaking Africa based in Abidjan was accepted into the Silicon Valley-based accelerator Y Combinator with an investment of $125K. Even during the pandemic Ivorian startups

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“ Based on a report by

Disrupt Africa, funding for health tech startups in Africa jumped 257.7% from $28.8m in 2019 to $103m in 2020

”

like Starnews, Coliba, Easy2toofacil and Julaya raised capital showing the resilience of the ecosystem and its strength under stress.

Based on a report by Disrupt Africa, funding for health tech startups in Africa jumped 257.7% from $28.8m in 2019 to $103m in 2020. These startups provide a wide range of services from scheduling medical consultations to telemedicine and digitalized imagery. MaiSoin from Cote d’Ivoire uses a decentralized, gig-economy model, to facilitate the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients needing care at home or via telemedicine.

In their first year of operations, they have had an average 50% growth month over month and are already looking at potential expansions in the region. Last month, Nigerian fintech startup E-Settlement acquired the Ivorian QuickCash to start its expansion into francophone West Africa. And so did Kenyan logistics startup Sendy which also completed a strategic equity investment

in Ivorian counterpart Kamtar to boost the former’s expansion plans in West Africa.

These seem to signal that Cote d’Ivoire is being targeted as an entry market for francophone Africa. Same seems to go for Senegal where Gebeya, an Ethiopian tech startup expanded to as its foray into the francophone market. Though not one of the KINGS, Senegal is punching above its weight as a startup nation by being the first francophone country to produce a unicorn in Wave which raised $200M at a $1.7B valuation. Egypt is another country that has caught up with the KINGS by producing a unicorn, Fawry, that trades on the local stock exchange – a first timer. Egypt was also among the top four destinations for VC investments in Africa as at the end of November 2021 according to the Big Deal by Max Cuvellier and Maxine Bayen.

According to their categorization below, there are about nineteen countries that are attracting investments beyond the KINGS totaling $4B in 2021 so maybe it is time for a longer or different acronym beyond the KINGS.

“ Though not one of

the KINGS, Senegal is punching above its weight as a startup nation by being the first francophone country to produce a unicorn in Wave which raised $200M at a $1.7B valuation

”

COUNTRY SHOWCASE

SWITZERLAND

- Where Artificial Intelligence Meets Data Safety Switzerland - in the heart of Europe - is a hub for future technologies such as artificial intelligence. A key aspect of Switzerland’s efficient technology transfer is the closeness of strong research institutions, small and medium enterprises and multinationals to each other. This facilitates symbiotic relationships between these actors which are encouraged by the favorable conditions in Switzerland. There are countless examples of these, including Microsoft’s laboratory for mixed reality and AI; another is Facebook’s office that works on computer vision. Companies based in Switzerland significantly benefit from its attractiveness to international talent and unbureaucratic support from the government. An added value for AI companies in Switzerland is the framework conditions for education, research and innovation as presented by the State Secretary for Education Research and Innovation.

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PEOPLE WORTH WATCHING…

Click on each recording to view on YouTube

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SYNAPSE | 1ST 3RD QUARTER 2022 2021

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2022 SHOW PLANNING

JOIN US IN JOHANNESBURG IN 2022 After two years of digital events, the 5th edition of AI Expo Africa will be returning in 2022 to a brand new home, that of Johannesburg, South Africa. The Gauteng and Tshwane Regions of South Africa are home to the largest concentration of new and emerging 4IR tech companies dubbed the “AI Tech Capital of Africa” allied to a strong demand for vendor solutions, jobs and skills in this category. Its also a great opportunity to explore “The City of Gold” and the Administrative Capital of South Africa. The AI Expo Africa community is excited about the much awaited return to face to face events in 2022 and we hope you can join us for our largest event so far.

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2022 Exhibitor Consulations

2022 Delegate Tickets

Want to reach the largest buyer and partner community focused on acquiring AI, RPA & Smart Technology solutions? Discuss your needs & find a package to suit your sales & marketing goals TODAY

Sign up TODAY before March 2022 to secure your super early bird ticket and a 50% discount off full access tickets for the show.

Click here to request a 1-2-1 meeting

Click here to register

SYNAPSE | 1ST 3RD QUARTER 2022 2021

2022 SHOW PLANNING

We connect you to decision makers, innovators & thought leaders via the largest event of its kind in Africa After the amazing success of 4 editions of AI Expo Africa, we are proud to announce our 2022 event will be staged in Johannesburg on the 19th and 20th September with a VIP opening event on the evening of 18th September.

AI Expo Africa welcomes sponsors and vendors from all corners of the 4IR smart technology community and we have a range of sponsorship packages to suit all budgets for vendors, platform providers, service providers, deployment partners, start ups and niche community / skills partners alike.

You will enjoy a packed two-day programme allied to a unique exhibition area affording delegates, exhibitors and sponsors learning and networking opportunities. There are 9 core value propositions for sponsors & exhibitors, namely;

Learn

Pre-show

Leads

Build early brand momentum, awareness & press coverage months before show day

Generate new business opportunities with qualified buyers seeking solutions

Gain valuable insights about the regional trends, needs & wider African 4IR landscape

Promote

Promote products, services & programmes to a curated audience of buyer centric delegates

Network

Coverage

Network with thought leaders, buyers, Governments, trade missions & start-ups

Reach 30K+ practitioners via our regional mailer, magazine, social & video ecosystem

Analytics

Build

Post show

Obtain detailed insights via our buyer survey plus opt-in delegate list & show analytics

Develop your African channel, deployment & distribution partner network with local ISVs

Leverage our network, with newsletter, trade magazine & bespoke services 365 all year

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TM

2021

2022 SHOW PLANNING

AI EXPO AFRICA SHOW STATS Key Numbers at a Glance*

Ratings & Reviews* % of respondents rating the show as EXCELLENT or GOOD

3,000,000+

Event Admin

91%

91%

WEBSITE INFORMATION

91%

QUALITY OF PROGRAMME

94%

AI MEDIA STAFF

TICKETING & PAYMENTS

Event Content

92% PROGRAMME QUALITY & MIX OF TALKS

DID YOU ENJOY YOURSELF AND LEARN SOMETHING NEW?

20,000

Practitioner Mailer Reach

10,000

Expo Hall Space (Sq Feet)

9,594

Registered Delegates

5,410

LinkedIn Trade Group

1,420

Companies

133

87% QUALITY & MIX OF VENDORS

95%

83%

QUALITY & MIX OF SPEAKERS

OVERALL EXPERIENCE

Speakers & Sponsors

91

Countries Represented

Decision Maker & Buyer Community

Event Value

94%

Event Site Traffic per year

83%

93%

DELEGATE / SPEAKER

92

%

WILL YOU ENJOY US AT AI EXPO AFRICA 2022?

DID WE MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS?

22%

31%

Decision Maker / Budget Holder / Purchasing Analyst / Influencer

17

%

End User / Employee Other

30%

Delegate diversity

66%

Seniority & Status

34%

% 13% 7

31%

25

%

Customer Reviews

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AI Expo Africa

Energy Ln, Century City, Cape Town

4,9

73 reviews

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CxO, VP, Director, Manager Founder Engineer Contractor / Employee Student

11

%

13%

*from AI Expo Africa 2021

Other

TM

2021

2022 SHOW PLANNING

TESTIMONIALS & VENDORS “Incredible talk thanks for the amazing experience you and your team have done a great Job”

VENDOR SNAPSHOT FROM 2021

INSPIRED TESTING, SA

“Enjoying this talk great content and like the advocating for Africa” ZINDI UK

“I am inspired by how the Kenyan government is embracing tech specifically Artificial Intelligence” AMATHUBA AI, SA

“Congratulations on the success of the AI Expo Africa! The work you and your team put in was quite evident” UNPACK AI, CHINA

“Am glad I attended the AI Expo Africa and NVIDIA really delivered a well insightful presentation which was of profound assistance to me” BIMO TECH, SA

“Great Telkom presentation” DELEGATE

“Love the Intel initiatives” CAPITEC BANK, SA

“Congratulations on another great show for 2021” DEPT OF COMMERCE, INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, USA

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INVESTMENT NEWS

AFRICAN TECH START UPS RAISED $4BN IN 2021 / Read original article here /

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e’re still a bit shocked (in a good way!) by the amount of positive feedback we’ve received after publishing last week’s map, but the ecosystem gives us no time to rest as it now crosses the $4 billion mark in funding raised by start-ups in Africa trough deals $100k & over. Instead of repeating the analysis from last week though, we thought we’d build another visual and dive a little deeper on a couple interesting points that came up in the many discussions we had last week, starting with the relative weight of the “Big Four” of course: 80% of the total amount raised and 76% of all deals; 35% and 29% respectively for Nigeria alone.

The share of $100m+ ‘mega deals’ in the funding raised in the most dynamic countries also came up quite a bit: it ranges from 90% in Senegal, to 55% in Nigeria, 39% in South Africa, 37% in Egypt and 0% in Kenya where the largest deal this year was Gro Intelligence’s $85m Series B. Another way to look at it is how much the single largest deal so far this year represents in the total raised: 90% in Senegal still, 28% in Nigeria (OPay), 23% in Kenya (Gro), 20% in Egypt (MNT-Halan) and 14% in South Africa (Jumo). On a last note, these ‘mega deals’ should not overshadow the tremendous activity in the ecosystem: Yes, those 11 deals have made up 44% of the funding raised this year so far, but the remaining 743 deals still add up to a whopping $2.23bn!

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INVESTMENT NEWS

INSTADEEP RAISES $100M TO SCALE DECISION-MAKING AI PRODUCTS THAT SOLVE REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS

/ Read original article here /

Series B led by Alpha Intelligence Capital; BioNTech and Deutsche Bahn among Investors

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ONDON (JAN 25, 2022) - InstaDeep, a leader in advanced AI decisionmaking systems for solving real-world problems, announced today it has raised $100M and closed a Series B round led by Alpha Intelligence Capital together with CDIB.

Investors in the round include BioNTech, Chimera Abu Dhabi, Deutsche Bahn’s DB Digital Ventures, Google, G42 and Synergie.

InstaDeep will use the funding to advance its high-performance computing infrastructure optimized for Decision-Making AI, continue to hire elite talent and accelerate the launch of disruptive AI products across multiple industries – including biotech, logistics, transportation and electronics manufacturing.

The firm will expand its global presence into the United States.

A vast majority (81%) of executives say AI will either be critically important or very important to their business in 2022, according to CNBC’s latest Technology Executive Council survey. African-founded InstaDeep helps companies improve crucial parts of their operations by harnessing AI technologies such as Reinforcement Learning, a type of machine learning that helps design effective optimization strategies for an array of challenges, from therapeutics development to railway operations and more.

“This funding round is a tremendous vote of confidence from our partners BioNTech, Google and Deutsche Bahn after working closely with us on innovative, high-impact AI initiatives” said Karim Beguir, Co-Founder and CEO of InstaDeep. “And we are very excited to get the support of Alpha Intelligence Capital, Chimera, Synergie and G42 as we see wide-ranging opportunities to deploy

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our AI products to tackle complex real-world problems.”

AI x Vaccines and Variants InstaDeep and BioNTech formed a multi-year strategic collaboration in 2020 to launch a joint AI innovation lab to deploy the latest advances in Artificial Intelligence and machine learning to develop novel immunotherapies. As part of this collaboration, the two companies created an AI-powered Early Warning System (EWS) for detecting high-risk SARS-CoV-2 variants. The EWS identified more than 90% of World Health Organization designated variants on average two months ahead of time. It detected Omicron on the day its sequence became available among more than 70,000 novel variants discovered in October and November 2021.

Google and Deutsche Bahn AI Collaborations InstaDeep collaborates with Google on AI initiatives and has published joint research with DeepMind and Google Research.

InstaDeep is also working on a moonshot product to automate railway scheduling with Deutsche Bahn, the largest rail operator and infrastructure owner in Europe.

InstaDeep, now based in London, began in 2014 in Tunis in North Africa, with two laptops, $2000 and, according to Beguir, “a lot of enthusiasm”. From the start, he and Co-Founder Zohra Slim have made boosting local AI communities central to InstaDeep’s mission, through events, training and opensourcing software. InstaDeep is proud to have engineers and researchers in South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia and the UAE alongside its teams in France and the UK. Boris Kuehn, Managing Director, DB Digital Ventures, commented: “InstaDeep has demonstrated unique capabilities in solving very complex railway problems using groundbreaking AI-first technologies. The team’s skills and thought leadership in this space have paved the way for the adoption of cutting-edge AI technologies in the railway

domain. We are happy to join the investment round and enable a stronger partnership with Deutsche Bahn to jointly harness the potential of applying AI.” Arnaud Barthelemy, Partner and COO, Alpha Intelligence Capital, commented on the news saying: “As the first global fund fully dedicated to artificial intelligence and machine learning, we are particularly proud to have led this Series B round, together with first class co-investors. InstaDeep is a deep technology company that disrupts traditional approaches in crucial areas as they do with BioNTech for drug discovery or with Deutsche Bahn for railway scheduling. We are thrilled to join this exciting adventure and eager to help support InstaDeep’s growth through our unique AI expertise.”

About InstaDeep Founded in 2014, InstaDeep is a leader in decision-making AI systems, with headquarters in London, and offices in Paris, Tunis, Lagos, Dubai and Cape Town. InstaDeep has been named for two consecutive years to the CB Insights AI 100 ranking, which showcases the 100 most promising private artificial intelligence companies in the world.

With expertise in both machine intelligence research and concrete business deployments, InstaDeep gives its partners a competitive advantage in an AI-first world. Leveraging its extensive know-how in GPU-accelerated computing, deep learning and reinforcement learning, InstaDeep products, such as its DeepChainTM protein design platform, tackle the most complex challenges across a range of industries. InstaDeep has also developed collaborations with global leaders in the AI ecosystem, such as Nvidia and Intel, and has published joint research with DeepMind.

InstaDeep would like to acknowledge support from the law firm CMS during this fundraising round.

Contacts Media Relations Liz Johns +44 (0)797 005 7603 l.johns@instadeep.com Investor Relations Laurent Hiller +33 (0)6 22 91 94 71 l.hiller@instadeep.com

PROUDLY SPONSORING AI EXPO AFRICA 2021

INSTADEEP IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING AFRICA SHAPES THE FUTURE OF AI. INSTADEEP.COM

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INVESTMENT NEWS

AKU RECEIVES GRANT TO ESTABLISH NOVEL RESEARCH HUB

/ Read original article here /

The Aga Khan University (AKU) is the recipient of a $6.5 million grant to establish a cutting-edge data science hub which will use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other emerging technologies to improve health and care delivery in local communities.

Utilizing Health Information for Meaningful impact in East Africa though Data Science (or UZIMA-DS) will be the first initiative of its kind in the region. Funded by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the programme will be led by AKU with partners in Kenya, the US and Canada.

UZIMA-DS looks to leverage data science to proactively avoid adverse outcomes in maternal and newborn health and mental health. It will also leverage machine learning, an application of artificial intelligence (AI), to identify creative solutions to aid health service providers and policymakers within resource constrained environments.

“Early identification and intervention are critical to a good prognosis for all health conditions,” said Professor Amina Abubakar, Co-Principal Investigator and Director of the

Institute for Human Development at AKU. “However, in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) there is a dearth of tools that can be used for early identification of women, children, and young adults at risk of poor physical and mental health. UZIMA-DS will be a game changer in two ways. First, we will leverage existing data to develop tools and models that can aid early identification of at-risk populations. Second, we will build the capacity of young Kenyan scientists through post-doctoral and PhD fellowships to use large data to inform health policies and practice.”

Collaborating institutions include the University of Michigan, the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Wellcome Trust Research Programme, and the University of Ottawa.

"I am honored to be working with Professor Abubakar and her colleagues at AKU who share my passion for leveraging AI and machine learning to impact health equity and improve people's lives," said Professor Akbar Waljee, Co-Principal Investigator and Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan (U-M), the topranked public research university in the US by research volume. The U-M Center for Global Health Equity provided seed funding to support the initial partnership, which has potentially far-reaching implications for a technology previously associated primarily with high-resource settings.

“The application of emerging technologies and strategic partnerships are increasingly helping to address existing resource and

information gaps in LMICs,” said Dr Alex Awiti, AKU Vice Provost, East Africa. “The Aga Khan University is privileged to be a part of this landmark initiative that will help the health sector leap forward in evidence-based policy and service delivery.”

The grant is part of the NIH’s Harnessing Data Science for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa (DS-I Africa) programme, which aims to leverage data science technologies to develop solutions to the continent’s most pressing public health problems through a robust ecosystem of new partners from academia, government, and the private sector. The Aga Khan University will implement the project through its Institute for Human Development (IHD) and its Medical College.

The Research Hubs formed out of this initiative will serve as a core component within the larger programme, which will also consist of data science and innovation training programmes, research on the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) central to data science health research and innovation in Africa, and an open data science platform and coordinating center.

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PRODUCT LAUNCH

ADVANCING YOUR WORLD The use of Artificial Intelligence forms a core part of Telkom’s commitment to technological advancement and digital transformation.

Our technologies can help close the inequality gaps in South Africa, including the education system.

In September izwe.ai was launched.

It is an AI platform developed by Telkom, in collaboration with Enlabeler, which transcribes and translates speech into text from English and local languages. izwe.ai aims to deliver local-language transcription and translation that gives all learners equal access to learning material.

This will also have a far-reaching impact on the health and business sectors, allowing for academic and legal transcription; contact centre transcription and analysis; and media production services.

Visit www.izwe.ai for more information.

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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS COMPLEX, IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE COMPLICATED.

FROM THE INNOVATORS BEHIND BCX WE BRING YOU OUR NEW DIGITAL WING

SIMPLY NAVIGATING THE COMPLEX Scan the QR code for more information.

Our most important customer is yours.

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LAUNCHING MAY 2022

State of AI in Africa 202 2 REP O RT

LAUNCHING SOON

Analysis of the 4IR in Africa – A Foundation for Growth Report Commissioned by the AI Media Group

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INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Introduction The AI Media Group have been working on a comprehensive analysis of the AI / Deep Tech landscape in Africa - we have looked at some 1900+ companies and will be publishing the inaugural edition entitled “The State of AI In Africa”at the AI Expo Africa leadership event to be held at the CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa (May 2022).

Background Hailed the "last growth frontier”, the African AI / Deep Tech landscape is still relatively “un-mapped” but is now seeing a growing level of VC investment in this category allied to increased attention from global cooperates & NGOs seeking to establish a wider / deeper presence in the region.

Content This report will serve as a foundational benchmark and will contain various insights categorising the landscape by company, size, industry, HQ city, country, industry type, year founded and specialities.

Commentary and conclusions on the trends will be included. This report will appeal to VCs, analysts, corporates, start-ups, local / regional / national Governments, Embassies, Trade Bodies and NGOs.

The trends are now emerging with some top level insights being…..

We have so far looked at 1500+ companies to establish a baseline data set Of the 1389 companies we could find consistent data on, 826 (60%) are based in the Africa region Of those 74% are based in South Africa, 6% Tunisia 6% Nigeria 3% Kenya 2% Egypt 2% Ghana (with 18 other countries make up the remaining 7%) Of those in South Africa, 405 (67%) are based in the city regions of Johannesburg and Pretoria while Cape Town accounts for 174 (29%)

Distribution in Africa by country The most common commercial categories these companies operate in include; Information Technology & Services, Computer Software / Hardware, Financial Services, Internet, Telecommunications, Management Consulting, Marketing & Advertising, Electrical & Electronic Manufacturing, Information Services and Industrial Automation.

62% of all African companies active in the region are privately held with the vast majority (50%) having less than 20 employees.

Based on year founded, the last 5 years have seen a significant rise in the number of companies active in this sector, most likely due to the combined effects of available funding, lower start-up costs for tooling, cloud, compute and open source resources allied to the growing demand in the B2B space.

Initial Conclusions The top 5 most “active” countries are South Africa, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt – this broadly maps to the top tech investment hubs in the region as indicated by the likes of Maxime Bayen & Max Cuvellier It’s clear we have we have growing and dynamic AI / 4IR tech ecosystem in Africa with South Africa accounting for the most frequent country of origin for companies in this sector.

Johannesburg looks like the No.1 contender for the “AI Tech Capital of Africa” based on the organisations we have assessed so far.

Its not clear the exact reasons why South Africa is so dominant but a larger and more established education & skills base, coupled to higher economic demand and an active tech entrepreneur / supplier ecosystem may (in part) account for this.

A larger parter / vendor ecosystem built around the likes of Microsoft, Google, AWS, IBM, Oracle & SAP who have historically had their Africa HQ operations in South Africa may also account for the landscape we currently see.

This is by no means an exhaustive survey and the data is continually changing and evolving.

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INVESTMENT NEWS

KENYA’S AFYA REKOD RAISES $2M SEED FUNDING TO DIGITISE HEALTH RECORD

/ Read original article here /

In Africa, health records and information are still recorded using pen and paper and locked away in files and storage rooms. In most cases, patients can only access their personal files during hospital visits and don’t have the power to walk away with their files in hand.

This is problematic as it blindsides external doctors from accessing patients’ records for medical attention in emergency cases.

A

fya Rekod, a Kenyan healthtech startup solving this problem by creating a platform that digitally collects and stores people’s health records, has closed a $2 million seed funding to scale its product and expand into new African markets.

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John Kamara, founder and CEO at Afya Rekod

The funding was led by a US-based seedstage venture capital Mac Venture Capital.

Next Chymia, an Asian private firm that focuses on blockchain based companies, also participated in the round.

Founded in 2019 by John Kamara, Afya Rekod is a health platform, built on the blockchain technology, on a mission to return full ownership of health records to patients.

Before founding Afya Rekod, Kamara, a business leader and a serial entrepreneur, had worked and led teams across different continents and industries like gaming, trading, telecommunications, and NGO. He had also worked at Google as a strategy manager and co-founded Adanian Labs, a

pan-African venture building studio. But in 2019, tragedy struck – Kamara’s friend died in one of the best hospitals in Lagos, Nigeria.

His friend’s loved ones and family accused the hospital and its doctos of negligence and incompetence. For Kamara, blaming didn’t change terrible situations; however, he wanted to know why his friend—who went to work by himself in the morning—was rushed to the hospital alive and died before 6 p.m. He asked questions and pored over available health and data points.

“Obviously, my friend was diabetic. But that wasn’t enough to kill him. He was rushed to the hospital with a seizure, and the doctors treated exactly what they saw.

INVESTMENT NEWS

They were blindsided because they had zero idea of everything that happened before he got there,” Kamara told TechCabal. “They had no idea what his previous doctor was giving him or if he was self-medicating. So everything they did was counterproductive.”

Kamara, after his investigative stint, realised that it was the unavailability of health history or information that killed his friend. If his doctors were aware of his pre-existing conditions, they might have approached treatment differently. He also figured that this phenomenon is a global menace especially in Africa where hospitals still own patients’ health records.

“You’ll hear that someone died from a small headache or something less threatening. As we researched more, we realised that over 33% of people died on the continent due to lack of access to data,” he said.

There are three important pillars in the healthcare system. One is the infrastructure, which is the hospitals and clinics. The second one is the resources: the medical instruments and health workers like doctors and nurses. The last one is the patients whose data keeps the system running. Kamara believes that out of these pillars, the patient and their data is the only thing Africa has gotten in abundance; the infrastructures are substandard and the human resources are fleeing for greener pastures.

A data-driven approach solution “So we thought if we can harness this data properly, we might actually be able to help create an efficient digital infrastructure with the limited resources that we have, and save the lives of more people,” he said.

This sequence of events led to building Afya Rekod, a data driven platform that focuses on the patient by giving them so many rights of ownership and access to their health record, and increasing mobility in the health ecosystem. The patient is the only moving piece of the healthcare system and it’s only rational that records should be mobile as well.

“We are very excited about

this investment as it will help us grow in key markets in our journey to become the leading patient mobility focused health platform in the world. Our mission is to empower patients by giving them access to their health data and to connect with the health ecosystem including hospitals, pharmacies, insurance and beyond

”

Afya Rekod is a large platform that contains modular tools collectively working to ensure patients’ ownership of their health record.

Kamara said the company has four different unique offerings for patients and medical service providers. Afkya Rekod’s Patient Portal gives patients the freedom to add or remove doctors, invite family and friends, and consolidate past and present medical records.

Medical service providers can take advantage of Afya Rekod’s Electronic Health Record system (EHR) designed for hospitals and health centers. EHR systems connect hospital’s to their patient’s portal, after access has been granted, to add a new diagnosis, prognosis, or recommendation.

There is also Diagnostic Center that allows medical labs to digitally add patient’s results to their portal without messy paper trails. The fourth offering is Disease Management, which helps chronic diseases patients, who require on-demand access to their records, manage their timelines.

The company has been in beta in Kenya since May 2020 and just launched into the public last month. It has expanded

“ Obviously, my friend was diabetic. But that wasn’t enough to

kill him. He was rushed to the hospital with a seizure, and the doctors treated exactly what they saw. They were blindsided because they had zero idea of everything that happened before he got there,” Kamara told TechCabal. “They had no idea what his previous doctor was giving him or if he was self-medicating.

So everything they did was counterproductive

into Nigeria and is currently putting together a team that will drive its growth in the African biggest economy.

Kamara said they are also doing some underground work in South Africa.

Afya Rekod wants to play big in these three African markets and the world at large.

Since launching into beta last year, the company said it has on-boarded about over 40 hospitals and over 150,000 patients. Two weeks ago, it left beta and launched into the public and expects to ramp up more users.

Afya Rekod has also signed an exclusive partnership with key healthcare organisations like The Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK) with over 500 hospitals across Kenya, Healthy Mind Foundation to train psychiatrists in Lagos Nigeria, and Alchemy to onboard private and public hospitals in Southern Africa.

Speaking on the investment, Kamara said: “We are very excited about this investment as it will help us grow in key markets in our journey to become the leading patient mobility focused health platform in the world.

Our mission is to empower patients by giving them access to their health data and to connect with the health ecosystem including hospitals, pharmacies, insurance and beyond.”

Though there are many companies offering EHR, there are no known startups doing what Afya Rekod does in the sub-Saharan Africa region. The closest to this is Egyptian Bypa-ss that raised $1m to also build a similar product. But Kamara believes that there are no direct competitors but partners.

“One of the things we liked most about Afya Rekod was its commitment to patient centered health innovation and how it addresses the gaps of current healthcare issues. The pandemic has pressed the fast-forward button, bringing an urgency into health data accessibility and analytics,” said Marlon Nichols, Founding Managing Partner of MaC Venture Capital.

“This is a global problem that can be addressed by innovative private companies like Afya Rekod. We’re thrilled to partner with the team to tackle this challenging problem in healthcare.”

”

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REGIONAL INSIGHTS

An aerial view of the Accra Digital Centre

GHANA’S ANSWER TO SILICON VALLEY IS INSIDE REFURBISHED GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS / Read original article here /

Imagine 100 startups housed in 12 refurbished buildings and located in a large compound with sufficient parking space. These 12 buildings provide 8,820 square metres of space customised to fit the needs of each startup—from a small team of five employees to a massive call centre of 100 employees.

T

his project in the heart of Ghana’s capital city, the Accra Digital Centre, is a symbol of Ghana’s ambition to be the startup capital of Africa. It aims to house the largest group of entrepreneurs, incubators, and accelerators from Ghana.

The digital centre in Accra is one out of 16 others that the government plans to build around the country.

“Beyond Ghana’s capital city, the government has identified unused government buildings around the country,” said David Ofori, Head of Operations at the Accra Digital Centre.

“We’ve been working on buildings at Kumasi, Tamale, and Takoradi. All the costs and appraisals have been done.”

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Getting the project off the ground Started in 2011, the Accra Digital Centre project was financed by the World Bank and the Rockefeller Foundation. It started with the renovation of a collection of 12 old warehouses belonging to the Public Works Department. But due to changing government regimes and interests, the project wasn’t fully operational until 2017.

Four years later, the Accra Digital Centre is living up to expectation and looks to be a worthy template for other centres across the country. Coincidentally, this aligns with increasing startup activity in the country.

The success of the Accra Digital Centre is indicative of what Ofori, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, and even President Nana

Akufo-Addo hope is a new future for Ghana.

President Akufo-Addo has made it a priority to support innovation and entrepreneurship since coming into office in 2017.

While Ghana still needs to lure more international investors and further ease rules for entrepreneurs, the country, backed by government officials and tech leaders, has started to inject new energy into the startup scene is already one of Africa’s top destinations for startup investment. Based on Partech’s 2020 report, Ghana displaced Rwanda to take up fifth place.

To keep this momentum going, Ofori believes the government’s decision to bankroll this project is important because it helps bridge the gap between the privileged and less privileged.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

“

The government’s job is to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

The government’s core business is to bring in regulations and look out for the interest of the society and make sure there’s no unfair competition,” Ofori said

”

“When things are beyond the reach of average citizens, the government comes in to bridge the gap. Otherwise, the world would become a place of haves and have-nots.”

When I asked Bruce and Gota separately what they hoped the centre could do better, they both echoed the same thing: they needed more office space.

The perks

Exporting tech talents

One of the major attractions of the digital centre facility is the low-rent cost.

Currently, it costs $8 per square metre, a fraction of what it costs in other places.

CK Bruce, CEO Innovare, a tech consulting company is one of the early tenants of the Accra Digital Centre who doesn’t regret the decision to move in.

“When the centre was launched they came around to convince people to join. At the start, a lot of infrastructure wasn’t ready; there was nobody here. It took some time for things to kick off,” Bruce said. “ As soon as we moved in, we started to grow. Every year we’ve had to request for additional space; our team has grown over 100% in the past 3-4 years it’s been here.”

By being in a space filled with many other startups, Bruce said Innovare has gotten to do business with other companies in the space and formed partnerships. In addition, the environment is vibrant and motivating for his team members.

Another early tenant of the Accra Digital Centre is aYo, an affordable insurance product by MTN. Francis Gota, CEO aYo Ghana, told TechCabal that its attraction was its affordability, and so far the centre has been maintained well.

When I pointed out that instead of aYo the space could better serve smaller startups, Gota was quick to clarify that, as a subsidiary of MTN, aYo is responsible for managing its profitability and sustainability without external help.

Similar to Innovare, the workforce of aYo Ghana has increased—doubling from about 125 to 250 employees—since it started working from the centre.

Beyond the affordable real estate cost, the Accra Digital Centre organises activities and programs to educate people and spur innovation.

“You need to have a hand in instigating and nudging people towards a digital future. A lot of people are still wired to go to school, and afterwards get a job. Yet they have access to a smartphone and the internet to learn,” Ofori said.

These activities and programmes at the digital centre are facilitated by the tech club and Innovation Hub. The activities involve getting people to try their hands on real tools like drone technology, blockchain, 3D printing, and virtual and augmented reality. The best part of these programmes is that they are free to the public.

In the long run, these activities are meant to position Ghana as a major exporter of tech talents in Africa, starting with neighbouring countries like Liberia, Gambia, and Togo.

“Talents are a critical resource, and we can’t keep relying on foreigners to take the lead in these areas.”

A private company owned by the government The Accra Digital Centre is managed by a private company called Ghana Digital Centres Limited, under the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation.

To ensure that the Accra Digital Centre functions properly, it is a private company that is 100% owned by the government of Ghana.This was done to demonstrate confidence in the private sector because people often aren’t comfortable doing business with the government.

“The government’s job is to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive. The government’s core business is to bring in regulations and look out for the interest of the society and make sure there’s no unfair competition,” Ofori said.

The government is responsible for the initial setup of the digital centres and afterwards, the revenue generated from the operations of the centre is used to run them. This way the project is selfsustaining and not a burden on taxpayers.

On the flip side, the goal isn’t for the digital centres to become massively profit-oriented, else it’d deviate from its purpose of providing critical infrastructure and services at an affordable rate.

Startups are more than websites Despite all the progress made, it’s been an uphill task trying to convince local investors that startups need more than affordable facilities to scale; they need capital. The Accra Digital Centre is looking to partner with local or foreign investors and investment companies to expand its reach and impact.

Ofori explains that there’s a cultural bias that needs to be overcome. Local investors prefer to invest in sectors like real estate and agriculture where the product is tangible, unlike in the tech sector where the products are often intangible.

“How do you explain to a local investor that you bought a domain name? How do you explain hosting? All you have to show is a website,” Ofori said. “These businesses that seem like just websites today will become tech giants tomorrow.

BMW started out as an aircraft engine manufacturer; today, it’s more famous for its cars.”

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OPINION

The French philosopher and mathematician, René Descartes (1596–1650), is famously accredited for the dictum "I Think Therefore I Am." It became a fundamental statement of Western philosophy.

As a human, I am a thinking being. My thoughts, and how I perceive and interpret the world I live in, dictate my actions. Understanding how we think and how thoughts originate has been a topic of fascination and study for centuries.

I THINK, THEREFORE I AM CONNECTED

/ By Johan Steyn /

T

he smart technology era is rapidly impacting the way we think, even influencing and dictating our thoughts. In the past, I used to hold technology in my hand: my smartphone.

Nowadays we wear our technology in the form of smartwatches and other devices. In the near future, we will carry technology with us in the form of implants into our brains.

One day, not long from now, I will be able to say that I surf the web with my thoughts. I interact with others in the metaverse by imagining. I control the world around me with my brain.

A human will be implanted with Elon Musk's Neuralink technology later this year as part of clinical research.

Is their "brain-computer" ready to be tested on humans? Hopefully, we will discover the answer in the not-toodistant future. In 2021, monkeys playing MindPong demonstrated the implant's effectiveness, demonstrating that it was actually advantageous. Due to Neuralink technology, the monkey could play in the game simply by thinking about it.

Elon Musk, who spoke recently at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit, discussed the future of mind-bending technologies. "Neuralink's safety and

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efficacy have been established in monkey experiments. We're investigating whether it's possible to properly remove the Neuralink device and whether continuing to use it is safe and dependable."

According to Musk, Neuralink technology is a profound medical advancement since it has the potential to assist a significant number of people who have suffered spinal cord injuries and are unable to perform their everyday tasks efficiently. It is feasible to reclaim people's independence through the use of this new technology. "We plan to have this in our first humans next year, pending FDA permission," Musk said.

To collect and assess brain signals, they must be converted into commands that can be sent to output devices capable of doing the essential tasks.

Brain-Computer Interface technology (BCI) operates independently of normal neuromuscular output channels. BCI may be advantageous for individuals who are unable to move owing to neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, spinal cord damage, or other causes.

Many members of the technological community have been anticipating the device's eventual debut with bated breath.

This year, the Telepathic Brain chip will be

implanted into a human brain for the first time, marking a watershed moment in the industry.

The convergence of technology with our biological bodies is the next step in our evolutionary process. Despite the numerous potential benefits, it can also open up a can of worms. It is one thing to influence the world around me with my thoughts, but what if my thoughts could be influenced from the outside by the same technology? Imagine the impact on privacy and on the foundations of democracy.

Johan Steyn is a Smart Automation & Artificial Intelligence thought leader and management consultant. He is the Chair of the Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics with the IITPSA (Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South Africa). He writes in his capacity.

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INVESTMENT NEWS

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PRESS RELEASE: VOXCROFT ANALYTICS RAISES $2 MILLION IN INVESTMENT FUNDING WITH KNIFE CAPITAL / Read original article here /

VoxCroft Analytics, a global leader in opensource intelligence and risk analytics, announced today close to $2 million in Series-A funding from Knife Capital, a South African venture capital company specializing in assisting companies in building a global presence.

V

oxCroft Analytics -- a U.S. and South African scale-up -- leverages cutting edge technology and machine learning in tandem with a global network of analysts, linguists, cultural experts, security professionals, and policy experts to discover unique data points and critical patterns and to deliver reliable information and analysis at unmatched speed and scale.

“VoxCroft Analytics is excited to work with Knife Capital on our dynamic growth plan,” says Barend Lutz, the CEO of VoxCroft South Africa. “The collection and analytical components in open-source intelligence are increasingly sophisticated and critical to public and private sector success in anticipating risk faster than ever before. With Knife Capital investment, VoxCroft is poised to redefine how information can be discovered, analyzed, and delivered across the globe.”

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Andrea Böhmert, managing partner at Knife Capital, outlined why Knife Capital found VoxCroft an intriguing investment. “At Knife Capital we believe in investing in forwardfocused companies that solve real problems and can generate great returns for our shareholders. VoxCroft fits the ideal investor model. We’ve been tracking VoxCroft for some time and have been impressed by the technology, the team, and the depth of insights the company is able to provide to a wide range of customers with diverse intelligence needs. What convinced us was their ability to prognosticate the recent insurgency activity in northern Mozambique and incredibly fast, accurate, and relevant response to the riots in South Africa. Our funding will help the company to make some immediate key strategic appointments and propel growth plans in anticipation of a larger funding round that will be raised in the next 6-12 months.”

Casey Schmidt, VoxCroft Analytics’ U.S. CEO adds, “We partnered with Knife Capital for this investment because of their track record in taking companies global and their know-how in leveraging success for companies working with cutting edge ideas and technology. So, the investment and partnership line up well with VoxCroft Analytics’ plans to disrupt the multi-billiondollar risk analytics industry to increase global security and prosperity. Our experts already meld the best of AI with our other proprietary assets to get the best results for our public and private sector clients.”

VoxCroft Analytics’ U.S. Strategic Advisor and former U.S. Consul General to South Africa, Virginia Blaser, praised this new investment. “As someone who spent three decades brokering deals in Africa and beyond, and who understands how new

technology adds critical strategic value to governments, development organizations, NGOs, and the private sector when it comes to sentiment and risk analysis, this kind of pivotal investment means that the most critical tools will soon be in the hands of more companies and organizations that urgently need them. This is an exciting partnership between two world-class organizations, both focused on delivering results.”

VoxCroft Analytics currently has offices in South Africa and the United States, with a growing global team across 13 countries.

Knife Capital’s investment will help the company to expedite strategic expansion plans and respond to the ever-growing market signals for the critical need for fast, reliable, and accurate information and analytics.

About VoxCroft Analytics VoxCroft Analytics is a global leader in opensource intelligence and risk analytics. By combining our proprietary machine learning algorithms and tradecraft with our powerful AI, VoxCroft Analytics distils millions of data points in a second and combines that with human wisdom to deliver real-time, focused, global coverage and bespoke local knowledge and analytics.

INVESTMENT NEWS

“Increasing access to

venture capital promotes digital entrepreneurship and innovative tech solutions that enable better delivery of vital services such as healthcare, fintech and logistics. By supporting funds such as Knife III, the IFC can help more startups and digital entrepreneurs innovate and expand in South Africa and beyond

”

says IFC South Africa country manager Adamou Labara

Knife Capital Founders Keet, Eben, Bob and Andrea

IFC COMPLETES $10M INVESTMENT IN SOUTH AFRICAN VC KNIFE CAPITAL

/ Read original article here /

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a development finance institution, has invested $10 million in Knife Capital’s Knife Fund III, a venture capital firm, to assist growth in South Africa’s digital economy and enhance access to financing for the country’s technology entrepreneurs.

“We are excited to welcome the IFC as an investor to our new Fund III and sincerely appreciate the endorsement that comes with the commitment

”

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“

With the first close of Fund III, we are finally able to support entrepreneurs in the next stage of the scaleup journey and, thereby, address a significant gap that currently exists in the African entrepreneurial ecosystem says Knife Capital partner Andrea Bohmert

”

South Africa’s Internet economy has the potential to grow from $21 billion to $31 billion between 2020 and 2025, and up to $125 billion by 2050, according to the IFC-Google paper ‘eConomy Africa 2020.’

According to the development financing organization, it will be vital to equip local digital companies with the capital they need to establish and scale their goods and services in order to enable this growth.

Read also Andreessen Horowitz Makes First Africa Investment

“In South Africa, the level

of fundraising volume is relatively high compared to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, but most venture capital supports early-stage companies in the country, with limited funding available for Series B or later stages of investment

”

“

According to the IFC, the investment in Knife Fund III would provide financial support to digital entrepreneurs in high-growth industries in South Africa, such as enterprise technology, software, health technology, and financial technology, with strong potential for expansion throughout Africa and beyond.

The IFC’s investment in Knife Fund III aligns with its strategy to provide patient risk capital to fund managers in Africa and to support Africa’s technology ecosystem

Read also Knife Capital Backs South African HR Software Startup Wamly In New Funding

the organisation says

Knife Capital hopes to raise $50 million for Fund III, which will focus on investments in the series B, or second round, stage. Knife Fund II debuted in 2016, and Knife Fund I debuted in 2010.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE POWERS AI FOR GOOD ‘NEURAL NETWORK’

/ By ITU News – read original article here /

A new community platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI), launched today by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), aims to step up global collaboration on the use of AI to drive sustainable development.

T

he AI for Good Neural Network is designed to accelerate exchanges among government and industry, as well as to foster partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations for 2030.

The new networking tool features AIenabled smart-matching to help users build connections with innovators and experts, link innovative ideas with social impact opportunities, and bring the community together to discuss AI applications for social good.

AI for Good – organized by ITU in partnership with 40 organizations across the UN system and co-convened with Switzerland – provides the leading action-oriented, global, inclusive platform promoting AI to advance health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure, and other global development priorities.

“This new cutting-edge tool brings AI for Good to the service of the United Nations and our global community in ways that were not possible just a few years ago,” said ITU’s Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao.

“With the ongoing pandemic shifting our work and learning environments largely online, the Neural Network now leverages the

power of AI to stimulate meaningful action, bring more partners aboard, and ramp up AI in pursuit of sustainable development.”

AI for Good in action Expanding on ITU’s AI for Good programme, the Neural Network offers content and collaboration opportunities aligned to each of the 17 SDGs. In exploring practical applications, AI for Good has helped spur innovation, foster knowledge exchange, and promote AI achievements across the UN and beyond.

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) offer some highly practical applications across multiple industries and sectors — applications with considerable potential to serve as a force for good,” explained Chaesub Lee, Director of ITU’s standardization bureau.

“AI and ML are gaining ground in ITU’s standardization work, with research, analysis and stakeholder discussions focusing on network orchestration and management, multimedia coding, service quality assessment, and various aspects of telecom management, operation and services, as well as cable networks, all supporting accelerated digital transformation in key industry verticals.”

Several ITU pre-standardization initiatives have turned to AI to find solutions and help set standards for better health care, autonomous and assisted driving, environmental efficiency, natural disaster management, machine learning in 5G networks and most recently, digital agriculture.

The United Nations Activities on Artificial Intelligence Report released in December highlights over 200 AI projects and initiatives from 40 UN organizations applying AI technologies for social good – largely reflecting the scope of ITU’s AI for Good.

At the AI for Good Innovation Factory, start-ups pitch AI innovations addressing key socio-economic challenges. In the AI/

ML in 5G Challenge, students and experts compete to solve real-world machine learning puzzles in 5G networks.

These action-oriented initiatives and programmes are effectively creating the building blocks needed to deploy AI for Good at scale.

Smart matching for a better future Through the Neural Network, community members can connect to each other, receive personalized content, and pursue engagement aligned to their profiles, goals and needs. Since no two human interactions are the same, the inclusive platform reflects both community and individual needs.

The smart matching mechanism – designed according to the principles of the Global Initiative in AI and Data Commons – will connect AI innovators to anyone with an AI-related problem, as a step towards globally scaled AI solutions. For example, it can generate matches for open data and AI algorithms, cloud storage and computing power, problem statements and expertise, funding and mentorships, domain transfer, SDG alignment, and more.

The solution is meant to stimulate unprecedented cooperation across borders and boundaries, foster impactful SDGfocused partnerships in the field of AI, and directly serve Goal 17: Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

The AI for Good Neural Network is open to all with an interest in how AI can positively impact the future of humankind.

Join the AI for Good Neural Network to help build the future of AI.

1ST QUARTER 2022 | SYNAPSE

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REGIONAL INSIGHTS

AICE: Using AI to Bolster Productivity & Economic Growth Overview In order to realize the economic benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and effectively participate in the digital economy, there remains an urgent need to collectively invest heavily in disciplines that build data science and machine learning skills and experience.

This was the outcome of the Annual AI for Leader’s Round Table held by The AI Centre of Excellence in Eswatini which hosted private and public sector leaders to uncover the value for AI. The AI for Leaders Roundtable

by AICE, is going across as many countries in Africa to meet leaders, build value for AI, and offer services that allow business to grow their value from AI. The core of AICE is to build capacity, develop products and solutions and contribute to AI research and Development.

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About AICE AICE is a world class centre that is keen on spearheading the AI technological revolution in Africa.

We are impact led and outcome driven with a fearless conviction for transformation using data and AI for good. Insanely crazy for innovation that will create jobs and drive human wealth.

“ Africa is going through a digital transformation,

and as this happens massive data is continually generated that can allow for us to better and more deeply understand specific impact and specific correlation. Africa has an opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world by digitizing based on smart technology

”

John Kamara, Co-Founder AICE

“

Smart technology capacity development trickle-down effect means that Africa can greatly thrive from the large population of who can propel it to stand in a space of impact regionally and globally to solve problems and grow the economy.

”

Natasha Ochiel, Co-Founder AICE

A conversational commerce platform that allows companies to have personalized engagements with users at infinite scale, driven by machine learning & data science

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Authorised FSP 48598

2nd QUARTER 2021 | ISSUE 12

SYNAPSE Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine

NVIDIA INCEPTION: 3 African Startups Accepted into the Programme

TUNBERT: 1st AI-based

Tunisian Dialect System

3 AFRICAN STARTUPS using AI, Data Science for Financial Inclusion

AFDB BACKS AI-BASED

National Consumer Management Systems

HOW THE PANDEMIC Gave Birth to SA’s latest 4IR SaaS platform

LACUNA FUNDS DATASETS for Low Resource African Languages

SYNAPSE

2nd QUARTER 2021 | ISSUE 12

SYNAPSE Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine

Africa’s 4IR Trade & Innovation Magazine

NVIDIA INCEPTION: 3 African Startups Accepted into the Programme

TUNBERT: 1st AI-based Tunisian Dialect System

REACH AFRICA'S LARGEST ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & 4IR COMMUNITY WITH SYNAPSE MAGAZINE

3 AFRICAN STARTUPS using AI, Data Science for Financial Inclusion

AFDB BACKS AI-BASED

National Consumer Management Systems

HOW THE PANDEMIC

Published Quarterly

Gave Birth to SA’s latest 4IR SaaS platform

LACUNA FUNDS DATASETS for Low Resource African Languages

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