By Dr. Bienvenu Agbokponto Soglo, Director, Government Affairs Africa
Africa's burgeoning AI ecosystem took centre stage during the inaugural Intel® Liftoff African Development Sprint AI Hackathon, held virtually from September 22-29, 2023. This groundbreaking event focused on Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI for African startups, showcasing the immense potential of AI in addressing key challenges across sectors like healthcare, fintech, agriculture, and the environment.
The hackathon provided a platform for top African startups to pitch their ideas to experts and potential sponsors, and the top winners were invited to join the global Intel® Liftoff for Startups program. The Hackathon started with intensive planning, followed by a three-day hacking session, and culminated in a Demo Day. It served as more than a competition; it was a catalyst for African businesses, offering them international exposure and opportunities to raise capital.
Africa's Artificial Intelligence Landscape
The African AI landscape has been evolving rapidly, with a significant focus on AI/ML and Computer Vision, which together account for 60% of deep tech startups on the continent. This data, supported by a study conducted to evaluate the African Deep Tech Startup ecosystem in collaboration with AfriLabs and Briter Bridges, highlights the region's commitment to technological innovation. Additionally, data, cloud, edge computing, and autonomous/robotics technologies are gaining traction, further reinforcing Africa's digital transformation.
Intel®, a key player in this ecosystem, is strategically positioned to support Africa's digital growth through its Digitalize Africa Strategic Program. This program aims to:
- Support the African startup ecosystem.
- Connect underserved communities through the Intel Community Reach Program.
- Encourage innovation through the Intel Research and Innovation Program.
- Enhance digital competencies for policymakers and youth.
- Provide promising startups with access to Intel Developer Cloud
The Intel® Liftoff African Development Sprint AI Hackathon plays a pivotal role in achieving these goals by providing a platform for African AI startups to hone their technical skills, showcase their innovations, and secure Intel® Liftoff memberships.
The Intel® AI Hackathon
The Intel® AI Hackathon kicked off with intensive planning and strategizing, followed by three days of hacking. The culmination was the Demo Day, where participants presented their groundbreaking innovations. The top four African AI startups had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to experts from Intel Ignite and potential sponsors. Furthermore, participants gained hands-on experience in optimizing their code and AI performance using state-of-the-art technology such as Intel® Xeon processors.
The Winners
The event had 4 winners representing a broad range of AI applications.
AfyaRekod is a digital health platform that leverages AI to store patient data and enable analysis. Their solution addresses health data mobility and interoperability. AfyaRekod’s hack project used neural networks to develop health AI for disease risk assessment and diagnosis.
Also, in the domain of digital health, EpochZero’s solution automatically reads and interprets chest X-rays, providing an early warning system for radiologists to address 10 common clinical pathologies. Their hack project involved a multi-modal transformer-based model to detect pathologies in X-ray scans and generate clinical impressions.
London-based African AI startup Bilic has developed a machine learning model that can predict fraudulent conversations with remarkable accuracy. Their model, trained using Intel®'s optimized libraries and tools, holds great potential for protecting businesses and individuals from scams and unauthorized transactions. For the hackathon, Bilic built an agent capable of conducting KYC, KYB with customers, transaction reporting, SAR, and more.
Undefine automates knowledge analysis for small consulting firms through augmented intelligence. Their insight generator, Intersect, leverages sources like whitepapers and client intimacy to create reasoning networks that can generate innovative ideas.
The jury included experts from Modus, Fast, and Intel®, including Ryan Metz, Head of Engineering at Intel® Liftoff.
Intel® Liftoff: Paving the Way for AI Advancements in Africa
The first Intel® AI Hackathon in Africa represents a bright future for technology and innovation on the continent. The achievements of these startups underscore the transformative power of AI in addressing critical challenges and driving progress across various sectors.
Join the Intel® Liftoff program today to take your AI startup to new heights and be part of a transformative journey that's shaping the future of Africa.