How AI can supercharge African start-ups with Dr Nick Bradshaw.

Technology is about managing change – it’s not really about the actual tech. This is one of the insights Dr Nick Bradshaw and I discussed in this episode of the Willing & Abel podcast. You need sound strategy, processes, people, training and education to make any tech work. And this rings true for so much of the discussion around AI, too.

Nick should know. He’s an entrepreneur helping clients, communities and start-ups understand the value of AI, automation and digital solutions. He is also the founder of the South African AI Association (SAAIA), which aims to boost economic growth, trade, investment, equality and inclusivity in South Africa.

In our conversation, Nick touched on a common concern: the threat of unregulated AI. He advises that if we want AI to be responsible, we can’t sit back; we need to get involved. As standards and legislation emerge, SAAIA needs input from government, commerce, individuals, entrepreneurs, NGOs and charities to help create safe guardrails, so we can ensure AI is used for good.

And it really can be used for so much good! AI has the potential to solve huge social challenges – using the likes of digital twinning, for example. Nick explained a scenario where AI could replicate an entire car-manufacturing process as a digital twin, allowing you to experiment on it without risk. To find out: if you changed this or that element in your production line, what would be the impact?

“If you zoom out,” Nick explains, “and you build a digital planet, you can start to analyse things like climate change, and create predictions of droughts or freak weather. So you've got all these avenues within this technology, which only five to 10 years ago were just a dream. You couldn't have even afforded the computer to do it!

”One of the African success stories Nick mentioned is of a company called InstaDeep, originally from Tunisia. They used an avenue of AI called deep learning to solve really difficult challenges in things like drug discovery and how molecules fit together. (They were recently acquired by BioNTech, the big life pharma biosciences company, for hundreds of millions of US dollars.)

So, it’s much more than just a tool to write students’ essays: AI can help us with everything from healthcare outcomes to resource management, climate change and more. AI can create more jobs than it will take away. There's a very active community of exciting young entrepreneurs in South Africa –?but they need funding. While AI can revolutionise industries, it won't solve our employment crisis; only our government can create an enabling environment, give financial support, and apply good governance and long-term thinking.

Nick encourages entrepreneurs to sign up to networking events and free workshops, keep learning, and attend events such as expos. Nick’s company, AI Media Group runs AI Expo Africa. The event is a space for AI enthusiasts to meet up and share knowledge. There’s a workshop programme for youth, with free tickets through partners and CPD (continual professional development) accreditation. AI Expo Africa also works with a youth recruitment organisation called AIESEC, so students and recent graduates can volunteer and get exposure to the industry. In 2023, there were 48 start-ups at the expo. By turning up, you’ll meet the industry players – the Googles, the Deloittes, the Accentures – but you'll also meet all these companies you've never heard of, who are doing amazing stuff.

There are so many opportunities existing in this borderless world. Whether you're living in a town a few hours outside Cape Town (like Nick) or chairing a company based in Ireland (like me), you can be anywhere and still make an impact – as long as you’re using tools to get to deeper truths and solutions.

Our future is going to be shaped by those who are inventive and interested enough to harness technology – hopefully for the greater good. Listen to the full episode on how we can bring AI within reach of entrepreneurs in South Africa, where we can benefit from it the most. Find the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, now!

Season 1 of the Willing & Abel Podcast is brought to you by M&C Saatchi Abel , a proudly South African award-winning creative company founded on the principle of Brutal Simplicity of Thought.