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Meet 25 Women Leading the AI Revolution in Africa

To mark Women’s History Month, Sama is pleased and proud to celebrate some of the leading lights in sub-Saharan Africa’s artificial intelligence scene.

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This ebook singles out several women who are, in one way or the other, playing a vital role in the growth of AI and ML in Africa. Their work is critical in creating a more inclusive AI field – one where everyone has a seat at the table. These women are policy champions working to create essential oversight for more responsible and ethical AI, data scientists dissecting complex problems, computer scientists developing innovative models for a wide variety of businesses, and innovators who are empowering and making it easier for Africans to earn a livelihood and inspiring the next wave of female AI enthusiasts.

Our selection is in no way exhaustive, but some of the women featured include Immaculate Kassait, Kenya’s first Data Commissioner. Her work in building a regulatory framework for AI in Kenya is essential to make sure that AI is serving the greater good of national development and plans like Kenya Vision 2030

  • Dr. Neema Mduma is a lecturer at Tanzania’s Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) with a PhD in Machine Learning./ Her dedication to expanding educational opportunities, especially for girls, has led her to build models like BakiShule, which helps prevent students dropping out. 
  • Tanzania’s Theofrida Maginga is the mastermind behind Mkulima GPT, a ChatGPT-driven Swahili chatbot empowering smallholder farmers with crop disease detection and culturally sensitive agricultural advice.
  • Therese Kirongozi is an inventor who has revolutionized road safety in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with her groundbreaking traffic robots, which reduced accidents by 60% in DRC’s major cities like Kinshasa.

These are just some of the women in Africa who are breaking barriers in AI, defying conventions, challenging norms, and driving change in a predominantly male-dominated sphere. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we wanted to recognize these exceptional women and share their stories with a wider audience. They are not just making strides in improving AI, but showing the power and importance of a diversity of perspectives developing models that serve different communities around the world. 

To learn more about these extraordinary women and 22 others leading the AI revolution in Africa, download our ebook below.

Download & Read Now: 25 Women Leading the AI Revolution in Africa

Author
Ellen Schwartze
Ellen Schwartze

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