A digital makeover for South Africa’s cricket ecosystem could be in the works, leveraging artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to increase the popularity of the sport among fans while creating new revenue streams for fans, players and brands.

Results of a pilot collaboration between LootMogul, an Indian sports technology company, Cricket South Africa and the Durban Super Giants have revealed an increase in fan engagement with cricket gaming platforms, pointing to the potential impact digitisation could yield for the sport.

According to Vibhu Srivastava, the digital marketing head at LootMogul, “it indicates the significant potential for future business opportunities.”

Results from the month-long pilot were unveiled on February 23 by LootMogul.

After deploying an AI, blockchain and metaverse-led strategy, an average of 4.05 million platform visits were recorded in one month. These translate to 48,177 average new monthly games played and a 242.5% rise in the number of games played per month.

The collaboration sought to bridge the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds of cricket, offering a holistic and immersive experience to fans.

Notably, the partnership with the duo involves creating digital twins of South African stadiums, players, and all features of the sport. The digital maps are packaged as games on websites and applications, allowing fans to experience a virtual yet realistic experience of being in the heart of cricket action.

According to LootMogul, the interactive gaming platform feature facilitates fans’ engagement with the sport beyond live matches, creating a year-round connection with the sport.

Cricket South Africa and LootMogul announced the partnership on December 5, while the deal with the Durban Super Giants was announced in January when LootMogul was unveiled as the official Cricket Metaverse Gaming Partner.

South Africa has been a major force in the world of cricket ever since the first visit by a touring British test side, in 1888. Targeted with sanctions during the country’s Apartheid era, cricket took off after 1994 as a sport for all South Africans and the country currently stands at number five in the world test rankings and number three in the one-day international (ODI) rankings.

However, domestically, the sport languishes behind others like football and rugby as a spectator sport and Cricket South Africa is looking to improve the sport’s fanbase.

The digitisation drive, anchored on technology and the use of AI, promises to strike a connection between fans and the sport, leading to an increased appeal for the sport among the fans.

The opportunity for fan growth in South Africa is clear from the global rise in the sport’s popularity, with cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles underscoring an expanding global influence. 

“This is a leap into the future of cricket. It is not just about enhancing the game; it is about revolutionising the fan experience,” SA Cricket’s Chief Executive Officer, Pholetsi Moseki, remarked in December during the rollout of the programme.

The use of AI in cricket is the latest addition in Africa to what has been a growing application of AI in sports, from player analytics to statistics assessment to game management.

The successful initial application of AI in cricket in South Africa also points to the potential in other countries on the continent where cricket is a major sport, such as Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya.

After winding up from an intense Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, Big Cabal Media (BCM), the parent company of TechCabal, hosted Moonshot Conversations, a mini-series of its flagship Moonshot by TechCabal conference in Nairobi, Kenya. 

The first-ever physical Moonshot Conversations, held in Nairobi, explored the state of artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa and the continent’s potential for AI solutions but acknowledged challenges, such as limited expertise and data scarcity in training AI. 

The event brought together media personalities, founders, policymakers, and technology lovers in Kenya and East Africa. The panel explored innovative ideas in AI and tech policy in Africa and was moderated by Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of BCM. Panellists included Nanjira Sambuli, a policy analyst and strategist, alongside Irene Mwendwa, executive director at Pollicy, and John Kamara, founder and CEO of Adanian Labs. 

Kicking off the discussion, Aladekomo asked, “What is the current state of AI in Africa?” To answer this, Sambuli said that innovation in Africa’s tech industry had evolved from mobile to AI and data contribution from smartphone users, “We have to figure out whether we’re talking about this as if it’s a brand new thing, or if it’s coming in as a continuum because then that helps us contextualise in one regard. In a sense, anybody who has a smartphone is innovating for AI because we are feeding data to what is coming to the end of things. We are seeing that evolve into innovation.”

Mwendwa and Kamara highlighted the complex innovation landscape and challenges surrounding AI in Africa. The panellists rallied for progress beyond the current focus on financial solutions in the tech industry. They also pushed for diverse offerings from all players for a more inclusive and representative ecosystem.

Still, AI innovation in Africa faces several hurdles. The extra focus on generative AI without proper assessment of resources and data creates limitations. Besides the political complexities surrounding digital health and AI, the lack of inclusivity in conversations and decision-making poses significant challenges. Kamara noted by saying, “We talk about AI and innovation. And it sounds like technology is where it’s at. But ultimately, everything ends up being one political, and then human. And so you got to pull things back there. But, again, because I’d love for this to be more solution-oriented.”

To this point, it was clear that while Africa embraces AI, challenges remain. Limited local expertise, scarce data, and ethical concerns create roadblocks. More reliable infrastructure and clear regulations further hinder progress. However, Africa’s unique challenges present an opportunity to leapfrog other regions by developing customised AI solutions for pressing issues like agriculture, healthcare, and education.

The session also acknowledged the inadequate infrastructure and public investment in science and technology which hinders progress. Robust regulation and policy frameworks tailored to the African context are essential for responsible and ethical AI adoption. Per Mwendwa, “There should be some national infrastructure. And the history of tech shows us that public investment has been a big determinant of any takeoff.”

Despite the challenges, opportunities abound. Africa has the potential to become a leader in public interest technologies, particularly AI, by establishing strong public procurement mechanisms. Empowering women in the field and bridging the gender gap in tech is crucial for inclusive development.

Moonshot Conversations aims to be more pan-African as it seeks to drive key dialogue around innovation and provide solutions to existing technology-based challenges. You can watch a round-up of the event here.

Though the leaders acknowledged that the rapidly growing technology “can stimulate economic growth” on the continent, they still made a case for regulation as part of a Continental Strategy.

While the conversation on AI regulation in Africa—like the rest of the world—is expected, a new study by Qubit Hub, an African-based AI research, innovation, and development lab, argues that focusing on building a strong foundation is crucial before introducing policies. The study claims policymakers should prioritize improving the state of the AI ecosystem. Countries like Mauritius and Egypt have dedicated national strategies on AI.

“Policy initiatives should be geared towards expanding computing facilities and internet connectivity, funding data centres, advancing the capabilities of Africa’s talent, and instituting policies that ameliorate data sets constraints,” the report argues.

Using a ‘four horsemen’ operational system framework, the report analyzed the crucial components of the AI ecosystem: data sets and data systems, digital infrastructure, talent, and markets. 

At the foundation of any AI model is data. But Africa grapples with limited online data sets, according to the report. These limitations not only result in biased AI systems but also hinder the development of AI products for the African market since AI systems perform best when trained on data that is representative of the target user. While the report notes that there have been efforts to collect indigenous African data, it argues that there needs to be careful thinking about how this data is collected, handled, and stored to safeguard its authenticity.

AI models need data infrastructure to work, but Africa doesn’t have enough. According to the Data Center Map, Africa has 95 data centers out of 5,065 globally. Of the top 500 most powerful commercially available computer systems known to us, only one is located in Africa – in Morocco. The report makes a case for more investment in data infrastructure on the continent, noting existing efforts to bridge the gap: Africa Data Centre’s $500 million investment that will create ten hyperscale data centres sprout across 10 African countries within the next two years.

As AI adoption continues to grow on the continent, with AI-focused startups springing up, talent is needed to advance the design and development of solutions specific to Africa. The talent value chain in Africa is at the bottom of the heap, and though this has the potential for mass job creation, it poses unique challenges that may call for a rethink of African labour laws. One of the major issues to come out of Africa, and Kenya in particular, was the horrible working conditions that people hired to moderate the OpenAI platform and train its AI models, were subjected to.

The report also argues that for artificial intelligence to be properly maximized in the African market, there has to be more awareness of the benefits of the technology and its use cases should reflect the African realities. AI-focused solutions should address real-world challenges such as rural development, low literacy levels, and financial inclusion, among others. More importantly, efforts should be directed towards ensuring the commercial viability of these solutions. The big question is whether AI solutions can be profitable in Africa. The report proposes a two-way solution: innovation that reflects the socio-economic challenges of users and a focus on niche markets.

Floods in Nigeria and Mali. The Sahara’s descent into the Sahel. Drought in the Horn of Africa. Combined, they have caused severe loss of life, money, and property in the last three years. The drought in the Horn of Africa alone has displaced 1.5 million people and killed 13 million livestock. Zain Verjee, a former CNN correspondent, and Mathew Miguel Cullen, a Grammy award-winning director, want to change how you visualise these effects of climate change in Africa. 

The pair created Ndoto, the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) film on climate change, to depict these effects in Africa in a way that is “not like standard stereotypes”. Africa contributes only 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, seven times less than China, but faces the most risk from climate change. “It is the most important topic of our generation and an existential threat to humanity,” Verjee told TechCabal. 

The film, which took a week to complete, combines a beautiful and devastating approach to showing the dangers of climate change. Images of children and scenery from Africa depict the gravity of climate change, but in a way that deviates from stereotypes about Africa. “I wanted to capture it in a way where we had fragility, beauty, and, most importantly, humanity central to the film,” Cullen said. 

The film was made using Runway ML, an AI video creator, and an in-house tool built by Mirada Studios, the studio co-founded by Cullen and Guillermo del Toro, the director of Pacific Rim and The Shape of Water. These AI tools created thousands of images, although only a few made it to Ndoto. 

Verjee told TechCabal that AI was preferred over the traditional filmmaking method because it allows Africans to tell creative stories in an accessible way. “We can create something that can be beautiful,” she said.

With AI, Ndoto was created in minimal time and with almost no cost. “[Ndoto] felt almost like a proof of concept that you can do incredible work and overcome many challenges that typically exist with the precision of algorithms and the creativity of humans,” Verjee, who has visited more than two dozen African countries, said.

The choice to use artificial intelligence was influenced by the need to display the impact of climate change on Africa without approaching it from a doomsday angle, Verjee told TechCabal. 

Working on Ndoto is not the first time the pair has worked on a film to showcase Africa. They had earlier partnered on another film titled Unstoppable Africa, which was presented to the United Nations General Assembly and featured music from Grammy Award-winning musician, Angelique Kidjo, and Nigerian singer, Mr Eazi. 

Verjee is also working on Wanja, an AI chatbot built with data curated by The Rundown, a modern media academy cofounded by Verjee. Wanja was built using retrieval augmented generation, a technique introduced by Meta AI researchers, and can give users accurate information on Africa. Although the chatbot is not yet available for public use, tests by TechCabal show that Wanja is knowledgeable about climate, sports, and the creative industry in Africa. 

“It’s our attempt to shape Africa’s storytelling using powerful, authentic, credible, and curated datasets of expertise that we are allowing a large language model to access,” Verjee said about Wanja. 

If there is one technology that became very popular in 2023, it is generative artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots. Breakthroughs in AI have led to the tool’s use in many fields, including education and journalism. In newsrooms, these tools have been pivotal in translating articles into different languages, proofreading, and crafting headlines, to mention a few. 

However, the use of AI in reporting, whether in print or online, has not been smooth because things have gone wrong before. There have been instances where writers have published articles with factual inaccuracies.

Another case is when reporters, not understanding that their craft is built on intellectual honesty, try to pass off AI-generated content as their own. To the keen eye, it is quite easy to spot such articles.

Other issues have also come up, and they are based on professional anxiety. Is AI cheaper than hiring human reporters? Does it make sense for newsrooms to save costs by using the technology in place of seasoned reporters? 

These are serious questions, but they do not have easy answers. 

Media companies acknowledge using AI tools widely

According to this report that interviewed 105 media companies across 45 countries, over 75% of participants use AI in news gathering, production, or distribution. About a third have or are developing an institutional AI strategy.

That’s not all; newsrooms vary in their AI approaches based on size, mission, and resources. Some focus on interoperability, others take a case-by-case approach, and certain organisations aim to build AI capacity in regions with low AI literacy.

Approximately a third feel their companies are prepared for the challenges of AI adoption.

The report adds, “There are concerns that AI will exacerbate sustainability challenges facing less-resourced newsrooms which are still finding their feet, in a highly digitised world and an increasingly AI-powered industry.”

It is an approach that will be adopted widely in the coming days considering the media business is attempting to save costs while keeping productivity high.  Eric Asuma, CEO of Kenya’s business publication Kenyan Wallstreet, told TechCabal, “Looking ahead to 2024, my prediction centres on the role of artificial intelligence in the evolution of new media. I foresee a shift in which innovative use of AI will become instrumental in enhancing newsrooms, particularly in discerning and interpreting trends, especially within the financial media space. We will be unveiling an exciting initiative in Q1 2024 along these lines.”

All serious media companies need to develop an AI policy

Reporters will continue using AI in newsrooms, but its use must be managed well. Following the launch of ChatGPT and other chatbots, more newsrooms, such as the Financial Times (FT), The Atlantic, and USA Today, have developed guidelines on how AI can be used in the news business. These policies have been put in place because media companies understand the importance of AI tools and would want to preserve journalistic ethics and values.

In its AI policies, broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) says it uses it to improve user experience by responsibly managing resources, improving efficiency, and generating new content. The company also contributes to discussions about the societal impact of algorithms while fostering open discourse on the role of public service media in a data society.

The BBC says it is dedicated to responsible advancements in AI and machine learning (ML) technology. “We believe that these technologies are going to transform the way we work and interact with the BBC’s audiences—whether it is revolutionising production tools, revitalising our archive, or helping audiences find relevant and fresh content via ML recommendation engines,” BBC clarified in its AI policy.

Others such as FT are pushing for honesty. “We will be transparent, within the FT and with our readers. All newsroom experimentation will be recorded in an internal register, including, to the extent possible, the use of third-party providers who may be using the tool,” FT says.

And why is this important? Well, setting up AI usage policies in media companies for news and story creation is key to maintaining transparency, upholding journalistic standards, and addressing potential biases. It ensures responsible and ethical deployment of AI technologies in the media industry.

A quick search of something of African origin on ChatGPT or any other generative AI system gives a scant or inadequate answer. Current generative AI systems are not equipped with enough data to adequately reflect Africa’s diversity, but this provides an opportunity for Africans to digitise their rich and diverse cultures and languages, according to Nnanna Orieke, principal programme manager at Microsoft. 

Orieke made this observation at the ongoing Moonshot conference, a flagship conference by TechCabal, which has gathered players and builders in the African tech space to network, collaborate, share insights, and celebrate innovation on the continent. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives, transforming various aspects of human existence, from healthcare to finance to manufacturing. Its ability to simplify systems and enhance productivity is evident. However, AI’s application in Africa has been hampered by the lack of adequate data, resulting in biases and inaccurate representations of Africans.

Orieke notes that generative AI systems often fall short because they lack comprehensive data on African cultures. “Nobody is documenting all of our culture,” he said, highlighting the pressing need for greater representation in AI technology.

Despite the challenges, Africa is making strides in digitising its own culture. “The work is being done,” says Fatima Tambajang, head of developer relations for Africa at Nvidia. Initiatives like Indaba aim to address the data gap, providing a platform to document and preserve African languages and traditions. These efforts show promise in bringing authentic African voices to the world of AI.

But barriers such as poor electricity access, limited internet penetration, and the high costs associated with AI technology pose a challenge. In many African countries, electricity is a scarce resource. Data from the PwC show that only 58% of the continent’s population have access to electricity and two-thirds of Africa’s existing grids are considered unreliable. Asides electricity, internet quality on the continent is faint. When compared to most other world regions, fibre networks have a limited reach in Africa. Also, AI is an expensive technology to implement and maintain. The costs associated with infrastructure, software, and hardware can be prohibitive for many African communities and governments. To overcome these barriers, Tambajang is of the opinion that collaborative efforts between governments and private stakeholders are crucial. 

Since the release of ChatGPT last November and Google Bard this March, there has been no escaping the buzz around artificial intelligence and its transformative potential. But what exactly is AI? At its core, AI is a branch of computer science that aims to create machines that can mimic human intelligence. This means not only thinking like humans, but also learning, reasoning, and self-correcting. From chatbots to predictive analytics, AI technologies are reshaping the way businesses operate globally, and African startups are no exception. Beyond the hype, here are five ways AI is essential for African startups, and how it is shaping their future:

1. Boost productivity and efficiency

AI can automate many repetitive and time-consuming tasks, freeing workers to focus on more creative and strategic work. By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining processes, AI can help African businesses to significantly improve their productivity and efficiency.

2. Improve decision-making

AI can help businesses to make better decisions by analysing large amounts of data and identifying patterns that would be difficult or impossible for humans to see. AI can help African startups to make more informed decisions about their products, services, and operations by providing them with insights into customer behaviour, market trends, and other important factors.

3. Create new products and services

AI can be used to develop new products and services tailored to the needs of African consumers and businesses. For example, AI-based medical diagnostics can help improve healthcare in Africa, and AI-based agricultural solutions can help farmers to increase crop yields.

4. Access new markets

AI can help African startups to reach new markets and customers around the world. For example, AI-powered translation tools can help African businesses to market their products and services to international customers in Europe, America, and Asia.

5. Fuel job creation

As AI continues to evolve, it is projected to help create millions of new jobs in the near future. By harnessing and deploying AI-powered solutions, African startups can be at the forefront of this employment surge and position themselves as key job creators, especially in French-speaking Africa.

Top AI technologies for startups

Different AI technologies offer immense benefits to startups. Among the most sought-after AI solutions for African businesses are:

1. Machine learning

Machine learning is a type of AI that allows computers to learn without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning can be used to train AI systems to perform a variety of tasks, such as recognising objects, predicting customer behaviour, and making decisions.

2. Natural language processing

NLP is a type of AI that enables computers to understand and generate human language. NLP can be used to build AI systems that can communicate with humans in a natural way, such as chatbots and virtual assistants.

3. Computer vision

Computer vision is a type of AI that allows computers to recognize and understand objects and scenes in images and videos. Computer vision can be used to develop AI systems that can perform tasks such as image classification, object recognition, and scene segmentation.

AI in action across various sectors


AI’s adaptability is one of its core strengths. Whether in agriculture, e-commerce, fintech, or healthcare, education, insurance, African startups can use AI to address continent-specific challenges, such as using AI for precision agriculture, irrigation optimization, or crop disease prediction.

Conclusion

AI is not just the latest buzzword in the tech world; it is central to the future of African startups. As the continent faces enormous challenges and opportunities, AI is emerging as a tool for competitive advantage, promising not only growth but innovation tailored to Africa’s unique environment. It is critical for African startups to lead this AI revolution, mastering its tools and techniques to create a tech-centric, prosperous future.

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An estimated 371,000 people die yearly from misdiagnoses, and 424,000 are permanently disabled. Data suggests that CT scans are misread close to 30% of the time, while X-rays are misread 3–5% of the time. AI can help reduce these numbers drastically and save more lives. 

Obi Igbokwe, CEO of WellNewMe, a healthcare and HMO company, explains that AI could play a role in imaging. “An AI can read large amounts of those images [X-rays and MRI scans] itself and churn out recommendations to the clinician that is looking at that picture,” Igbokwe tells TechCabal.

As technology continues to reshape various industries, AI stands out as a powerful tool in healthcare, offering promising solutions to address long-standing healthcare challenges and improve patient outcomes. WellNewMe offers preventative healthcare to empower individuals to take proactive steps towards healthier lives. By incorporating AI into their systems, WellNewMe can gather comprehensive health profiles of users which include medical history, lifestyle choices, and genetic predispositions. Analysing this data would enable the startup to generate personalised recommendations—which may include dietary plans, exercise routines, and wellness strategies—for the user.

Similarly, Charles Kamotho, CEO of Nairobi-based Daktari Africa recognises that AI can add value in recognising disease patterns from pre-existing data and thus come up with predictive models of best care. This is applicable in diagnostics, e.g. X-rays, as well as in therapeutics, to establish the best medicines for particular conditions.

Kamotho explains how this comes into practical use in Africa, considering that it’s still in its early stages on the continent. He tells TechCabal that “wearables are increasingly collecting plenty of data which will contribute to improved AI use”, and despite their novelty, Daktari Africa has “shown the impact of telemedicine in managing hypertension even in rural communities”. 

While Daktari Africa and WellNewMe’s AI use depends on data gathering, it raises privacy concerns. 

“While companies we work with can view aggregated reports of their employees on the platform, they cannot view each individual’s reports, because it’s always private data. We’ve implemented security and privacy measures on [our] platform,” WellNewMe’s Igbokwe told TechCabal.

Kamotho says that Daktari operates in “compliance with the HIPAA and with the Kenyan Data Protection Act”, and that their guiding principle in how data is handled is that “all data ultimately belongs to the patient”. Igbokwe says  that WellNewMe have advisors that also advise them on [General Data Protection Regulation] GDPR as well as the HIPAA of the US “Because we are trying to make sure that our solution itself will benefit other climes as well,” he says. 

However, Victor Famubode, an AI expert, says poor quality of data poses a challenge in the use of AI in healthcare. “Most of the data in the healthcare sector is largely unstructured, which makes it a bit difficult to use. Health data can be highly fragmented, and it requires extra effort and tools to ensure these data can be transformed into high-quality datasets for validation on models,” Famubode says.

Famubode says that gathering such data could help with making predictions about certain diseases. “Because the ability to store such historical data could assist with making predictions about disease outbreaks. For example, gathering high-quality data can support startups to thoroughly identify drug targets to test towards addressing specific diseases.”  

While the quality of data might be an issue, another challenge for the use of AI in healthcare in Africa is the biases of medical data, says Ola Brown, a healthcare entrepreneur. AI bias occurs because human beings choose the data that algorithms use, and also decide how the results of those algorithms will be applied. Most of the current data on which AI algorithms are trained are obtained from Western countries and there is little or no input from Africa. 

One way to tackle this problem is to gather more data locally and use them to train more AI models. Igbokwe confirms that WellNewMe is looking inwards into rural Nigeria by building health kiosks equipped with trained locals to help gather data and onboard more people. But Famubode believes that introducing an adequate governance framework will help AI aggregate the health data of Africans such as genetic data, thereby reducing data bias. 

According to Famubode, the use of AI could improve efficiency in healthcare operations in the short term and help with faster diagnosis of diseases thereby improving the overall quality of life in the long term. 

In Africa, AI has the potential to transform healthcare for the better. Daktari Africa, which claims to be the first telemedicine platform in Kenya and the region, promises to be “a step ahead to ensure quality”.

And Lagos-based WellNewMe is setting their eyes on a continental expansion, with promises of significantly improving their existing solutions before the year ends.

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“He doesn’t look like a tech bro,” my colleague, Ngozi Chukwu, says as ‘Deji Atoyebi, PointsBud founder, sits with us for an informal product demo at our office in Lagos. Ngozi, and anyone curious to ask what we were doing, was excited about ‘Deji’s product once he explained it. I was, too.

As conversations around AI, its functionality, and unemployment fears continue to rise, ‘Deji is one of the people building artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled products that solve critical problems. In his case, he explains that his product provides embedded finance servicing in the hospitality industry.

“We just launched yesterday [August 23, 2023] at a restaurant in Lagos,” he tells me as we explore the features of the PointsBud, an AI-assisted messaging system that allows people to order products and services from different providers at breakneck speed through WhatsApp.

It took less than five minutes to order food and pay for the order from Circa Lagos, the first restaurant to get on PointsBud.  We mentioned the meal we wanted, and the AI responded within seconds, confirming the order’s availability and how much it cost before processing the order and moving to payments.

At the moment, the bot is exclusive to each restaurant. “For example, the bot I showed you,” ‘Deji emphasises, “was acting as Circa Lagos’ bot. It’s built on their menu. When we onboard enough restaurants, we will have a general PoinstBud bot where people can find restaurants and other services.”

But that’s not all.

“It’ll learn customer interests and recommend similar products in the future,” ‘Deji says, smiling coyly through the demo. Despite a slow internet connection, our order was faster than typical human response time.

But a human still has to operate the admin panel to confirm and reject orders, so that customers know the restaurant has gotten their order. In the past, the process was a human taking the order, confirming from the kitchen, and finally sorting out payments. Now, the human only does kitchen confirmation. Everything else is automated.

The ex-Flutterwave engineer (for four years) promises that his team is building an integrated system that’ll be an infrastructure for businesses to have customer data and insights; so that hospitality businesses can target customers with offers, upsell and cross-sell to them faster and better than ever. “The reason why it’s called PointsBud is to provide a way for businesses to reward their customers. With all this data, it becomes possible to know what the customer likes.”

This means you can order food, book flights and hotels without interacting directly with a human at any level of the journey.

PointBuds didn’t start as an AI-enabled system. “Initially, we started with QR codes… if you scan the QR codes, it takes you to their [a restaurant’s] menu,” but getting to onboard restaurants was difficult. On one hand, restaurant owners were difficult to find and persuade on LinkedIn. On the other hand, workers made it difficult to see their managers at the restaurant. This could be because of fears that their jobs might be at risk.

When TechCabal asked Victor Daniel, a content creator specialising in food content, how he felt about the integrated AI system, he said, “I think it’ll make the experience better in the sense that it can be faster and more efficient. And since AI improves the efficiency of everything, then yeah, I want AI.”

One of the PointBud’s features is that “you can even check and track your rider through WhatsApp.” What this efficiency means, however, is that there’s at least one person whose services are no longer needed in the customer servicing queue. Victor doesn’t seem bothered by this as long as he gets his meal faster: “that’s the way the world works. Every innovation that has ever benefited humankind including myself had to come at the expense of someone’s job. We have to deal with this. In future, it’ll probably be my turn,” he tells Tech Cabal.

However, Ama Udofa, who works in the foodtech industry, thinks “anyone who wants to replace the human touch is in for a rude shock. In the restaurant industry which is more hands on than say fintech or SAAS type industries, diners are demanding more human involvement. See how QR code menus ruined table-side ordering, for example.” 

Nonetheless, he supports some automation: “I’m all for partial automation. AI working hand in glove with humans.”

While the argument on the human experience hovers, the PointsBud founder explains that they “plan to charge a monthly subscription for the usage of some of the features, payment for marketing automation and delivery tracking.”

It’s only day one at PointsBud. One can only imagine how high and in what direction they might fly in the coming months.

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According to the 2022–2023 Africa PR and Communications report, the majority of professionals in the industry regard artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology that will revolutionise the industry over the next decade. 

Furthermore, the report states that AI is already making its presence felt in the industry and being employed for a variety of tasks, including media monitoring, analysis and reporting of negative brand sentiments and fake news.

On the back of the report’s findings, TechCabal reached out to numerous PR professionals on the continent to get their opinions on how the technology is impacting their work and what they think the future holds.

David Idagu (Africa regional consultant, Allison+Partners)

According to David, AI tools like ChatGPT already have an impact on the work he does at Allison+Partners, which includes media relations, crisis management, and business communications development.

“I see it as a way to help increase my productivity and allow me to automate some tasks that I would have spent time doing manually. This allows me more time to focus on more high-level strategic inputs for respective clients, which is really what  the clients pay for,” Idagu told TechCabal.

On the concerns that AI tools pose a threat to professions in the industry, Idagu believes that despite the convenience they come with, there is still a significant amount of human input needed when using the tools.

“These tools just help to ease your work and not necessarily do the work for you. No matter what you get from these tools as output, you still need to make your own input, make your own edits and tweak it in a way that suits your narrative or suits the objectives of what you’re trying to achieve. So there is still a lot of human input needed even when using the tools,” he added.

Victoria Crandall (founder, NoFilterPR)

Victoria, who is also CEO of Lagos-based NoFilterPR, shares that in the beginning, she was sceptical of the significant impact that tools like ChatGPT could have in her line of work. She felt that the hype of ChatGPT was exactly just that, hype.

“I felt like it was overhyped. My thinking was that this can’t really help me much in my day-to-day tasks and workflows. I will admit that I pretty much took a black-and-white point of view when it came to the relevance of AI tools in PR and communications,” she said. 

But as she learnt more about them, her views gradually changed to that of appreciation of the efficiency that can come with using the likes of ChatGPT in her processes.

“I’ve started to backpedal on the idea that AI is just hype. This has mainly been because I’ve been working with other publicists in a really fantastic PR training group that’s based in the US. Through the group, I have been able to identify ways to employ the tools to make my work much more efficient and effective,” she told TechCabal. 

On the future of AI in PR, she adds that although she now appreciates the technology, it is her opinion that it is still at a point where its hype exceeds its true capabilities. She believes that because most of the important elements of PR are based on human relations, there is still a long way to go before AI can pose a significant threat in completely replacing humans in the industry.

“If you look at what media relations is, it’s basically mastering your client’s business and industry inside and out. Reading what journalists write, and knowing the type of stories that each publication would consider. It’s also about building relationships with industry players and  I don’t see how a computer programme can do that uniquely human skill,” she concluded.

Autumn Marie (founder & CEO, KGL FWD)

KGL FWD is a Rwanda-based creative, communications, lifestyle, and tourism agency. As its founder, Autumn Marie states that some of the tools they have used are Chat GPT, TLDR, Grammarly and Brandwatch as well as Canva’s new AI tools. They are also exploring tools such as Propel, Muck Rack, and Cision for pitching and media list building.

Marie thinks that the way for the industry to efficiently leverage AI is to provide awareness of its impact on the industry and train both current and future PR professionals on the technology.

“[We need to] build ecosystems for young people who want to enter the field to receive adequate professional development and mentorship, and for us already in the field to be daring and not fearful of emerging technology, and most importantly for us to begin to build our own AI tools that speak to the most urgent needs of Africa,” she said to TechCabal.

In the future, she believes that AI will contribute towards making PR professionals more well-informed and more efficient as well as creating more PR tech career opportunities.

I think we will see a future where AI tools are used to help all but especially entry-level and mid-level staff become better writers and improve their professional skills by providing them with more points of reference.  As we build more of our own tools and provide more culturally relevant data, we will be able to use AI to accurately translate material into a much larger range of African languages and this will be powerful and necessary for pan-African PR campaigns as well as hyper-localised ones,” she added.

Mary Gearing (Deputy managing director, Magna Carta)

At Magna Carta, a Johannesburg-based reputation management consultancy firm, Mary Gearing and her team utilise AI tools for media monitoring and analytics, media and influencer database management and crisis simulation. They are also stress-testing text-based tools for writing and monitoring the “virtual influencer” movement.

“Although AI is predicted to emerge as a disruptive force, for PR professionals it has the potential to not only streamline PR processes but empower professionals to work smarter by automating repetitive tasks, allowing more time and effort to be dedicated to strategic decision-making, creative solves, and hyper-targeted communications and implementation,” she told TechCabal.

On the future of AI in PR and communications in Africa, she adds that the sector has traditionally revolved around human interaction and emotional intelligence to build and grow relationships, create credibility, and establish brand trust. Therefore, she does not reckon that AI tools will get to a point where they completely replace the human labour force.

She believes rather that by harnessing AI-powered tools, fresh perspectives can be gained by industry professionals and creativity can be ignited, which in the future will yield more captivating, purpose-led and impactful PR campaigns that will shape our industry.

“I think the future of AI in Africa is its use as an excellent springboard for creative ideas, paving the way for human creativity, critical thinking, and relationship building, which remain central to the realms of PR and communications,” she concluded.