Artificial intelligence can solve several societal problems in Africa. Recent developments in Nigeria show promising opportunities for leveraging the next wave of technological progress.
Nigeria is at the forefront of AI technology in Africa. It has successfully implemented AI technologies and deep-learning in sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and financial services-empowering unbanked business owners, digitizing school paperwork, and providing cheap insurance to the masses. Nigeria has an impressive 84% mobile phone penetration, a prerequisite for large-scale implementation of AI-based technology. Nigerian startups can attract more cross-border funds than other African nations, with an average initial investment of US$73,000 per startup.
Why Nigeria is Advancing in AI Technology
The National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) has envisioned Nigeria to become the leader of AI technology in Africa by 2030. The institution has helped create a conducive environment for the development and adoption of AI technology by organizing international seminars, funding assistance programs, arranging school connect programs, and more.
High-Density Tech Centers
The country has 55 tech hubs, the second highest in Africa just after South Africa, consisting of AI labs, technology centers, local universities, think tanks, government agencies, and private companies, which help facilitate the flow of resources in the development of AI technology. Most prominent tech centers are located near Nigeria’s southeast, Port Harcourt, Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, and Enugu.
Access to Foreign Funds
Many institutions and research labs in Nigeria have formed technological partnerships with their counterparts in South Korea, Kenya, Germany, Denmark, and the United States. This has increased access to foreign technology and funding. Nigeria receives the second highest VC funds in Africa, just after Kenya. During its heyday, Nigerian-based startup Jumia received funds from global brands like Goldman Sachs, MTN, and MasterCard. Currently, Jumia is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Active Government Support
The Nigerian government has made AI technology a national priority. A National Artificial Intelligence Strategy was developed in November 2019 and published in the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy 2020-30. The Nigerian central bank also launched its digital currency, eNaira, in October 2021.
High tech adoption
Nigeria is one of the biggest adopters of AI technology in Africa, grouped amongst advanced African nations like Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa. While Egypt dominates Northern Africa, the eastern region is towered by Kenya, the South by South Africa, and Abuja is considered the tech capital of Western Africa.
Success Stories of AI in Nigeria
Several companies are working with AI in Nigeria to challenge existing businesses. The country has produced the highest number of tech unicorns in Africa, with hundreds of other enterprises trying to bridge societal gaps through technology throughout the continent. After just a few years of national operations, most Nigerian tech startups have expanded to other African nations.
Carbon/OneFi
One of the most prominent success stories of artificial intelligence in Nigeria is the story of OneFi and Carbon. OneFi, the parent brand behind Carbon and PayLater, is the first African fintech to receive a credit rating by Global Credit Rating. OneFi was founded in 2012 by Nigerian entrepreneurs Chijioke Dozie and Ngozi Dozie to democratize unsecured credit in the country.
Carbon helps genuine borrowers connect with lending participants like national banks and private lending companies. The company mastered the microcredit lending business through AI technology, database management, and platform aggregation.
OneFi empowers banks, insurance agencies, and microcredit lenders with fintech capabilities like building payment systems, profiling microcredit borrowers, monitoring and analyzing loans, automated credit underwriting, portfolio management platforms, software life-cycle management, fraud management, and risk management products.
The company is featured in an Amazon AWS case study. The firm was able to disburse just 500 loans a week before implementing AI technology. Currently, Carbon processes more than 1500 loans a day anthrough unbiased and digitized lending software. The company’s PayLater app is transforming micro-credit in Africa with Carbon going international. The firm launched its microcredit product in Kenya, where users can lend up to $500 through their smartphones.
Edves
With a motto of digitizing learning and school administration with AI, Edves tackles a unique yet overlooked societal process. The company works with schools across Nigeria to help streamline their administrative processes by simplifying fee payments, tracking student reports, digitizing exam schedules, and improving interactions between parents, teachers, and students. Edves has become Africa’s leading K-12 education portal with a presence in more than 1300 schools in 10 countries. Its school management software constantly learns from interactions between 269,000 students, 145,000 parents, and 25,000 educators on board. The software helps teachers and parents track their student records better and make necessary changes in the learning process.
KeePoint by Edves is an SMS-based learning tool powered by artificial intelligence to create educational content and disseminate it to students in remote locations without access to the internet. It can revolutionize education in Africa by digitizing educational content and streamlining the delivery process. Edves has also partnered with top schools from around the world to help African students browse and learn any subject from any school through its PL program. This can be a golden opportunity for students who want to learn beyond their school curriculum.
The company has offices in Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, and the USA. The Lagos-based EdTech was founded by Dimeji Falana and Dare Adebayo and is seeking US$2.5 million in series A funding after completing its over-subscribed seed funding round of $575,000 in 2021.
Andela
Andela is the latest Nigerian unicorn to enter the billion-dollar club with its outsourcing platform gaining access to more than 110 countries on six continents. The company is valued at US$1.5 billion and is instrumental in connecting highly qualified engineers with USA-based software companies looking to outsource. It is a global talent marketplace featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Andela started in 2014 and quickly expanded to Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda. It is also partnered with Google and Udacity to develop the Andela Learning Community (ALC). Andela’s strategic investors include Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Softbank, Generation Investment Management, Whale Rock, and Spark Capital.
Conclusion
Other Nigerian startups based on AI are Flutterwave, Jumia, Interswitch, and Reliance HMO. Each of these companies disrupts the traditional way of doing business and creates value for investors. Many other startups in Nigeria are working on anticipated sales engines, facial recognition, speech recognition, machine learning, language processing, and smart robots. These companies have dared to look beyond the conventional approach and are reshaping the African way of life with technology.