This last year has been one of our most ambitious, and throughout we  preserved the pioneering, experimental and service-driven nature of the Deep Learning Indaba’s work and culture. The theme for the Annual Indaba in 2024 was the Wolof phrase Xam Xamlé, which means to gather knowledge and share it, which perfectly captures our charitable and educational mission; and the best title for our latest impact report.

Read the Full Impact Report

Our mission to Strengthen African AI remains necessary and valued, and this impact report shows all the ways in which we execute that mission. As always we are grateful to all our funders and volunteers who make these impacts possible. We thank you for your ongoing support for the Deep Learning Indaba, financially and in other ways; please reach out to us with any questions.

This year, we summarise our work over 2024 in the form of an impact report as most charities now do. The programmes of the Indaba, its operational efficiencies and organising approach remains the same, but we are choosing to frame our work throughout a year in terms of its impacts and the changes it is enabling in the ecosystem, and the importance to our beneficiaries, so that the value and ongoing significance of our work can be better understood. 

Seven Impact Areas

Our impacts are broad, and we consider our impacts across seven areas: six areas of continental transformation, and one organisationally-focussed on our  internal growth and maturity. Our impact aims support our educational and charitable mission.

Over 2024, we strengthened African AI:

Talent. Our commitment to advancing talent, skills and Competencies allowed us to: advanced the national agenda in Senegal, where the annual Deep Learning Indaba was hosted; showcased a continent-wide network of AI expertise; advanced technical skills in LLMs for African languages,  AI for Biology, and fundamental ML research; and drove focussed skills development through active mentorship. 

Research. We supported the advancement of novel research and dissemination through publications, where we established higher quality on a focussed set of 50 papers; the Africa Research showcase created visibility and opportunity for teams behind almost 250 research projects; and we distributed the Lacuna fund grant of approximately $500m to 5 projects in African language technologies. 

Innovation. We strengthened the pipeline of ideas to deployment by showcasing innovation and commercialisation from 69  startups across the continent, hosting startup showcases and pitch sessions, and embedding the role of company building in Africa’s AI ecosystem; the Ideathon helped accelerate new cross-continental collaborations that are the seed for future startups and innovations. 

Ownership and Capacity. New technical communities have been identified or established in 47 countries across the continent, achieving the goal of setting the foundations for AI readiness, ownership and capacity at a continental-scale. 

Leadership. The Indaba awards, which honour African scientific and intellectual luminaries, celebrated and elevated the pioneering work of researchers innovators in 5 categories, and showcased the breadth of leadership and excellence that already exists. 

Communities. We’ve established the platform that brings together Africa’s leading innovation groups across fields particularly in Languages, Vision, Health, and Climate; hosted sessions to connect leaders of community groups supporting leadership development; and invested in the  visibility of community groups to help advance their own missions and impacts. 

The Indaba Organisation. We continue to make progress in building an extraordinary organization to support the impacts and future ambition: by professionalising our internal processes, actively managing risks, and having a strategy for more ambitious and transformative approaches to Strengthen African AI.

What’s next

As we close the chapter on our last edition, we’re filled with gratitude for the community that made it all possible—and even more excitement for what lies ahead. We are gearing up for the next edition of the Deep Learning Indaba annual event, set to take place in Kigali, Rwanda this August. Whether you’re looking to  support, or simply stay connected, we welcome your ideas, questions, and contributions. Reach out to us anytime at ideas@deeplearningindaba.com.

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We are currently Fundraising – see our sponsorship booklet and get in touch with us at sponsorship@deeplearningindaba.com for more details.