Eleven startups from across the continent have been selected to participate in the first Africa Artificial Intelligence Accelerator in Ghana, which will help them turn their ideas into feasible solutions.
Disrupt Africa reported in June Ghana Tech Lab had partnered Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and IBM to run an AI-focused accelerator programme, designed to promote local innovations in the field of AI, machine learning, and data usage.
After a rigorous and competitive process, 11 innovation-driven AI startups from Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda have been selected to take part in the first edition of the programme.
The selected AI startups will participate in a structured five-month accelerator, working closely with technical mentors from IBM and business development consultants to help build their AI ideas into feasible solutions. These ventures are currently leveraging AI and machine learning in their operations to help solve problems ranging from financial freedom, healthcare, transportation, agriculture, and software development.
The programme will combine the virtual and the physical, with startups taking part in video meetups prior to a bootcamp in the latter stages of the accelerator.
Three of the selected companies are from host country Ghana, namely Diagnosify, which uses AI to diagnose skin diseases; Kwanso, a solution to prevent, track and monitor road traffic accidents; and Xpendly, a personal finance management app that enables users to manage their finances in one place.
Rwanda and Uganda are also each represented by three startups, the former by aquaculture startup Aqua Safi, SaaS platform Data Systems, and cybersecurity company Tabiri Analytics, and the latter by e-health startups Chil AI, Global Auto Systems and Wekebere.
The final two selected companies are both from South Africa, in the shape of Congretype, which provides societal-based solutions in renewable energy, ICT for development, and climate-smart agriculture, and Openbanking, which has developed a safe and secure way for consumers to share financial information.
