Microsoft is awarding new grants to fellow pioneers in the Middle East and Africa through a new partnership with the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and the National Geographic Society
The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) aims to create a world where both nature and humanity coexist in harmony. Over the past twenty years, LDF has awarded over $100 million in grants, funding 200+ high-impact projects in 50 countries across Asia, the Americas, Africa, the Arctic, Antarctica, and all five oceans.
LDF has achieved this success through active collaboration with a broad network of effective organizations to find and support the best, results-driven projects in the world’s most wild and threatened ecosystems.
Microsoft’s AI for Earth program supports organizations who are working to solve global environmental challenges using artificial intelligence.
To further their missions, LDF and Microsoft are collaborating on the AI for Earth innovation grant to support applicants in creating and deploying open source machine learning models, algorithms, and data sets that directly tackle environmental problems faced by the world today.
AI for Earth Innovation Grant Priorities:
With the latest IPCC Special Report outlining the level and urgency of broad action required to prevent global temperatures from exceeding 1.5 degrees, we would like to request a call for proposals that can deliver impactful solutions to immediate matters in the following four categories:
· Climate change · Biodiversity conservation · Agriculture · Water
Applications that also include the following will be prioritized for review:
· Demonstration that the work will lead to implementation of proposed solution (whether directly by applicant or in collaboration with others);
· Solutions that are developed in and/or will be implemented in developing countries or underserved geographies;
· Solutions that demonstrate ability to rapidly scale and create lasting impact.
Details:
Proposal requests can be up to $100,000, for support over one year only. In addition to financial support, successful proposals will receive free access to AI for Earth API’s, applications, tools, and tutorials, and support for their computational work on Microsoft Azure. Applicants must demonstrate a plan for continued support of the work beyond the grant period.
Applicants must consider how to utilize AI for global environmental impact in at least one of the following core categories:
Biodiversity conservation: Species are going extinct at alarming rates, and our planet’s oceans and last wild places need protection. We would like to see how AI can help, particularly in the following areas:
· Protected area identification, management and restoration · Sustainable supply chain management · Illegal trade and poaching control Wildlife tracking and ecosystem health monitoring · Realizing natural capital (including valuing natural capital, species identification)
Climate change: Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, higher global temperatures, and increased ocean acidity threaten human health, infrastructure, and the natural systems we rely on for life itself. We would like to see how AI can help, particularly in the following areas
· Climate resilience · Extreme weather and climate modeling · Measuring carbon sequestration through natural climate solutions · Pollution monitoring and reporting on air quality · More efficient energy and transportation systems
Agriculture: To feed the world’s rapidly growing population, farmers must produce more food on less arable land, and with lower environmental impact. We would like to see how AI can help, particularly in the following areas
· Sustainable land use planning and management · Natural resource conservation · Sustainable, closed loop food systems · Climate-resilient, regenerative agriculture · Food recovery
Water: In the next two decades, demand for fresh water—for human consumption, agriculture, and hygiene, as well as for the well-being of natural systems and species—is predicted to dramatically outpace supply. We would like to see how AI can help, particularly in the following areas
· Beneficial water supply strategies for human and natural systems · Water quality and sanitation · Water source monitoring · Water use efficiency · Extreme-event (droughts, floods, disasters, etc.) water management
All models supported through this grant must be open source, and grant recipients must be willing to share their models for use by other environmental researchers and innovators. More specifically:
(1) Grant recipients must make their solutions available for publication on the AI for Earth website through a designated open source license;
(2) Grant recipients must make the training data on which their solutions are developed publicly available in standard digital format;
(3) Grant recipients must include with their solutions a standard description template, including information on the machine learning data on which the solution was trained, summary statistics about solution performance, example use cases, and a disclaimer about the prototype nature of the solution; and
(4) Grant recipients must implement and deploy their solutions on Microsoft Azure.
Applicant Qualifications:
Applicants must be nonprofit organizations or academic institutions. We recommend that the main applicant has a demonstrated background in environmental science and/or technology, and we require that at least one member of the team has strong enough technical skills (such as machine learning, statistical data analysis, scientific modeling, software development, and/or remote sensing) to complete the proposed project successfully.
Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation believe great ideas spring from a diversity of experiences, and thus encourage applications from all over the world.
Timelines:
The AI for Earth innovators grant will begin accepting applications beginning May 21, 2019. The application period will close on July 31 2019 at 11:59pm PST. Only applications received during this period will be accepted.
Applicants will be reviewed and awarded within 2-3 months of application close. It is anticipated that the selected projects will commence on January 1, 2020 and will be completed by December 31, 2020.
Please note this RFP application, deadline, and anticipated project timeline is different from other LDF grant programs.
All-Female Microsoft LEAP Hackathon event in Nairobi.
I thought it was going to be just an ordinary hackathon, when I first heard about the Microsoft LEAP hackathon. Where you just go and compete for prizes and that is it. Says Rosianah Musyoka, selected participant at Microsoft LEAP hackathon in Nairobi, Kenya.
“I was very excited when I got the acceptance email to participate in the program. My expectations were surpassed, interacting with some of the Microsoft engineers and learnt quite a lot from them. I gained a lot of knowledge around Microsoft Azure and made new friends.” she shares.
Microsoft selected twenty-six female developers to participate in its maiden LEAP hackathon event in Nairobi, Kenya. With a similar event underway for female developers in Lagos, Nigeria. An initiative of the recently launched Microsoft Africa Development Center in both cities. The all-female hackathon event “is to strengthen the place of women in the tech ecosystem” Microsoft says.
Learning
Participants were taken through four days of learning: Microsoft Azure, Azure DevOps, Azure AI, Machine Learning, etc. technologies. As well as hacking ideas using learnt technologies.
For Rosianah Musyoka the Microsoft LEAP
program was amazing. She hopes there we will be more of such in Kenya. Sharing that some of the things she learnt
during the event aren’t taught in school. Rosianah is a computer science final
year student at the University of Nairobi.
“Through the program, we have gained lots of skills which have equipped us to become better developers. The trainers who were all Microsoft employees were great, friendly and always ready to help.
Most of the things learned within the one week of the LEAP hackathon are not taught in school. It started with learning how to write maintainable and testable code, learning about dockers and containers, Azure Dev Ops, Azure custom vision, Azure machine learning studio among others.
In addition, we were exposed to other key nontechnical skills which are important when creating systems. These include creating a system that is inclusive of everyone, trustworthy, transparent, etc.”
The female developers were put in teams and tasked with solving societal problems in Agriculture and financial services industry (FSI). Requiring them to develop creative solutions using the technologies they’ve learnt. Rosianah and her teammates emerged winners of the hackathon event. Designing a web application powered by Microsoft Artificial Intelligence. The app helps Maize farmers predict and manage pests and diseases, predict harvest time and the yield amount as well as connect buyers to the farmers.
Hacking Ideas
“During the hackathon my team came up with a project which focuses on two main users, maize farmers and maize vendors. The problems we are solving for the farmer include: Lack of information about pests and disease and how to manage them. Lack of ready market access. Unpredictability of yield and harvest time. Due to this, the farmer is unable to plan for his business well.
The problems we are solving for the vendor include: Unpredictability of supply, hence the vendor is unable to plan for business. Lack of a reliable supply.
We solved the above problems using a web application powered by Azure AI services to: Help farmers predict and manage pests and diseases. Predict harvest time and the yield amount. Connecting Buyers and Farmers.
It was great to work on solutions that positively impact our society. Our solution was motivated by the problem, not any technology.
We had to think about the business model for our project, any similar projects that have launched and even competition market. We also brought in some knowledge acquired in school such as design thinking (developing for the user), business management and entrepreneurship among others to ensure that we do our project well and to completion.”
#MSLEAPHACKATHON#Microsoft I am really excited. My team and I won the competition. We hot ourselves some interesting prizes including ???
The winning team will continue to receive mentorship and assistance from Microsoft in building their project into a realization. Rosianah hopes their idea when actualized, will be used by farmers and maize vendors soon.
Microsoft announces Partner of the Year Award Winners and finalists ahead of its annual partner conference, Inspire. Microsoft Inspire 2019 is set to take place July 14-18 in Las Vegas. The award showcases Microsoft partner organization building innovative solutions for their customers leveraging Microsoft technologies. We bring you the Middle East winners in this post. Click to check out Africa partner winners.
“Virtually every entry we received showcased something remarkable” says Gavriella Schuster, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, One Commercial Partner. This year they received 2900 nominations from 115 countries. Winners were selected in 41 Partner of the year categories and country partner of the year category.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate the finalists and winners of the Microsoft 2019 Partner of the Year Awards. These companies are industry leaders helping businesses around the world connect and achieve more. I’m truly amazed by each winner and finalist, and I am honored to highlight the incredible work they are doing.” – Gavriella Schuster
2019 Microsoft Country Partner of the Year Middle East Winners
Israel Partner of the Year U-BTech Solutions
Jordan Partner of the Year Optimiza
Lebanon Partner of the Year Exquitech
Oman Partner of the Year Bahwan IT LLC
Pakistan Partner of the Year Maison Consulting & Solutions
Qatar Partner of the Year Information & Communication Technology W.L.L
Windows #Insiders4Good East Africa Fellow Caleb Ndaka is changing his world.
“You’ll see him sometimes, walking village to village in rural Kenya, 5 laptops strapped to his back.” This how Caleb Ndaka conceived Kids Comp Camp. An organization serving remote communities with accessible computer training to empower them to discover new opportunities in technology.
“You’ll see him sometimes, walking village to village in rural Kenya, 5 laptops strapped to his back. Years ago, when he was in college in Nairobi, Kenya, Caleb Ndaka and his friends decided they wanted to help those who were less fortunate. They went to a school in a village with no access to computers and spent a few days training students on computer basics. The students were awestruck by these lessons and able to quickly pick up the skills. Caleb was surprised to see such fast progress and realized he could have a real impact on his country with this work. That was the day Caleb’s business Kids Comp Camp was born.”
East Africa Windows Insiders4Good Fellow
from Left Dona Sarkar, Caleb, Constance, Gomolemo, Michael at Microsoft Build 2019
In 2017 Microsoft asked East Africans with brilliant ideas creating solutions to critical social and economic challenges, to apply for a fellowship program. The Insiders4Good Fellowship. It had been tried in Nigeria and Microsoft was scaling the program up to East African countries. A six-month program that will up open opportunities to the selected entrepreneurs.
Caleb’s Kids Comp Camp was one of 20 ideas selected from entries received from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. As a fellow Caleb received training to develop his business and technology concept, hardware, software, tailored mentorship and support from Microsoft.
So far, Kids Comp Camp has reached over nine thousand
students with 90% being first time users of a computer. It has also evolved to
include training small rural businesses on how to leverage technology to grow.
https://youtu.be/ULZK7biKgnQ
Microsoft Build 2019
Caleb at Microsoft Build 2019
Caleb Ndaka joined other Windows Insiders at Microsoft Build this year. Where he made a presentation about the journey and impact of Kids Comp Camp during the Windows Insiders session. These Insiders, Microsoft says are supporting their local communities and bringing us feedback to build products and services for everyone. Click to read about his journey and experience at Microsoft Build 2019.
Pakistan graduate? Microsoft’s skills program has an Internship opportunity.
The internship program empowers local communities by investing in fresh local graduates and local partners. By providing employment opportunities to young Middle East and Africa talent to build a better future for the continent.
Get to learn and apply skills in Sales, Marketing or IT Technical support tracks. The intern will get the opportunity to work for 6 months with a Microsoft partner organization on real projects. Get to collaborate and skill up on the job with the help of colleagues. From what we’ve been told by other participants in the program you can get to be hired by the firm. Well that’s depending on your performance and if you are interested in being hired after the internship program.
For more question and requirements about the Interns4Afrika program, check out the program FAQ’s . Kindly click on links below to apply on the Microsoft 4Afrika Interns4Afrika FUZU page. Sign up and go through the process. You have to be truthful as it can lead to disqualification.
All the best to you as you apply. If you do get in, do come back and share the experience with us? Also kindly report any broken links so we can fix them. Thank you.
The private and hybrid Microsoft cloud delivers a cybersecurity step-change for East Africa’s data-sensitive organisations, providing a doorway to high-speed data safety.
Nairobi, 16th May 2019:
Liquid Telecom Kenya, part of the leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom, has today launched a Microsoft Cloud service in East Africa that offers a step-change in cybersecurity for the region’s most sensitive databases.
The new Azure Stack service will allow companies to run a private Microsoft cloud within East Africa, rather than at one of Microsoft’s 54 public data centres located outside the region. This means users benefit from the cutting-edge security protocols developed and run by Microsoft on its cloud platforms, while holding their data locally, which makes data uploading faster for databases that can be as large as one terabyte or more.
The service will be available from today across East Africa, hosted in private cloud nodes in Kenya and Tanzania, which makes it possible to replicate databases at different locations to increase reliability and flexibility.
“The data transmission time to Europe is around 200 milliseconds, and for the closest Microsoft cloud server, in South Africa, 55 milliseconds. But the new Azure Stacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam will mean data transfer speeds of less than 20 milliseconds for all users within East Africa,” said Winston Ritson, Group Head of Cloud Services for the Liquid Telecom Group.
This increase in speeds will transform back-ups and uploads from previously lengthy processes to swift data exchanges. Globally, companies have reported that this has transformed their operations. With one logistics company in California achieving a 50% improvement in service delivery on increased data speeds.
Using Azure Stack also opens the way to a level of cybersecurity that few organisations have the capacity to develop. “Microsoft spends some $1bn a year on ensuring the security of its Azure platforms. This is a scale of spend and professional attention that companies cannot match or surpass in securing their data,” said Winston.
This comes as East Africa’s data security continues to deteriorate. In 2017, Kenya lost over Sh21bn to cybercrime. But the nation’s losses are forecast to rise further on new cyber threats. Including attacks on built-in Windows IT admin tools, PowerShell files and Windows Scripting executables.
“Developing the Azure Stack in East Africa has required intensive development and co-operation between Liquid Telecom and Microsoft.” said Adil El Youssefi, CEO East Africa, Liquid Telecom. “However, we believe that in offering a now unequalled level of cybersecurity, it has delivered yet another vital pillar to the economic development of Kenya and East Africa.”
