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AIFAT, which is the acronym for AI For Africa ThankTank, is executing policy measures aimed at empowering youth(s) and communities, expediting technological growth, and creating socio-economic prosperity in Africa. It is doing all these, and much more, by imparting knowledge of Artificial Intelligence(AI) to people in Africa and equipping them with the requisite skills on how to use AI.
Not a long while ago, it held these symposia/summits with these themes: “When Academia Meets AI: A Journey Towards Ethical Revolution” and “Academia Re-imagined: A Transformative Dialogue on AI, Sustainability, and Interdisciplinary Learning.”
So now, the fear that AI will replace humans at work places, globally, is mounting on a daily basis. But the stark and irrefutable fact is that AI is being progressively deployed to perform diverse tasks, which were, until recently, performed by human beings. The argument, as to whether it can perform tasks as efficiently and flawlessly as humans do, is still raging.
But in Africa, a great number of people are without the knowledge of artificial intelligence. So AI for Africa ThinkTank has stepped in to bridge the knowledge gap between the African people and other peoples of the world, as to AI knowledge. It is fostering technological innovations in Africa, too.
Not being unaware that Artificial Intelligence will play pivotal and redefining roles in diverse spheres of human existence, AI For Africa ThankTank(AIFAT) was formed to advance the knowledge of AI and foster technological innovations among African youths and communities. Since its formation, it has been fulfilling its corporate mission and vision of empowering youths and communities, driving technological growth, and creating socio-economic prosperity through AI.
Interestingly, AIFAT has been using multifaceted approaches to achieve its laudable and lofty objectives. Such approaches or methods include, but not limited to, the use of literacy programmes, policy engagement and advocacy, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and discursive cum collaborative problem-solving that is predicated on hands-on-learning opportunities.
Read also: AI-powered freelancing: Solving Africa’s youth unemployment crisis
To achieve its objectives, AIFAT is partnering with such organisations as NGOs and ThinkTanks, media groups, Tech companies, government agencies, community organisations, and academic institutions. And it is worth stating that it is partnering with these universities in Africa, namely Akwa Ibom University, Nigeria; Coal City University, Enugu, Nigeria; Paul University, Nigeria; and Methodist University, Mozambique.
So far, it has recorded astonishing achievements, which exceeded the expectations of its founders. Not only did it organize four webinars where twenty industry professionals gave lectures, but also it engaged one thousand individuals through webinars and social media. In addition to identifying two major projects for which it is seeking funding, it has created private AI learning platforms. And its partnership with six universities on the African continent is a worthwhile and gargantuan achievement that should not be glossed over.
Commendably, members of AIFAT are not resting on their laurels; neither have they become complacent owing to the inroads they’ve made into Africa. If anything, It is equipping African youths with AI knowledge and skills, driving technological growth on the African continent, and striving to create economic prosperity in African countries through its AI programmes.
So, in line with its objectives, it has designed a 12-week internship programme to pioneer cutting edge AI solutions for Africa. It is titled: ” Building The Future of AI in Africa” by AI For Africa ThinkTank. The programme will focus on Large Language Models(LLM) and AI agent development so as to empower the participants/students to create scalable tools for education, healthcare, agriculture and governance.
During the 12-week programme, which will start on April 2, 2025, participants will receive guidance from LLM researchers, AI engineers, and high profile industry experts. Aspiring AI engineers, data scientists, students, and researchers in scientific and technological areas germane to AI application are eligible to enrol for the online programme
The AIFAT team, which is bringing about AI revolution in Africa, is built around these persons namely, Obi Umegbolu, chairperson, AI For Africa ThankTank; Dr. Syed Muntasir Mamum; Dr. Ndalinoshisho Liita-Iyaloo Cairney, university lecturer and entrepreneur; Cary Warfield, Techpreneur and Linkedin influencer; Abiola Bolarinwa, executive banking professional; and Dubem Egbuonye, revenue officer.
Let us key into the initiatives of AIFAT in order that we can acquire the cutting edge AI knowledge, which we will leverage to change our technological landscape, achieve economic buoyancy, and solve problems in the areas of health, agriculture, and others.
