AfriLabs is excited to announce the launch of the Llama 3.1 Impact Hackathon for Sub-Saharan Africa funded by Meta and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The project is aimed at fostering AI innovation that addresses social impact issues across Africa.

The program will be implemented in two phases. The first phase of the program, the hackathon, will bring together participants from Sub-Saharan Africa from startup founders to developers, tech enthusiasts, students in technical fields, gender and language studies professionals, and more. These participants will collaborate in cross-disciplinary teams to develop AI-driven solutions that address gender bias and ensure linguistic inclusivity and diversity in digital content, while also focusing on  economic development, science & innovation, public services, or education & skills development using Meta’s Llama AI technology. To facilitate in-person participation, travel and logistics costs will be covered for all selected participants to attend the Hackathon in Kigali, Rwanda from October 8th to 10th, 2024.

The second phase of the program, the post-hackathon phase, will focus on mentorship, product development, market validation and refinement, and business development for the top-performing teams identified from the Hackathon. These teams will receive feedback  and insights from experts from Meta, BMGF, and AfriLabs to help refine and develop their prototypes. This phase will prepare them to submit an application for the global Llama 3.1 Impact Grants program, which offers up to $100,000 in funding to further develop and scale their projects, and well as the  possibility of securing up to $500,000 in seed funds through a global call for proposals.

Nanko Madu, Director of Programs at AfriLabs stated, “Llama 3.1 Impact African Hackathon” is more than just a competition—it’s a call to action for innovators across Africa to harness the transformative power of AI to drive social change on the continent. This hackathon is an opportunity for participants to not only push the boundaries of AI innovation, but to also ensure that the solutions we build are inclusive, equitable, and impactful for all.”

Speaking about the hackathon, Balkissa Idé Siddo, Public Policy Director for Africa, Meta commented: “We’re thrilled to partner with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the Sub-Saharan Africa Llama Impact Hackathon, which embodies our shared commitment to driving innovation and social impact in Africa. Through this hackathon and the wider Llama 3.1 Impact Grants Program, Meta aims to empower local developers and entrepreneurs to build AI-driven solutions that address critical societal challenges and bring about positive change in our communities.”

Applications are open until September 21, 2024. To apply please visit this link and take the first step toward contributing to a future where AI is inclusive, diverse, and free from gender and language biases.