About Lanfrica
Our Vision
Imagine a world where Africans are not merely consumers but architects of the digital technologies that affect them. Lanfrica Labs is dedicated to making that world a reality.
Digital Representation
a world where African efforts are connected and better understood;
Technology Representation
a world where technologies, including AI, understand and better serve African contexts;
Empower Communities
Enabling communities to take charge and play an active role in shaping the technologies that affect them.
The Context
Our digital world is a rich tapestry of ideas, languages, cultures, and knowledge. However, our access to and understanding of these resources is skewed; some gain significant visibility, while others remain under-represented, and obscure, even when available.
Our understanding is largely defined by what's findable. In today's fast-paced digital age, online discoverability is essential: if information cannot be found, it is often perceived as nonexistent and consequently under-utilized.
The Problem
For too long, the African AI ecosystem has been plagued by a major problem - one more insidious than the perceived lack of AI training datasets and computing infrastructure on the continent: the growing African AI ecosystem is unmapped. This creates two major problems that bottleneck AI innovation on the African continent, for African people, and for African problems.
For AI developers, researchers, and beyond, this creates a problem of discoverability. It is a long and painful experience looking for African datasets because many creation efforts are siloed, fragmented, and dispersed in obscure locations.
For policymakers, government officials, and decision-makers, this lack of mapping creates a fundamental lack of clarity about:
- Critical gaps in AI development: what vital tools, datasets, applications are available and missing in different sectors?
- The actual impact of AI on African communities: are AI solutions addressing Africa's most pressing challenges in healthcare, agriculture, education, and governance?
- Emerging risks and challenges unique to African contexts: what African-centric risks of AI exist on the continent?
Without a cohesive mapping, efforts are fragmented & obscure, innovation is siloed, often duplicated, stakeholders lack the whole picture, and African voices continue to be marginalized in global AI development.
Lanfrica's Mission
Our goal at Lanfrica Labs is to map the landscape and trajectory of the growing African AI ecosystem. We aim to:
Make it trivial to discover, find and use African resources
Provide holistic insights on the African AI ecosystem
How we are Creating Change
Connecting all under-represented, obscure, scattered African resources.
Open access platform to discover and utilize African resources.
Providing a trusted reference that brings evidence-based insights into Africa's digital & technology landscape.