AI for Good: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Solve Africa’s Unique Challenges

By Mureille Laure OBAYA

Mureille Laure OBAYA

Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents an unprecedented opportunity to address the many challenges facing the African continent. AI has the potential to become a true driver of social transformation across nearly every aspect of daily life.

Let’s start with healthcare. AI can help compensate for the shortage of medical personnel. For example, in Nigeria, applications like Ubenwa use AI to detect respiratory diseases in newborns based on the sound of their cries. In agriculture, AI assists farmers in optimizing their harvests despite changing climate conditions. Platforms like Agrix Tech, developed in Cameroon, use image recognition to detect crop diseases and recommend tailored solutions.

AI can also promote access to education. Educational chatbots like M-Shule in Kenya adapt learning content to the individual needs of students while working on basic mobile phones—an essential feature in rural areas.

AI is also helping preserve and promote African languages. Initiatives like Andakia for Wolof, Lelapa.ai for Zulu and Xhosa, and the collaborative project Masakhane show how AI can play a key role in valuing local languages and cultures.

However, to fully harness these advancements, Africa must invest in education and training, ensure access to data, and adopt inclusive policies that reflect its linguistic and cultural diversity. AI can significantly contribute to improving living conditions and promoting the common good. It is up to Africans to design solutions that directly address the continent’s issues after all, who betterunderstands these problems than those who live them?

The examples above are encouraging and show that Africans are not only aware of these challenges but are also ready to overcome them.

Mureille Laure OBAYA is the chief Operations Officer at BEL'S AI Initiative where she leads efforts to demystify AI in Africa through education and awareness. She is also founder of Her AI Africa, an organization that empowers women and girls to explore careers in Artificial Intelligence. With over three years as Women Techmakers Ambassador and lead of WTM Ngaoundere, she continues to champion gender inclusion in tech.