Kenya: Safaricom showcases AI model

The Safaricom Engineering Summit held in Kenya focused on developing Kenya’s tech talent and emphasizing artificial intelligence (AI).

Dubbed Decode 2.0, the summit is a collaborative effort between Safaricom and partners such as Huawei, Dell Technologies, Mitsumi Distribution, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Techsavanna, Oracle, and Redington.

A highlight of the summit was the Safaricom – AWS Deep Racer Championship, featuring a mini-vehicle race on an indoor track, providing a platform for Safaricom’s data science and data engineering teams to demonstrate their machine-learning skills.

At the summit, Safaricom showcased a lifelike artificial intelligence product named Digital Twin, which, when given prompts and data, can create a digital replica of an individual capable of generating responses.

Technology industry stakeholders engaged in discussions about prominent trends in the sector, covering AI, cross-border financial payments, quantum computing, internet connectivity, eSports, gaming, and education.

Safaricom’s chief executive, Peter Ndegwa said the summit was critical to nurturing digital talent as the company races to become a purpose-driven digital business within the next two years.  

“Decode is in line with our vision to become a purpose-driven technology company by 2025. Together with other developer-centric initiatives, it embeds an engineering mindset as we seek to build a digital Kenya through connectivity, accessibility and affordability” he said.

Safaricom has expanded its digital talent from 250 to 850 in just the past three years. Nevertheless, it acknowledges a skill gap between ICT graduates and job market demands, underscoring the importance of skills programs and events.

“Through initiatives such as Safaricom Decode, we will continue to provide opportunities for engineers to showcase their exceptional skills and share knowledge on best practices so that we can cement our place as a technology hub” he added.