Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving fields of technology today. Every month, there are new developments, breakthroughs and events that showcase the potential and impact of AI on various domains and industries. In this blog post, we will highlight some of the top 10 biggest AI events in March 2023.
AI UK 2023: This is a two-day event hosted by The Alan Turing Institute, the UK’s national institute for data science and AI, on 21-22 March 2023 in London. The event will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops and demonstrations on how data science and AI can be used to solve real-world challenges in health, education, security, environment and more.
Big Data & AI World 2023: This is a large-scale exhibition and conference that will take place on 8-9 March 2023 at ExCeL London. The event will bring together thousands of technologists, data specialists and AI pioneers to explore the latest trends, innovations and solutions in big data and AI.
ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction: This is a premier interdisciplinary conference that covers all aspects of human-robot interaction (HRI), such as social robotics, collaborative robotics, assistive robotics, ethical issues and more. The conference will take place on 13-16 March 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden.
Intelligent Automation Middle East 2023: This is a regional event that focuses on how intelligent automation technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision (CV) can transform businesses and industries in the Middle East region. The event will take place on 8-9 March 2023 in Muscat, Oman.
The European Chatbot & Conversational AI Summit: This is a dedicated event that showcases how chatbots and conversational AI can enhance customer experience, engagement and loyalty across various sectors such as retail, banking, travel and more. The event will take place on 15-16 March 2023 in Edinburgh, UK.
3rd Annual Conversational AI Summit 2023: This is another event that focuses on chatbots and conversational AI but with a global perspective. The event will feature speakers from leading companies such as Google Assistant, Facebook Messenger, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana, IBM Watson and more. The event will take place on 14-15 March 2023 in Dubai, UAE.
AI for Good Global Summit 2023: This is an annual event organized by ITU, the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, in collaboration with other UN agencies and partners. The event aims to leverage AI to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and address global challenges such as poverty, health, education, environment and peace. The event will take place on 28-31 March 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.
AI Expo Africa 2023: This is Africa’s largest business-focused AI trade show and conference that connects buyers, suppliers, innovators and investors across the continent. The event showcases how AI can be applied to various sectors such as agriculture, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, mining and more. The event will take place on 6-8 March 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
ReWork Deep Learning Summit Boston2023: This is an influential summit that brings together experts from academia and industry to share their insights and research on deep learning applications such as computer vision (NLP), generative models (reinforcement learning). The summit also features workshops (networking sessions) to foster collaboration (innovation). The summit will take place on 23-24 March (Boston), USA.
Women In Data Science Conference (WiDS) 2023: This is a global initiative that aims to inspire (educate) women (girls) about careers (opportunities) in data science (AI). The initiative hosts an annual conference at Stanford University (live-streamed worldwide), as well as regional events (podcasts)throughout the year. The conference features speakers from diverse backgrounds (industries),
Here are the AI events in March 2023 you can check out.
Women-led startups are only receiving 2% of all venture capital funding. A trend that needs to change if we are to achieve diversity in business. Muhammad Nabil, Partners and Startups Strategy Lead at Microsoft 4Afrika tackles the topic of diversity and what is needed to encourage more women to start businesses. As well as why investors need to take bigger bets on women-led startups.
Africa’s technology startup scene is vibrant – and growing fast. There are currently over 640 active technology hubs across the continent, and according to Partech Africa, startups raised $1.163 billion raised in equity funding in 2018 – a 108% year-on-year growth. Topping the list are fintech start-ups, who raised$132.75 million in 2018 – enjoying 39.7 percent of all funding.
Despite this momentum, however, there’s a concerning trend: Globally, women-led startups only receive two percent of all venture capital (VC) funding – and the picture within enterprise tech is dimmer. Additionally, of all startups, only 22 percent are founded by at least one woman. Africa-specific data is lacking, but sources suggest only nine percent of start-ups have women-leaders, and female-led South African start-ups receive only 4.5 percent of all funding.
Women-led startups are in short supply. And, where they are available, they often lack the investor backing to scale. The result is a significant loss of insight, perspectives, development and solutions, which affects us all.
African tech startups are renowned for building solutions to some of the most complex challenges. N-Frnds brings the power of digital to subsistence and small hold farmers in Africa and other emerging markets, via mobile. The N-Frnds mobile system, which started in Rwanda and since expanded dramatically, is text/sms-based and connects users without the need for data. Users receive vital crop and market information and get access to finance. Small hold farmers account for 80% of all food consumed in Africa, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa estimates. Giving these farmers access to increased market opportunities establishes them as micro-enterprises, which is where the majority of economic upliftment and job opportunities still reside.
Technology like this is set to completely redefine the
way we interact with the world. But if technology is only being created by a
portion of the population, how effective will it really be? Without the input
and contribution of women, how many challenges and opportunities will go
unnoticed, or only partially met?
Innovation needs diversity
Microsoft recently partnered with Sehat Kahani, a tele-health
start-up founded by two women, Dr. Iffat Zafar and Dr. Sara Khurram, in
Pakistan. As doctors themselves, they noticed a recurring “doctor-bride” trend,
where only 23 percent of female medical graduates in Pakistan become registered
physicians. The others either move abroad, or stop practicing after marriage due
to socio-cultural pressures and household responsibilities. Yet, Pakistan is in
desperate need of doctors, with a doctor-patient ratio of 1:1200.
Sehat Kahani developed a platform that pairs these female
physicians with patients in need of healthcare. Patients receive affordable and
quality care virtually using tele-medicine, while female physicians are able to
remain active, working at home on their own hours to effectively balance family
life.
If it weren’t for these two women entrepreneurs, this challenge,
opportunity and approach could have been missed entirely.
Diversity is better for business
Investors recognise the need for diversity in the long-run, which makes the lack of early-stage funding for female startups perplexing. Studies show that startups with at least one female founder raise, over time, 21 percent more VC funding than companies with all-male teams. Similarly, research also shows that if women and men participate equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP could rise by approximately three to six percent.
Diversity in business doesn’t just yield better
innovation, but better financial results too, as mixed teams are better able to
recognise and capitalize on market opportunities.
So, the question becomes: What is needed to encourage
more women to start businesses, and investors to take bigger bets on them
earlier?
Firstly, female entrepreneurs need to be given equal access to the tools needed to succeed as their male peers, including access to finance, technology, markets, information, skills and services. Second, and as a partial solve to the first, investing in diversity starts with having a diverse team of investors. Startup mentors, investors, pitch competition judges and all ecosystem players should come from diverse backgrounds, able to recognise, relate to and see the potential in different challenges and opportunities.
Last year’s Africa Seedstars Summit had a dedicated focus on female entrepreneurship, which is a positive step forward. However, the focus should not be on women-only initiatives or women-specific conversations alone, but on initiatives and conversations centered around all start-ups, where women are considered and treated as equals. Diversity and Inclusion are not an initiative, they’re a lifestyle.
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Are you a female interested in becoming a software developer or already a developer? Microsoft Tech community Kenya invites you to the launch of its female community on October 5, 2019. 10 am at Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya.
The invitation reads;
We will be launching the Microsoft Women in Tech community at Strathmore University, Nairobi Kenya. Come ready to learn and network with successful ladies in the tech industry and know what is in store for you.
Join a platform of like minded people to learn, teach, mentor and network.
Click to register and plan to be at the launch event. Don’t forget to share this with anyone who might benefit from this.
“Growing up as a woman in Kenya, there was a lack of female role models within STEM for me to engage with and learn from” says Wanjira Kamwere, program lead of WISE4Afrika. An initiative by Microsoft to inspire women to take up careers in technology. Microsoft through its 4Afrika engine is partnering with Strathmore University, Kenya to extend the WISE Mentoring Program into Africa.
WISE4Afrika, Wanjira Kamwere says is a manifestation of Mentors across Borders. An initiative pioneered by women tech leaders at the Microsoft India Development Centre and Microsoft Kenya.
“Diversity fuels better innovation and better business, which is why we [Microsoft] are actively focused on promoting diversity in today’s workforce”
WISE Mentoring Program
Women in Software Engineering (WISE), is an idea by women engineers working at Microsoft India. These software engineers wanted to help women engineering students shape out successful careers in technology. After a successful program in India, Microsoft decided to scale the program up by taking it global. As empowering women in technology is a global issue.
Microsoft shares that 30 female students are receiving coaching from fellow female engineers and executives. Over nine months the students will recieve in-person and virtual training and coaching. Taking them through trainings on how to leverage AI and Machine Learning to build solutions. As well as learn to contribute to open source projects, participate in hackathons and submit proposals for papers and posters at conferences.
Wanjira Kamwere says that WISE4Afrika is currently running in only Strathmore University. However Microsoft hopes to follow an approach of starting small, learning, improving and then scaling the program to other African countries.
WISE Mentoring Program is one of the several initiatives by Microsoft in the region to encourage diversity and inclusion. Some others include the LEAP Hackathon program and Codess Kenya. “We are collectively supporting a culture where more women are attracted to careers in technology” she says.
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In Rwanda Microsoft is supporting African Renewable Energy Distributor (ARED), a technology for social good company. That provides a one stop shop – mobile digital kiosk – platform offering digital services and connectivity to customers in Rwanda. ARED CEO, Henri Nyakarundi says “our solar kiosk platform revolutionizes the way distribution network is built”.
Microsoft’s partnership came in different areas. We won’t be able to do this business without cloud technology. Microsoft is helping us also find investors.
Henri Nyakarundi, CEO ARED
ARED recruits and trains women and people with disability to operate these kiosks to generate revenue by earning commissions. These vendors offer services like selling wifi, airtime, electricity prepaid, government services like Irembo and Rwanda Revenue Tax, etc.. The company understands that when low income people start business they don’t have the capital to do business. So they offer the vendors credit to sell these services and payback.
ARED has about 200 solar mobile digital kiosk and plans to have about 300 mobile digital kiosk around Rwanda soon.
