In furtherance of its vision to solve some of Africa’s biggest challenges in identity, education, payment and data for people and businesses, Softcom is supporting easy access to artificial intelligence (AI) learning in partnership with Data Science Nigeria with an AI for business leaders’ masterclass and the official release of the first AI book for Nigeria’s primary and secondary schools.
Softcom, an indigenous technology company, is a leader in deploying technological solutions to solve socio-economic development challenges on the continent.
The company is known for its people-centric innovations aimed at shaping inclusive growth, creating high-quality employment opportunities, and improving people and business operations in Africa.
According to Yomi Adedeji, ceo, Softcom, “We always strive to build solutions and technology that will positively impact the lives of people.
“We recognise that with artificial intelligence applications across all socio-economic sectors, we can catalyse a new wave of sustainable innovations, enabling all-round societal impact.
“At Softcom, we understand that artificial intelligence is critical for national competitiveness and local innovation, hence our drive towards making the knowledge available to everyone, from kids in primary schools to CEOs whose decisions shape the corporate future of our national business landscape”.
The one-day Artificial Intelligence Demystified masterclass for executives and business leaders aims to equip business decision-makers to understand the concept of artificial intelligence and its applications, imparting a clear understanding of how it can catalyse Nigeria’s businesses to have sustainable impacts through innovative solution development, cost reductions and improve operational efficiency.
The masterclass will be facilitated by some of world’s best including one of the fathers of artificial intelligence, Professor Thomas Dietterich, the US-based distinguished professor emeritus at Oregon State University and the founder of BigML.
Other speakers include the Director of Data Science at the world’s largest brick-and-mortar retailer, US-based Walmart, Dr Emmanuel Doro; Facebook’s Research Scientist, Dr. Eric Sodomka; Dr. Nnnana Orieke, Cloud Solution Architect, Data and AI, Microsoft; Margaryta Ostapchuk, Software Engineer, Microsoft Canada; Sabrina Smai, Software Engineer, Microsoft Canada; Nicholas Litombe, US-based Solution Data Scientist; and Olubayo Adekanmbi, the Convener of Data Science Nigeria and Chief Transformation Officer, MTN Nigeria, among others.
Tomi Amao, Softcom’s Chief Technology Officer, who will also be speaking at the event, said “At Softcom, we understand how access to AI knowledge can drive productivity, especially when technology is simplified to solve everyday problems in ways that improve how we live, learn and work in Africa”.
Fully supported by Softcom, the first-ever Nigerian Artificial Intelligence book for primary and secondary school will be distributed free in Nigerian schools.
The book will introduce Nigerian students to the basics of AI in order to stimulate innovative thinking and drive for global competitiveness.
The book titled, Beginners’ Artificial Intelligence and Python Programming is written by the convener of Data Science Nigeria, Olubayo Adekanmbi, an experienced hands-on data scientist, doctoral researcher and business leader with 20 years of experience.
Softcom is a leading Africa innovative company that is focused on addressing fundamental development issues tied to Identity, Payment, Data and Learning, and is respected for its AI-powered product innovations, including PassID, Koya, Eyowo and DataBeaver.