Harambee

Life on our planet is facing unprecedented challenges, ranging from climate emergencies to extreme inequality. These problems are accelerating, affecting our continents in the Global South the hardest. We all seek access to solutions to respond faster to our social challenges. 

Automated systems such as drones & AI provide the speed and scale needed to tackle these challenges. They generate high-quality data to speed up relief efforts after devastating floods, allow innovative malaria reduction efforts and help farmers claim their land rights. But today, such projects in Africa are largely led by technologists from the Global North. 

We want to change this by creating a local workforce in East Africa that can use drones, data and AI to tackle our social challenges, locally. Together, we will be able to find better and more data-driven solutions to our problems all the while creating new jobs and supporting entrepreneurship.

We are facing unprecedented challenges ranging from climate emergencies to extreme inequality. These problems are accelerating, affecting the Global South the hardest. 

 
Autonomous systems such as drones, coupled with Artificial Intelligence provide the speed and scale needed to tackle these challenges. They allow us to generate high-quality data to support data-driven decision making for relief efforts after devastating floods to improve urban planning, impacting millions of lives in our fast-growing urban centers. They allow for better farming-practices and higher-value tasks for the tens of millions of small-holder farmers of Eastern Africa all the while inspiring youth with digital skills to address local challenges with the help of technology. These are just two of hundreds of opportunities that we can address with the help of drones and AI. 
 
But today, the few robotics projects in Africa are largely led by technologists from the Global North. What is missing? A local workforce that has access to the most fitting technologies and skills to address the challenges they face where they live. This allows for new technologies to become part of workflows and solutions, all the while creating high-value jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities locally. 

With our solution, we are targeting all skill levels, from professionals to youth.

To build technical skills at a professional level and help introduce drones, data and AI for existing workflows and processes, we directly work with professionals, decision-makers and communities affected by social challenges. They are also the ones implementing the solutions. More particularly:

• Decision-makers and staff of government entities at local, regional and national levels (for example local community leaders, regional land management councils, ministry of agriculture, national park authorities)
• People living in communities affected by decisions
• Local nonprofits and NGOs supporting communities in their solutions

We engage with them through Co-Creation Workshops and Community Engagement Workshops to define needs and possible solutions together and define priorities for actions and implementations.

To motivate youth to pursue careers in STEM and build first technical drone & data skills, we work with following actors:

• Universities and technical schools
• High schools and primary schools 

We engage with them through specific training and youth programs fitting their level of education and learning objectives.

To build automation skills in a sustainable way in East Africa, we address a wide target group with the following dedicated programs fitting their needs and skills:

Capacity building and re-skilling for professionals: 

"Drone & Data" classes and "Data & AI classes" to introduce automation tools to their existing workflows. Classes last 1 week each and are targeted at their sector-needs, like for example urban planning, conservation, health, etc.

Capacity building at higher education level:

"Drone & Data Bootcamps" for young engineers and university students from different disciplines (IT, Geography, Environmental). Bootcamps last 2 weeks and will close the gap between the theoretical content which is provided in their classes and having an actual application of their disciplines. This will allow to bring the positive impact of their knowledge to their community as whole and help this future workforce to be able to work with automation tools to tackle their social and economic challenges.

Entrepreneurship program: this program takes aspiring drone & data professionals and walks them through the entire process of creating a business plan and strategy to set up their own "Drones/Data as a Service" company. This program has already been successfully implemented in Tanzania in 2018 with the support of WeRobotics.

Introduction to STEM for youth:

• "STEAMBOTS" for primary schools: with this already successfully tested and implemented program, we use art and simple science experiments to engage children in a participatory theme like 'marine habitats' followed by how a Marine Biologist would go about using drones to aid their work. STEAMBOTS is designed as an after-school or weekend program for children and their parents or teachers 
• "Map my School" for secondary schools: with this already successfully tested and implemented program, we engage an entire school through a short education session about drones, followed by a live-demo during which a drone maps the school ground. The data is rapidly processed on-site and we display the map on a screen. What follows is a short interactive session to identify various features of interest to spark interest in data analysis (http://bit.ly/2OU9sI3)

Being part of WeRobotics' Flying Labs network, we have access to readily available drones, data processing/analysis software and AI platforms. We are also supported with validated and tested training programs by WeRobotics and the 25 other Flying Labs that are part of our network.

Innovation in approach

Our solution focuses on empowering local people with the know-how and skills necessary to make data-driven decisions in their own communities. Too often drone operators and analysts have been individuals from the Global North who neither understand local contexts nor speak local languages. This has the combined effect of hiring expensive expatriates, denying local communities a knowledge-base, denying local people economic opportunities, and denying locals a voice which would result in buy-in and optimal solutions to their problems.

Our innovation is to co-create and incubate new Flying Labs in the region with the multiplier effect they will do the same until every community up to the village level has the ability to acquire and analyze their own data.

Innovation in application

We innovate new ways of applying drone technologies to our local needs and challenges. For example using drones to spray rice fields in Zanzibar to eliminate malaria.

With each training and pilot project, we push the barriers of application of drones and AI, and share our experiences both in our country as well as internationally through the Flying Labs network.

First of all, because we are not alone. We can count on colleagues in 25+ countries in the Global South, as close as Kenya and Uganda and as far as Panama and Japan. We are also an integral part of a network and are supported by WeRobotics to get access to the most fitting technology solutions, best workflows, sector-expertise and proven training curricula. 

Second, because we are convinced that we are best placed to build capacity for drones and AI in our country and region as we are immersed in the challenges and live them on a daily basis. We know firsthand what challenges needs to be addressed and the stakeholders involved. We share the same culture and speak the same language as the workforce we are creating. 

Third, because we have tested our approach over the last 2 years, learning about most adapted training curricula and best ways to engage with local stakeholders. We have trained over 50 professionals through courses and pilot projects and have engaged with more than 1000 youth through 2 specific programs. And we keep on learning through the experiences we share with our colleagues of the Flying Labs network. 

Watch our Theory of Change video here: https://youtu.be/Qht12M4DvIw

Today:

In the last 2 years and to a high-degree self-funding, we have:

• built capacity for drones, data and automated analysis through AI for more than 50 professionals through dedicated training courses.
• supported more than 200 stakeholders (government officials, decision-makers in business and non-profit environments and community members) to enhance their data literacy and created first drones and data capacity
• introduced more than 1000 children (primary and secondary school level) to drones and data and motivated them to pursue careers in STEM

In the coming 12 months, we plan to:

• Build drone, data and AI capacity for 50 - 200 professionals
• Enhance data literacy and first drone & data capacity for 50 - 200 local stakeholders
• Introduce 1000 - 2’000 children (primary and secondary school level) to drones and data and motivated them to pursue careers in STEM

Numbers depend on funding available (minimal numbers will be achieved through self-funding of activities)

Over the next 5 years, we want to:

• Train between 250 and 1’000 professionals
• Enhance data literacy for 500 - 2’000 stakeholders
• Introduce 1’000 to 5’000 children to drones and data and motivate them to pursue careers in STEM
• Support our Flying Labs colleagues in Uganda, Kenya and Malawi with our specific training curricula in order for them to increase their capacity building impact
• Motivate 10 other countries in Africa to build up Flying Labs to build capacity in their countries

The numbers given in the previous section only reflect the people who have been/will be impacted directly by our capacity building efforts. Our overall impact is actually much larger:

• Multiplying factor: From experience, each person trained will share their positive experience with anything from 1 to 10 other people, sparking their interest in digital technologies and motivating them to learn more

• Building confidence: Being local and sharing our stories on how we became local experts and leaders encourages youth to follow in our footsteps and gives them the necessary confidence that they can do so

• Sharing experiences: Through each training session, we gain more experience that we can share with our colleagues in 25+ countries and help build best practices, guidelines and programs for them to follow

• Network effect: we have already supported the co-creation of 3 Flying Labs in our region over the last 2 years. Through our activities and contacts we make, we will be able to keep on growing the Flying Labs network in Africa

• Transfer to other technologies and sectors: our approach on building local capacity for drones, data and AI can be transferred easily to other emerging technologies. And we keep on adding new technology and sector skills as we advance 

The most important initial barrier is access to fitting technologies and expert knowledge for us, the local leaders. This issue has been solved by WeRobotics and by being part of the Flying Labs network.

One of the main barriers for drone technology today are regulations. Our continuous efforts and close collaboration with the Civil Aviation Authorities in Tanzania over the last 2 years as well as with regulators and stakeholders in neighboring countries have allowed us to mitigate this risk and proactively tackle this barrier.

Today and in the near future, our main barrier is financial. As with other new and disrupting technologies, investments in capacity building for emerging technologies is not the priority of stakeholders in our country and regions. However, these technologies allow not only to bring new solutions to rising challenges but also create economic value.

While organizations, companies, governments and academia are and will keep on paying for specific training courses, such training efforts will only reach a minimal number of people. In order to reach the wider public and be able to offer courses at an affordable price, capacity building needs to be subsidized by external financial investments.

• Access (to fitting technologies, expertise and opportunities): Solved by being part of the Flying Labs network

• Regulations: proactively addressed by continuous outreach and collaboration with the various actors (Civil Aviation Authorities, government offices, influential organizations such as the World Economic Forum)

• Financing: we can guarantee our self-sustainability and a minimal activity level of capacity building by holding training courses and supporting pilot projects paid by the end beneficiaries (individuals, NGOs, for-profit companies, government offices). And we are actively fundraising (like through this challenge) to obtain the additional funding needed to impact a large number of people and build capacity for thousands of professionals and children in our country and throughout the East African region

N/A

Our solution is essentially the front-line for technology transfer from those ServiceNow primary markets. Our activities result in technology acceptance and a ready-made market which knows how to use it. Furthermore, our solution contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals which help governments, NGOs, and foundations in those markets adopt similar methodologies in data-literate societies. 

Full-time staff: 3

Part-time staff: 1

Contractors/Affiliates: 10+

Technical aptitude

We have certified Drone Pilots and Geospatial Scientists capable of operating multiple platforms and software applications. 

Pedagogical skills

Our team are some of the best trainers in the region when it comes to drone technology and drone data analysis. We have/are been asked to train participants from Lesotho all the way to the Ivory Coast.

Political credibility

Our team members have a positive reputation in Tanzania as genuine community-first people. This means everything when one wants to deliver such solutions in our region.

We are partnered with the WeRobotics organization. We document our use-cases, training courses, community engagements, and other activities to add to the knowledge-base on how or how not to conduct such activities in our region. In turn WeRobotics provides expertise in drones and AI plus access to the Flying Labs network numbering 25+ similar organizations around the world.

Value proposition:
Our value proposition is built on the 4 following key elements to allow our capacity building efforts to become sustainable:
Build local skills: through specific training programs adapted to various levels of knowledge and needs (from expert level drone, data and AI skills to introduction to drones & data literacy for youth)
Increase local impact: create use cases and best practices through pilot and research projects in collaboration with local and international organisations
Catalyze local business: support sustainability and application of newly acquired skills by organizing entrepreneurship programs and supporting local organizations with equipment and consulting services
Facilitate local ecosystem: convene stakeholders by organizing co-creation workshops, knowledge sharing events, demos, etc.

Key customers
Donors. Mostly foreign foundations
Academia. Mostly foreign academic institutions
WeRobotics
Organizations. Mostly NGOs and research centers
Training course participants

Beneficiaries
Local communities. This includes government and marginalized communities.
Individuals who wish to build their digital literacy in relation to autonomous systems such as drones as well as data and AI
Organizations (NGOs and others) who wish to include autonomous systems such as drones, as well as geospatial data and AI into their workflows and up/re-skill their staff
Academia who wish to introduce digital skills into their curricula

Key activities
Build up/adapt training curricula and organize training courses for various segments and specific sector-oriented needs
Support pilot and research projects with expertise
Facilitate local ecosystem
Share knowledge widely through events, blog posts, use cases, etc.

Current status

Donors and grants - 50%
Projects - 25%
Training - 10%
Consulting - 15%

Future status

Donors and grants  - 25%
Projects - 35%
Training - 25%
Consulting - 15%

Our services follow the ‘Employment’ Business Model in that we train professionals and others to operate drones and analyze drone data. We collaborate with them in new projects or pass them work from some of our clients all the while renting them equipment when necessary and providing remote support.

MIT Solve is already aware of our skill-building efforts and the context in which we operate in East Africa. Ultimately, we want to influence policy towards data-driven decision making and ServiceNow can provide the mentorship and support to help us reach our goals. Overcoming barriers such as progressive drone regulations will include non-financial support in organizing:

• policy dialogue conferences
• symposiums
• co-creation workshops

 Finally, our core staff require periodic training on the cutting edge technology and techniques in robotics and AI tools.

We operate in a very specialized niche in our region. The type of organizations we partner with are those which understand the value near-ground aerial imagery and data products from GIS and AI tools. We work or would like to work with:

• WeRobotics
• Hewlett Foundation
• World Bank Group
• GFDDR
• Humanitarian Open Street Map Team