Michael Taylor

Africa's AI Future: Why Data Talent is the Missing Piece The world is embracing the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly through generative AI tools like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Microsoft’s Bing or Copilot. But AI thrives on data – the fuel for developing efficient and targeted AI solutions, enabling businesses to automate tasks and make informed decisions. In my work, I engage with African companies, mostly Ghanaian and Nigerian. I consistently observe a pressing need for data analysts. It’s imperative for African companies to take A BOLD STEP and invest in Data Talents to safeguard their future. Through these interactions, three main realizations have surfaced: 1. Lack of Data Teams: Many companies lack a dedicated data team, indicating a failure to recognize the pivotal role of data in driving business decisions. 2. ⁠Investment Hurdles: Some decision-makers are hesitant to invest in data talents due to budgetary constraints, bureaucratic processes or the aforementioned lack of understanding. 3. ⁠Startup Inspiration: Despite facing financial challenges, some startups prioritize recruiting data talents, demonstrating their commitment to data-driven decision-making. Just like a recipe needs all the ingredients, we can't build effective AI solutions without data expertise. Let's invest boldly in data talent to secure a sustainable future for African businesses. If you’re interested in recruiting expert data analysts as interns, let’s connect. I can assist you in recruiting a data analyst intern at no cost to you.

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Unlock Real-Time Consumer Insights & Win in Africa and End 2024 Strong Are traditional market research methods holding you back from understanding African consumers? Kasi Insight offers a faster, more agile solution: real-time, aggregated data based on 12,000+ monthly interviews across 20+ countries. Make data-driven decisions, identify emerging trends, and stay ahead of the curve. ➡️ Learn how Kasi Insight can empower your end 2024 success: https://lnkd.in/gajQ8ysm #AfricaInsights #MarketResearch #ConsumerBehavior #BusinessStrategy #AfricanMarket #DataAnalytics #MarketTrends #BusinessInsights #ConsumerInsights #EmergingMarkets #DataDrivenDecisions #MarketIntelligence #AfricanBusiness #2024Success

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AI and the Future of Work in Africa report white paper emphasizes Africa-centric AI platforms: Africa-centric AI refers to the design, development, validation and deployment of AI solutions with a strong focus on African context. The emergence of Africa-centric AI tools and platforms addresses unique socio-economic challenges by tailoring AI solutions to the continent’s specific needs. This section discusses a potential dystopian future – where generative AI exacerbates existing social inequalities – and a potential utopian one – where AI acts as an equalizer. It discusses how the actions taken today determine the future trajectory and how the choice of which world we steer towards is a collective responsibility, requiring engagement from policymakers, technologists, and citizens alike. Ensuring a beneficial outcome with generative AI involves proactive governance, inclusive design, investment in education, and a commitment to regulatory and ethical standards. Recommendations include 1) a commitment to ethical development, transparency, and bias mitigation, 2) Robust regulatory oversight to balance innovation with safeguards against misuse, 3) Encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, 4) Expanding the grassroots AI communities in Africa, and 5) Learning from communities outside of Africa. Generative AI presents a powerful tool for shaping a dignified future of work in Africa. By proactively addressing the challenges and harnessing the opportunities, Africa can leverage AI to drive economic growth, empower its workforce, and become a leader in socially responsible AI development. Overall, the recommendations for a Dignified Future of Work for all with Generative AI include Invest in infrastructure and education: Africa needs strong infrastructure and a skilled workforce to maximize the benefits of AI.  Develop inclusive AI policies: National and regional AI policies focused on inclusive education, worker protection, and stakeholder involvement are essential. Focus on human-centered design: AI should complement human skills, not replace them. Training data and AI tools should be developed with African contexts in mind. Prioritize African-centric solutions: Africa-centric AI platforms designed with local expertise can address the continent’s specific challenges. Collaboration among stakeholders is key for responsible AI development that respects local knowledge and traditions. As evidenced in the workshop, the involvement of youth, community leaders, academics, and business leaders are critical in developing inclusive and relevant AI policies for Africa. This requires a more agile consultative policy formulation process with sufficient scope for improvement as the Generative AI space evolves. Furthermore, the need for wide disciplinary involvement in the design and building of Generative AI models, platforms and applications is central.  https://lnkd.in/dzmQx9aj .

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🎥 Meet Pamela Adede: A Trailblazer in Tech! Pamela Adede, a Data Specialist with expertise in Data Management, Engineering, and a budding passion for Data Science, shares her insights on mentorship in WITIA (Women in Technology and Innovation Africa). 🌟 As a Google Women Techmakers Ambassador and a dedicated advocate for STEM careers, Pamela is on a mission to inspire the next generation of women in technology. 💻👩‍💻 Her journey reflects the power of mentorship, resilience, and innovation in creating opportunities for women in tech. 🌱✨ 📢 Watch now and be inspired by her incredible story! Full Video on Youtube. Link in Bio. #WomenInTech #STEMAdvocate #DataSpecialist #GoogleTechmakers #WITIA #MentorshipMatters #WomenEmpoweringWomen #TechInnovation

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Empowering Africa with Data: Ogone Mothoogae showcases the innovative ways to bridge the data gap across the continent. Make sure to get your latest copy of The Voice newspaper to learn about one of the driving forces behind People and Data Africa Conference. Join us in revolutionizing how we share and utilize data across the continent #PeopleAndDataAfrica2024  #DataForAfrica

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🌍 The AI Summit Cape Town - Day 2: From Vision to Implementation Building on our Day 1 discussions about Africa's unique AI journey, our Day 2 content focused on the "how" - turning vision into reality. Here's what emerged: 🎯 Beyond Planning to Practice - Moving past the "why" of African AI to the "how" - Emphasis on practical, implementable solutions - Success metrics must reflect local impact - Start small, learn fast, scale wisely 🤝 The Human Element - Culture shift is the biggest challenge and opportunity - AI implementation frees up 2.5 hours per employee - critical for resource-constrained environments - Leadership must champion AND demonstrate AI adoption - from a board level - Build on local talent rather than importing solutions - Storytelling is key; numbers need context when selling AI internally 📊 Data as Infrastructure - Just as Day 1 highlighted physical infrastructure needs, Day 2 emphasized data infrastructure needs - Data quality and governance must be the foundation for AI activity - African organizations need to view data as a strategic asset - Focus on collecting the right data, not just managing existing data 💡 Innovation in Context - Following our day 1 decolonization discussion, focus on practical localization - Language diversity is an opportunity for AI innovation across the African Continent - Informal sector integration will be crucial for creating inclusive AI - Focus on building solutions that work with existing infrastructure constraints 🛡️ Proactive Governance - Organizations aren't waiting for continental regulation - Developing frameworks that reflect African realities - Balance between innovation and responsibility - Clear accountability must be there at an organizational level 🚀 Future-Ready Organizations - Building on open-source opportunities discussed yesterday - There is a growing demand for local AI expertise - Cross-functional teams are essential for AI success, as is a continuous learning culture The message is clear: While Day 1 set the vision for African AI, Day 2 showed us the path forward. Success requires thoughtful implementation that considers Africa's unique context while building capacity for the future. #TheAISummit #AfricaTechFestival #AIAfrica #AIInnovation

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Big problems don't always need big models. Essential insight from Clinton Oduor, Head of Data Science at Amini, about building practical AI solutions for African challenges. Sometimes, smaller and focused beats bigger and broader. In this episode we touch on some of the reasons why local AI models could be more valuable than massive language models, especially for solving challenges on the continent. The future of AI might be smaller than you think. Listen now at therundown.studio/embedded. Or directly on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dRRu5iK9

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Note of Gratitude: A journey was celebrated yesterday, #Ajira #AWSreStart Cohort 9 graduated. I was among them. At the start of the program the MD of eMobilis Ken Gikunda, AWS re/Start EMEA Lead Claire Spiller, Dr. Ehud Gachugu, PhD.,HSC, KEPSA and Azubi's T.S.Khamala Chibire shared a vision the essence was we need to Think Big, Learn and Be Curious and have the right spirit. They promised their committement to us and hoped to inspire our committment in response. The investment of the stakeholders they represent underlined that. They delivered! Their people Dephence Mrunde, Felix Mulei, Anthony Nzuki among many others, the quality of the platforms and the service gave all of us a chance to start, learn and grow in the cloud and professionally. This thank you note is not the whole story, there are 273 stories. Impact made in the graduates lives. 273 grateful people. We needed the vision shared, however, the people's carry out of the program went above and beyond. They served with their heart and that is the message I received. Learn and build tech, love the people and serve with your heart it makes the difference The cloud space is a large market with tremendous growth potential, it is the ecosystem that will enable a lot of today and tomorrows tech advancement by democratising cutting edge tech making it available to everybody to experiment develop and build. Whether you are an individual, an SME or a big corporate enterprise, a startup or a long standing business, the cloud gives you on-demand IT capacity and capabilites that scale with growth. What does this mean? It means one of the greatest obstacles in business the cost and access to IT is now being overcome, the cloud simplifies, the cloud makes IT accessible and you only pay for what you use thus it is cost effective. This is a major shift because we can now innovate faster, go-to market quicker, develop and expand markets in new growth areas and solve real challenges in education, healthcare, governance, agriculture, media and beyond by easily adapting technology to meet the needs in different industry verticals and in consumer markets. Where is the heart? With the growth of the cloud comes a great need. The training and capacity building to equip people to be able to use the cloud to benefit themselves and others. This is definitely a part of any cloud adoption strategy or framework... in Kenya the Government and AWS are taking a lead on this and have been giving Kenyans a chance to get that skilling and training. 1013 Kenyans to date through this program. Many of them now working on solving problems across many sectors. Cloud communities are emmerging and with it increased likelihood of youth employment. These are Big Wins for Kenya. Asante #Ajira #AWS #eMobilis #Mastercard #KEPSA #Safaricom. This is one initiative among many. Our thank you is an echo of much gratitude expressed in Kenya and around the world. The heart? Loving the People, Being Passionate about People!

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🌍 Insights from The AI Summit Cape Town - Day 1 #TheAISummit #AfricaTechFestival The conversation around AI in Africa is evolving, with critical themes emerging from today's discussions: 1. 🔄 Decolonizing AI: The focus is shifting from copying Western models to developing African-centric solutions that address local challenges and contexts. 2. 📱 The Digital Divide Reality Check: - Over 50% of Africa's population remains unconnected - Quality smartphones and 4G/5G connectivity are essential for AI adoption - Device costs remain prohibitive for many - Innovative solutions emerging: device financing platforms charging 5-10 RAND per day - Need for infrastructure sharing and continental partnerships to expand coverage 3. 🔓 Democratizing AI: Open-source models (like Meta's Llama) are gaining traction, allowing local organizations to develop solutions without dependency on proprietary technology. 4. ⚖️ Thoughtful Regulation: - Avoiding knee-jerk regulatory responses - Caution against blindly adopting EU AI Act approaches - Need for nuanced regulation across sectors (health, education, etc.) - Balance between innovation and protection - Challenge of navigating potentially different regulations across 50+ African countries - Data localization should focus on use cases, not geography 5. 🌐 Meaningful Connectivity: - Mobile-first isn't enough - need access to broadband at home/work/school - Quality disparity in connections needs addressing - Unlimited data access is crucial - Gender digital divide requires specific attention - Can't build an AI economy that excludes half the population 🗝 Key takeaway: Africa's AI journey requires balanced, thoughtful approaches to infrastructure, regulation, and inclusion. Success lies not in copying global models but in developing solutions that reflect local realities while ensuring no one is left behind. Thank you to Amanda Bester for guiding us through today. I look forward to seeing everyone again tomorrow, or later at AFEST! #AI #Africa #DigitalTransformation #AIinAfrica

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Thank you, Poorva!... This collaborative effort was indeed a deep dive into understanding how cross-border data flows can reinforce regional integration beyond their established roles in economic growth and public service optimization. The project allowed us to examine how Africa’s continental vision for data flows aligns with frameworks like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa, yet the national-level implementation presents complex challenges that call for nuanced solutions. Melody Musoni’s expertise provided critical insights into the dynamics of data-sharing frameworks and highlighted key factors affecting interoperability and data sovereignty across jurisdictions. Working alongside Talla Ndiaye enriched our understanding of cross-border data interactions between Mozambique and Senegal, offering practical perspectives on compliance with regional and national regulations. I extend my gratitude to the stakeholders we interviewed their on the ground experiences added a vital dimension to our work, particularly around issues such as regulatory fragmentation, varying data privacy standards, and infrastructure disparities. Our findings underscore that bridging these insights to the broader context of the AfCFTA can help identify pragmatic solutions to harmonize data policies across African nations. By addressing these technical and regulatory gaps, we can contribute meaningfully to the AfCFTA’s objectives, facilitating a more cohesive and secure data-sharing ecosystem that aligns with Africa’s regional integration ambitions.

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Deep Learning Indaba 2024 in Words: The Pulse of African AI We took a deep dive into the digital conversations surrounding #DLI2024, collecting 164 posts from LinkedIn and Twitter. Using advanced sentiment analysis and text mining techniques, we uncovered the powerful emotions behind the event, revealing what truly resonated with the AI community across the continent. Our findings? Over 76% of the posts radiated positivity, highlighting the excitement, collaboration, and hope for AI in Africa. From #Research, #Africa, #Workshop, #Language to #Community and #Knowledge, these were the defining words of the week-long event, capturing the essence of engaging research posters, workshops, and sessions. They all emphasized #DLI2024’s focus on Africa. We’ve distilled this powerful narrative into an Africa-shaped word cloud, crafted from 2,183 words to illustrate the continent’s AI journey. Using a custom methodology, we filtered out irrelevant content and amplified the voices that truly reflect the African AI experience. Why does this matter? Because at EqualyzAI, we’re at the forefront of finding patterns and meanings in every language, ensuring AI serves everyone, from the smallest villages to the largest tech hubs. We believe that words shape the future, and with this analysis, we know that we are on the right path and closer to bringing AI solutions home—accessible, inclusive, and tailored for Africa. #equalyzai #deeplearningindaba #AIforAfrica #Indaba2024 #XamXamlé

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How can we support a #responsible, #open & #inclusive #AI together with our African partners. Learn more about the Africa AI governance roundtable 👇👇👇 Sharmista Appaya Christine Zhenwei Qiang Casey Torgusson Peter Kusek

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The Morning show on ETV and Carla Mackenzie - Thank you so much for having me on the show to talk about #AI and my new book, African Artificial Intelligence! I really enjoyed our conversation and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this important topic. I hope the viewers found the discussion interesting and informative. #AI #africanartificialintelligence #artificialintelligence

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Join our Newsletter @ jpattueyi.com/newsletter, to stay informed about my upcoming book #RichYoungAfrican

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This is Africa’s Digital Decade,’ says Alex Okosi, Google’s MD for Africa. With digital transformation reshaping sectors across the continent, Google is supporting initiatives in connectivity, tech skills, and innovation hubs. Find out how these investments are paving the way for Africa’s digital future. Read more: #GoogleAfrica #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfAfrica #TechInnovation

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This is Africa’s Digital Decade,’ says Alex Okosi, Google’s MD for Africa. With digital transformation reshaping sectors across the continent, Google is supporting initiatives in connectivity, tech skills, and innovation hubs. Find out how these investments are paving the way for Africa’s digital future. Read more: #GoogleAfrica #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfAfrica #TechInnovation

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This is Africa’s Digital Decade,’ says Alex Okosi, Google’s MD for Africa. With digital transformation reshaping sectors across the continent, Google is supporting initiatives in connectivity, tech skills, and innovation hubs. Find out how these investments are paving the way for Africa’s digital future. Read more: #GoogleAfrica #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfAfrica #TechInnovation

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