Mobile Classroom to Reach 5500 Rural Tanzanians Annually
1. The US Embassy in Dar es Salaam recently announced the 2024 Tanzania Tech Challenge.
It’s a competition for Tanzanian organizations to develop tech solutions that improve media literacy and information integrity for local elections. The challenge aims to support digital literacy efforts, with a focus on areas that have limited media access.
The two-day event will take place on September 18–19, 2024, in Dar. On the first day, selected participants will showcase their products to a panel of judges. The second day will feature discussions among technologists, government officials, civil society members, academics, and media representatives to share insights and explore opportunities for cooperation.
The embassy is offering up to $250,000 in total funding, which will be split between one to three winners. Eligible applicants include Tanzanian non-profits, educational institutions, and for-profit companies. The challenge is particularly interested in solutions such as:
Applications were submitted in English to [email protected] by August 13, 2024. Applicants need to include a cover page, an 8-page proposal, budget forms, and a detailed budget narrative. They also registered on SAM.gov to obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number.
The embassy is currently evaluating proposals based on several criteria. These include the quality and feasibility of the program idea, planning and ability to achieve objectives, and organizational capacity. Other screening factors are monitoring and evaluation plans, budget, sustainability, and support for equity and underserved communities.
The US Embassy encouraged applications from diverse and traditionally underrepresented groups. Winning projects should be completed within 12 months, starting September 30, 2024. This initiative represents a major opportunity for Tanzanian tech innovators to contribute to improving the country's media literacy and information integrity in local government elections, which—for this year—began on August 15.
2. Huawei and Vodacom Tanzania have launched the DigiTruck initiative, expanding a program that started in Kenya (2019).
This mobile digital classroom aims to reach over 5,500 people annually across 10 regions in Tanzania. It targets students, women, the elderly, and youth.
DigiTruck is a mobile classroom built into a repurposed shipping container mounted on a truck. It's equipped with solar power, laptops, smartphones, and 4G internet connectivity, bringing digital education tools directly to communities.
The launch event saw strong government support. In attendance were high-ranking officials, such as Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Doto Biteko and Minister of ICT Hon. Jerry Silaa. The Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania was also present, showing the international nature of this collaboration. It could improve education access, equity, and quality. For whom? Low- to middle-income households in urban centers.
DigiTruck is part of a wider partnership between Vodacom Tanzania and Huawei to support digitalization in the country. This partnership also includes an accelerator program and joint corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. During this year’s three-month Vodacom Digital Accelerator (VDA), Huawei supported a learning exchange trip to China featuring startups like Altitude X (drone-as-a-service) and Rada (space tech for agriculture and education).
According to the Tanzania Investment Center (TIC), our education sector includes formal education, education infrastructure, and education technology subsectors.
These initiatives address several challenges in digital education and innovation. DigiTruck brings technology to rural areas where access is limited, while VDA promotes local tech talent. Together, they form part of a larger ecosystem needed for digital inclusion, which also requires improvements in internet connectivity, device affordability, and ongoing support.
They also complement existing market opportunities in the education sector, such as low- to mid-fee schools and affordable daycare centers, which are expected to yield high returns (more than 25%) in the short to medium term (source: TIC).
3. The Tanzania AI Community has announced the return of the Deep Learning IndabaX to Tanzania in 2024.
This event is part of a continent-wide initiative to develop local expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence, similar to how TEDx events like TEDxOysterBay and TEDxUpangaYouth bring global ideas to local audiences.
IndabaX events aim to spread technical knowledge, create research connections, foster understanding of local AI career paths, and build a more diverse and inclusive machine learning community. The Tanzania event will focus on building local AI and machine learning capacity. How? By providing an opportunity for enthusiasts, researchers, and professionals to collaborate and contribute to the country's growing AI ecosystem.
The Deep Learning Indaba program has seen consistent growth since its inception…
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For 2024, the call to host IndabaX events was open from November 6 to December 6, 2023. Selected hosts were notified by January 21, 2024, with events scheduled to take place between February and December 2024.
Specific details about the Tanzania IndabaX 2024 are yet to be announced. But this event represents an important step in Tanzania's journey to become an active participant in the global AI scene. It continues the tradition of knowledge-sharing and community-building that has been growing across Africa since 2018.
4. Tanzania’s 11th Generative AI Community Meetup, organized by Neurotech Africa, is set for August 31st at the Tanzania Data Lab (dLab) in Dar es Salaam.
This event continues the series of successful gatherings that have been attracting over 100 participants.
Neurotech Africa, the organizer, is known for its flagship product Sarufi - a powerful no-code chatbot builder designed specifically for African languages. Sarufi offers several key features:
Sarufi has gained traction with notable clients, including Azam Marine, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and several health-tech companies. It supports integration with popular services like M-Pesa, Azam Pay, and Zapier, making it versatile for various business applications.
The upcoming meetup will focus on AI agents, exploring platforms like AutoGen, CrewAI, and LangChain. Participants will discuss how these tools are advancing autonomous intelligent systems and their potential applications in Tanzania and East Africa.
Running from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, the event aims to provide valuable insights for developers, researchers, and AI enthusiasts. It represents the growing interest in AI technologies within Tanzania's tech ecosystem, particularly in applying these innovations to local challenges and opportunities.
Previous meetups have covered topics such as optimizing GenAI models for low-end devices, which reflects the practical focus of these gatherings. Attendees have praised these events for their educational value, networking opportunities, and emphasis on local context, including the development of Swahili language models.
This series of meetups reflects Neurotech’s vision of implementing AI-powered solutions in businesses across 30 African countries. It also showcases Tanzania's growing role in the continent's AI market.
5. The Serengeti Business Angels Network (S-BAN) is hosting its 4th startup meetup on September 6th in Dar es Salaam.
Below is what you need to know.
The event will feature 3 startup pitches, discussions about Tanzania's startup ecosystem, and time for networking. It's a chance to meet other founders, investors, and people interested in Tanzanian startups.
This event comes after SBAN's June 2024 report on angel investing in Tanzania. The report found:
Serengeti Angels is trying to train more investors to help close that gap. They've trained 20 so far, and half of those are actively investing.
If you're curious about startups in Tanzania or looking to meet others in the scene, this event could be useful. But it's just one small step. Building a strong startup ecosystem takes years of consistent effort and many people working together.
Research Analyst | Independent Consultant | Climate Just Transition | Blue economy
3 个月Insightful as always. My bongo Tech go-to features Isai Mathias
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3 个月Tanzania requires 100% internet access as that's among the first step to make the above journey smooth towards achievements!
Founder & CEO at Sarufi | Driving Scalable AI Solutions for Businesses
3 个月Thanks for the feature kaka