Category: Research & Innovation

The Innovation Challenge winners pose with the ATU partners. The 4th edition of the ATU Africa Innovation Challenge came to a close on Friday, April 11, 2025, at Strathmore University in Nairobi, with an inspiring awards ceremony honoring ten exceptional young innovators from Tanzania, Nigeria, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Kenya. Hosted by the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), the event drew high-level leaders from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), and lead sponsor Huawei Technologies. The ceremony marked the grand finale of a rigorous program designed to empower Africa’s brightest minds in technology and innovation. The winning innovators were selected from a continent-wide pool and awarded an all-expenses-paid AI training program at Strathmore’s @iLabAfrica, one of the region’s premier ICT innovation hubs. The intensive course, led by…

@iLabAfrica, Huawei, and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) have joined forces in a historic collaboration to deliver a week-long intensive training programme for the 10 finalists of the 4th edition of the Africa Innovation Challenge. This flagship initiative, co-facilitated by Huawei and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), underscores a shared commitment to nurturing young African talent and fostering homegrown innovation. Launched in 2020, the Africa Innovation Challenge is an annual competition designed to identify and support young innovators and institutions developing solutions to pressing challenges on the continent. The 4th edition of the Challenge focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), spotlighting groundbreaking ideas from innovators under age 35 who are leveraging AI to transform their communities and sectors. The initiative continues to serve as a platform to empower youth, promote digital…

Left to Right: Dr. Joseph Sevilla, Director of @iLabAfrica with Brian Omwenga, Team Lead at THiNK  In a significant step toward strengthening bilateral ties and promoting ICT for Development (ICT4D), Tech Innovators Network Tank (THiNK) and @iLabAfrica signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 19, 2025. The agreement establishes a foundation for collaboration to drive innovation and technological advancement. It combines expertise in IT, research, and entrepreneurship to empower communities and address challenges in emerging technologies, talent development, and knowledge creation. This partnership will focus on crafting strategic projects and developing products that harness emerging technologies to deliver impactful results. By leveraging the vast network and deep industry insights, this collaboration aims to equip individuals and businesses with the tools needed to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape. "Strathmore…

@iLabAfrica at Strathmore University celebrated a significant milestone by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Save the Children International, Kenya, on Tuesday, May 21st, 2024. This collaboration is set to leverage @iLabAfrica's expertise in data analysis and processing to assist Save the Children in comprehensively understanding infant mortality trends based on data collected from over 210 countries. In his remarks, Mr. Ahmed Osman, Acting Director at Save the Children, highlighted the alignment between @iLabAfrica and Save the Children's initiatives focused on care and development. This acknowledgment underscored the significance of the MoU signing as a foundation for further collaboration on projects related to digital child protection, education for underprivileged children from the basic level upwards, and reducing child mortality. While addressing the importance of child protection and advocacy, Mr.…

Do universities stand at the nexus of research and innovation? Yes, they do. Not only do these institutions draw curious minds, but they also offer a platform for fostering entrepreneurial skills and innovation. However, they also face the challenge of connecting students with employment opportunities in a job market that can be quite limited, both formally and informally. Consider these staggering numbers: every year, around 10–12 million young Africans enter the job market, but there are only 3 million formal job positions available as per recent data. Additionally, the International Labor Organization reported that in 2020, youth unemployment rates in Africa were at 10.7%, higher than the global average of 13.6%. To bridge this gap, university-industry partnerships have emerged as crucial connectors, with statistics from 2022 revealing that 46.8% of universities globally have established links with…