How African startups are adopting AI for local solution

I called it the spark of purpose, most times when people think of artificial intelligence (AI) their minds goes off to the self driven cars and robots.

But here’s a story of necessity, a story of ordinary people using extraordinary ideas to solve real life problems.

It’s about using technology to make sure everyone get a chance in this thriving world. 

Let me take you to Nsukka, University of Nigeria, Enugu State, Nigeria.

It all began in the buzzing heart of the university campus where late night ideas and early morning lectures often meet. They are three young men: Shola, Edoh and Amber. They crossed paths not by accident but by purpose. Shola a medical students. Was the visionary, always sketching bold ideas in the margins of his notebooks.  Edoh the people’s voice, charismatic and deeply connected to the struggles of the everyday Nigerian, carried stories that inspired action. Amber was the coder, quiet, calculating and fluent in the language of machines. 

The biggest tech event is coming up and the trio are so excited to attend not because of it big names but because of the simple theme in which the event is tagged. 

Tech seminar tittle:  “Innovation for the Masses.”

The shared fire in their eyes whenever the speaker mentioned building solutions for the common man was really electrifying. After the session, while most students rushed out, the trio lingered behind, engaged in a passionate conversation about bridging the gap between technology and the everyday struggles of ordinary people.

Somewhere around Ibadan, Nigeria is Shola.

Shola who just graduated from the university, where he studied medicine. He was an outstanding student due to his love for technology, where he learn to use technological tools and apply it to his field of medicine and his ambition spark up at an early stage where he watched his mother struggle to access basic health advice during a malaria outbreak. Clinics were full, doctors overwhelmed and misinformation was everywhere. 

At that early stage his only goal was to simplify this Technological tools so that the common man who can’t access high quality medical care can at least have something within his reach at the earliest convenient. He was not a doctor at the time but he knew that technology could be a voice when real help was too far away. So he reach out to the team who hosted the tech seminar during his final year in school to build an app for the good people of Ibadan and even beyond. The app is called a MediVoice. MediVoice is a chatbot that speaks local languages, answers health questions and guides users on what to do next when it comes to the general well being of an individual. MediVoice sure it’s powered by AI but more importantly it’s powered by the need to care for his own peoples, not fancy or complex but something built to feel deeply for the good people of Ibadan community and even the world at large.

LET’S CALL IT THE REAL FACE OF AI IN AFRICA

Not robots, Not rocket science, Just real bot solving real health problems with heart and code.

In Adoka, Oturpko Local Government area in Benue State Nigeria is Edoh.

Edoh a startup farmer, actually a graduate in Agricultural science, With the knowledge Edoh had during his university days especially with the tech team guys he had dared to be that extra ordinary farmer in Benue State, who don’t just sow for rich a harvest, but one who used technological tools to serve him in his field.

So he built a bot for farmers that can predict weather patterns using AI called Agri-Brain. This AI bot was built from a place of passion not for profit, a simple app that gives tips on when to plant, when to water and when to wait because he know what it means for a family to lose a harvest. So this will be favorable, accessible and deeply relevant to him, family, friends of all farmers and the good people of Benue and even beyond.

In Accra, Ghana is found Amber who works in a public school, but wasn’t satisfied in the educational systems. Because he believe in the fast growth and learning process in kids, he built an app. LearnSmart bot using AI which is personalize to track how each child learns, adapts to lessons to suit their pace and learning style. He believe that intelligence is not one size fits, but that which with the right tools all kids under a good working environment will attain all round smartness and intelligence.

These are not big tech giants. 

These are small teams with big hearts.

•  They are not building for the world first, they are building for their neighbors, their communities, their cities, close people around them.

• They are proving that African innovation is not just about what’s possible, but about what’s needed.

YES, they use AI. But more importantly, they use empathy and genuine love for humanity’s response to challenges and it complexities.

One of the most exciting things about African’s AI is that it doesn’t erase who we are, it amplifies it. What African startups are doing with AI is not just impressive, it’s intimate, It’s local. It’s us.

And if you ask me, we are not fitting into foreign systems but designing systems that fits us.

• One startup at a time

• One solution at a time.