Blog - @iLabAfrica

20Mar 2026 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Kenyan Youth Innovators Win Ksh 500,000 for Building Civic Tech Solutions to Track Political Campaign Financing

iLabAfrica- Strathmore University and Transparency International Kenya spotlight data-driven tools to promote transparency and accountability in politics at the 2026 Campaign Finance Watch Hackathon Nairobi, Kenya – 19th March 2026....iLabAfrica, in partnership with Transparency International Kenya, successfully hosted the Campaign Finance Watch Tool Hackathon 2026, bringing together some of Kenya’s brightest young innovators to develop a civic technology platform designed to track political financing, visualise campaign spending, and monitor the misuse of public resources during election campaigns. Held at Strathmore University, the hackathon convened students, developers, and civic tech enthusiasts to tackle one of Kenya’s most pressing governance challenges: opaque, unregulated campaign financing. The event comes amid growing concern over the influence of opaque political financing in Kenya’s elections and ahead of preparations for the 2027 General Elections. Over the…

17Mar 2026 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Standard Chartered invests KES 22.5m on Women in Tech

Women in Tech

17th March 2026, Nairobi, Kenya – The Standard Chartered Foundation, in partnership with @iBizAfrica – Strathmore University and Village Capital, today officially launched Cohort 9 of the Women in Tech Kenya programme under the theme “Inspire Impact.” Now in its ninth cohort, the Women in Tech programme continues to support women-led, tech-enabled startups by providing structured business training, mentorship, access to networks, and catalytic funding opportunities. The programme is designed to help earlystage entrepreneurs strengthen their business models, scale their ventures, and create meaningful economic and social impact. The launch marks the opening of applications for Women in Tech Kenya Cohort 9, inviting women-led, tech-enabled startups from across Kenya to apply. Selected entrepreneurs will participate in an intensive accelerator programme that equips founders with the skills and support needed to…

24Feb 2026 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Do I Need Data Science in My Career? Yes, Here’s Why!

Data Science

Not too long ago, a young professional sat staring at their phone. They had just ordered food online, checked their bank balance, liked a post on Instagram, and replied to an email. What they didn’t realize was that, in just five minutes, they had created data. Lots of it. Hidden behind the scenes, data was quietly being collected, cleaned, and analyzed, all for one purpose. To help systems make decisions in real time, such as: What food should be recommended next? Was that bank transaction suspicious? What kind of content should appear on their Instagram feed? That invisible work happening quietly in the background is what we call data science. So… What Is Data Science, Really? Data science is simply the art of using data to understand what is happening, why it…

05Feb 2026 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

@iLabAfrica Hosts Pre-Mission Connect 2026 to Advance CIO Leadership and Global Digital Partnerships

CIO Leadership Programme

Last Friday, @iLabAfrica, Strathmore University convened CIOs, policymakers, and technology leaders at Trademark Hotel, Village Market, Nairobi, for Pre-Mission Connect 2026, a strategic forum designed to explore leadership challenges and opportunities in a rapidly evolving digital economy. At the heart of the event was a focus on the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Leadership Programme — an initiative by @iLabAfrica aimed at equipping current and future CIOs with the strategic, governance, and execution skills needed to lead digital transformation in organisations across sectors. Pre-Mission Connect 2026 brought together leaders to reflect on how cross-border digital partnerships, notably between Thailand and Kenya, can inform and elevate CIO practice, contributing to national competitiveness, organisational resilience, and sustainable digital ecosystems. Partnerships, Leadership, and Strategic Dialogue The forum opened with remarks by Miss Piyaporn Putanapan,…

19Nov 2025 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Day 2: Elevating Africa’s AI Future Through Collaboration, Innovation & Talent

4th GDSAI Summit, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science

Day 2 of the 4th Global Data Science & Artificial Intelligence (GDSAI) Summit 2025, hosted by @iLabAfrica, Strathmore University, concluded with powerful conversations, cutting-edge demonstrations, and a renewed call for collaboration to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation. Building on the momentum of Day 1, the final day brought together policymakers, technologists, researchers, entrepreneurs, youth innovators and industry leaders to explore practical pathways for deploying safe, scalable, and sustainable AI across the continent. Youth Talent Forum: Empowering Africa’s Next Generation of AI Pioneers One of the day's most anticipated sessions was the Youth Talent Forum, showcasing young African innovators developing AI solutions grounded in local context and built for real-world impact. Speakers included: Caroline Gakii – Developer of an AI-powered digital telepathology microscope Wallace Milei, CEO, Keja AI Mark Mwoche, Founder &…

19Nov 2025 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

The Global Data Science & AI Summit 2025: Charting the Future of Human-Centered Innovation

4th GDSAI Summit, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science

The 4th Global Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (GDSAI) Summit, hosted by @iLabAfrica, Strathmore University, opened its doors today to an audience of industry leaders, academics, policymakers, and innovators from across the world — united by one vision: Unlocking the Power of Big Data and AI to Shape the Future through Innovation. From the opening remarks to the final keynote, Day 1 of #GDSAI2025 was a powerful blend of intellect, imagination, and inspiration. Conversations centered on the rapid rise of AI, its transformative potential across sectors, and the growing need for ethical, inclusive, and responsible data ecosystems. Highlights from the Day A Journey from Data to Intelligence In his welcoming address, Dr. Sevilla, @iLabafrica Director - Strathmore University, reflected on the evolution of analytics to artificial intelligence: “We have always…

08Oct 2025 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Kenyan Students Lead the Way in Green Innovation at the 2025 Green Tech Hackathon

Artificial Intelligence, Executive Education, Hackathon, Research & Innovation

Strathmore University’s @iLabAfrica in partnership with Oracle academy successfully concluded the Green Tech Hackathon 2025, a national innovation challenge that brought together student developers, environmentalists and entrepreneurs to create technology-driven solutions addressing the urgent challenges of climate change. Held at Strathmore University, the hackathon provided a platform for student innovators from universities and TVET institutions across Kenya to design practical, data-driven and scalable technologies promoting environmental sustainability and resilience. The Green Tech Hackathon aimed to advance Kenya’s green economy by fostering innovation in climate action, sustainable energy, circular waste systems, eco-transport and climate-smart agriculture. Through mentorship sessions and expert-led workshops, participants learned how to transform ideas into actionable, impactful projects that address both local and global sustainability challenges. According to global studies, hackathons are increasingly effective incubators for long-term innovation.…

22Sep 2025 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Design and Evaluation of Privacy-Preserving Protocols for Agent-Facilitated Mobile Money Services in Kenya

Cybersecurity

In Kenya, mobile money (MoMo) has changed lives but it comes with a cost: every time you deposit or withdraw, a local agent must see your ID and phone number, risking your privacy. This paper rolls out new protocols that shift sensitive data away from agents and straight to the MoMo provider. Think biometrics, one-time codes, and smarter verification even when someone else (a proxy) handles the cash for you. From talking to both users and agents, people love the idea of....Read More

31Jul 2025 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

GenAI’s Role in the New Wave of Banking and Financial Services

Artificial Intelligence, Data Science

Arficial intelligence is not new – it has been a topic of research since the 1950s and has been deployed in financial services since the 1980s. But conventional AI (so called, “Predicve AI”), while powerful, is expensive and complex to deploy. As a result, it has been used in a limited number of areas in the financial services sector, such as real-time trading or estimation of loan default risk. In 2022, a new generation of AI came to public view in the form of ChatGPT. Unlike the earlier predictive AI, these “Generative AI” systems can be used directly to solve problems, without training or the need for data scientists. Generative AI can be thought of as a general tool that can be applied in a huge number of ways and…

09Jul 2025 by @iLabAfrica No Comments

Strathmore University and African Telecommunications Union Sign MoU to Grow Digital Talent and Shape Internet Policy

Press Release, Research & Innovation

Nairobi, 1st July 2025: The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) and @iLabAfrica-Strathmore University have entered a renewable two-year Memorandum of Understanding that places the University’s Research & Innovation Centre as a strategic academic partner in ATU’s continent-wide drive for advanced digital skills, innovation, and evidence-led policy research. The pact provides both institutions with a clear runway to convert shared ambitions into measurable outcomes. Under the MoU, @iLabAfrica will forge a long-term strategic alliance dedicated to research, capacity-building, and the sustainable growth of ICT and innovation ecosystems across Africa. Central to this collaboration is a joint study aimed at strengthening the continent’s influence in global internet-public-policy forums and producing a harmonised framework for internet governance. The University will contribute expert faculty and academic staff to co-deliver provisions of the MoU. In turn,…

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