How Open Source is Powering the Future of African NLP
Open source isn’t just about free software; it’s a movement built on sharing, openness, and collaboration. Across Africa, people are coming together to build language technology that includes everyone. In African Natural Language Processing (NLP), open-source projects are the driving force behind this movement. They’ve already helped bring over 2,000 local languages online. This work […]
The Fundamentals of AI Research Writing Workshop
Lanfrica is happy to support LyngualLabs in the creation of a much-needed, hands‑on workshop dedicated to improving the writing skills of (AI) researchers in the Global South. Motivation Research writing is the bridge for transforming our ideas into impact. In the competitive, fast-paced space of AI, many of the ideas of researchers from the Global […]
Will AI Make Farming in Africa More Sustainable or More Complex?
Agriculture has always been a vital part of Africa’s economy, supporting the livelihoods of millions of people. However, the sector is facing tough challenges due to climate change, limited resources, and problems with food security. This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in—a promising technology that could significantly change farming across the continent. AI can […]
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2024: Transforming Lives & Industries In Africa.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just a trendy buzzword anymore; it’s starting to really change our world in some big ways. In Africa, a continent full of diversity and potential, AI is making waves in areas like farming, healthcare, governance, and economic growth. But just like any new tech, there are both benefits and challenges to […]
Lanfrica Shines at MozFest Zambia 2024 — NaijaVoices Wins Data Futures Showcase
Lusaka, Zambia — 20 November 2024 — Lanfrica proudly announces that its flagship community project NaijaVoices was crowned winner of the Data Futures Showcase at Mozilla Festival (MozFest) Zambia 2024, a gathering that celebrates African innovators who are “flipping the script” on data ownership and cultural preservation. Spotlight on the Data Futures Showcase MozFest’s Data Futures Showcase highlights builders around […]
Mapping Nigeria’s Digital Language Landscape: Community Sprint
First things to do: Background: Web Languages Project Welcome! This is a crowd-sourced effort to improve crawling of low-resource languages. This dataset is public. Common Crawl recognizes a lot of languages, and we can see that we don’t have enough of languages. We are interested in languages from all over the world. If you choose […]
AI and NLP Driving the Future of Healthcare Innovation in Africa
Africa’s healthcare is entering a transformative era powered by AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP). These technologies are reshaping medical care, from diagnosis and research to patient management, with applications that are tailored to the continent’s unique needs.
Why Linguistic Collaboration Is Important In Advancing NLP Tools in Africa
Understanding a language and how its native speakers speak it requires more than just knowing the words and their meanings. It involves understanding the context, nuances, and cultural aspects that give the language its depth. When we want a machine to “speak” or “understand” a language, it needs to appreciate the elements of phonology, morphology, […]
Improving Discoverability and Impact of African Resources
Technology has come a long way, and amazing inventions are coming up every day. Today, people have virtual assistants on their phones and can ask them whatever they want. Your car’s navigation system can provide you with a set of instructions to guide your way. But what if these solutions were in a language you […]
[Remote] Opportunities at Lanfrica Labs
Lanfrica Labs, with the support of The Masakhane Research Foundation, and FAIR Forward, an initiative of the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), is announcing three open positions. The internet today is made up of a rich, diverse tapestry of ideas, cultures, perspectives, opinions, and resources. Leveraging popular search engines, people access these ideas and perspectives through […]